Hawaii officially joining Mountain West as a Full Member in 2026

[Dawgg]

Gives Mountain West the 8th member they need to be a full conference. Some highlights:

• Hawaii won't get a bigger piece of the exit fee pie. They'll still only get the 5% they were previously promised.
• Hawaii will no longer pay travel subsidies to other conference members. That's pretty huge for them because that was $1.5-$2 Million per year.
• Mountain West will sign a new grant of rights through 2032.
• If any member gets a Power 4 invitation, they will be able to leave without paying an exit fee.
• Media revenue will be split evenly.
• The Mountain West wants at least one more school so they can have 8 conference games.
• Mountain West will pay the $750,000 Big West exit fee.

I really thought Hawaii was going to end up in the FCS, but they actually improved their situation quite a bit.

Hawaii to become full Mountain West member in 2026, leaving Big West

League sources said there is a preference from some to get to at least nine football members.

www.nytimes.com

College Notes: Hawaii moving majority of teams to MWC

Indiana Univ. football has sold out their game against the Univ. of Michigan at Memorial Stadium on Nov. 9 and more games could be on the way.

www.sportsbusinessjournal.com

 

[HumpDawgy]

Hawaii is for pro bowls only. Its bad enough for schools in the west to travel to each other since they are spread out so far, but to throw in Hawaii is crazy. It takes me days to pop my ears just flying from Florida to Atlanta. I can't imagine the jet lag for the players during the season.

 

[Anon1717806835]

I am going to have to plead ignorance here - I honestly thought they already were in the Mountain West and had been since the WAC folded.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

The MWC about to get leid

 

[OG Goat Holder]

By P4 I'm guessing that absolutely does not mean Pac-12.

 

[Dawgg]

I am going to have to plead ignorance here - I honestly thought they already were in the Mountain West and had been since the WAC folded.

You're partially correct. They've been in the MWC as a football only member since the WAC abandoned the FBS. They were in the Big West for all other sports. Since they were football only, they didn't count towards the 'full membership' number needed for the MWC to remain a conference.

This move puts almost all of their sports into the MWC and gives them full membership rights, payouts, etc.

 

[Dawgg]

By P4 I'm guessing that absolutely does not mean Pac-12.

Correct. The Pac-12 officially lost its status as an autonomy/power conference back in April and there's been no indication that they'll ever get that status back.

Since then, there is a Power 4 and a Group of 6.

 

[Dawgg]

Hawaii is for pro bowls only. Its bad enough for schools in the west to travel to each other since they are spread out so far, but to throw in Hawaii is crazy. It takes me days to pop my ears just flying from Florida to Atlanta. I can't imagine the jet lag for the players during the season.

It's been almost 10 years since the Pro Bowl was played in Hawaii, plus there's not really a "Pro Bowl" anymore since they moved to the flag football and "feats of strength" Pro Bowl games competition. I doubt they'll ever actually return to Hawaii.

Your other points are valid though.

 

[leeinator]

Hell, I would have taken Hawaii into the SEC just for the away trip every few years. Can you imagine how they might explode with the locale they have to offer recruits. Only drawback they've ever had was lack of a decent conference to recruit with. There's still some serious rumblings about them building a much better stadium of about 40K with all the amenities. The one they're in now was just quick fix due to that big old stadium being condemned and torn down by their housing authority. Their current stadium is just a glorified high school stadium which can be torn down in a week or less.

 

[HumpDawgy]

It's been almost 10 years since the Pro Bowl was played in Hawaii, plus there's not really a "Pro Bowl" anymore since they moved to the flag football and "feats of strength" Pro Bowl games competition. I doubt they'll ever actually return to Hawaii.

Your other points are valid though.

Thank you so much for the validation of my points and correcting me on my Pro Bowl historical discrepancy. It means a lot.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

I am surprised the Pac-12 didn't go after Hawaii, since they've hit so many brick walls with the Mountain West.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

Hawaii has mountains and they're definitely west.

 

[Dawgg]

I am surprised the Pac-12 didn't go after Hawaii, since they've hit so many brick walls with the Mountain West.

It's mostly the travel costs, not just for football, but for all of the sports they sponsor.

Also, the Pac-12 doesn't have anything to sell to new schools right now outside a name. They need to get a solid offer from a media partner in hand before they approach any new schools.

The time zone is another thing. On one hand, they can pretty much have that 10:30 pm-12:30 am Eastern start time to themselves, but that's not very valuable real estate for advertisers and it's only real college football junkies (or people that are up that late for other reasons) watching.

 

[patdog]

The time zone is another thing. On one hand, they can pretty much have that 10:30 pm-12:30 am Eastern start time to themselves, but that's not very valuable real estate for advertisers and it's only real college football junkies (or people that are up that late for other reasons) watching.

They really don’t even have that. That’s Big 12 late night now.

 

[Dawgg]

They really don’t even have that. That’s Big 12 late night now.

True for the most part, but Hawaii’s home games start at midnight Eastern time and end sometime between 2 am and 3 am.

 

[She Mate Me]

I think the big question is why should I care about this at all??

No offense...

 

[Dawgg]

I think the big question is why should I care about this at all??

No offense...

I dunno. You cared enough to click into the clearly titled thread, assumedly read some portion of said thread, click "Reply", type 16 words, then click "Post reply" when the alternative was to simply scroll past it and enjoy the rest of your day.

I guess the big question is "why do you care about this at all?"