Hawaii will change into a complete member of the Mountain West Convention forward of the 2026-27 educational yr, leaving the Giant West in the back of.
Craig Angelos, athletic director at Hawaii, showed the transfer to Spectrum Information Hawaii.
Hawaii recently is a football-only member of the Mountain West however will transfer maximum of its non-football sports activities, as neatly.
A part of the marketing level for Hawaii, in keeping with the record, is that the Mountain West agreed that the varsity is not going to must pay trip subsidies to fighters. Hawaii recently is helping convention faculties with trip prices to the island.
Hawaii additionally would possibly not be required to pay subsidies for sports activities together with baseball, softball, girls’s volleyball and males’s and ladies’s basketball, because it does to the Giant West, in keeping with the record.
“That is a large win for us to in spite of everything get out from beneath paying trip subsidies for our convention pageant to return out play us,” Angelos mentioned.
The Mountain West will quilt the $750,000 go out charge from the Giant West, Spectrum Information reported.
Angelos mentioned the Giant West used to be prepared to imagine getting rid of the subsidies, however Hawaii made up our minds to provide its soccer program forged footing within the Mountain West, which now can stay as an FBS convention with 8 complete contributors, in keeping with Spectrum Information.
The Giant West does no longer sponsor soccer.
The transfer leaves 4 Hawaii groups — males’s volleyball, girls’s water polo, seaside volleyball, and males’s swimming and diving — and not using a house. Angelos advised the opening he used to be hopeful the colleges may just keep within the Giant West as associate contributors, but when no longer, Hawaii will attempt to organize for them to compete within the Mountain Pacific Sports activities Federation.
“We are very hopeful that will be the case,” Angelos mentioned of Giant West association. “I imply, we adore the Giant West Convention. This transfer had not anything to do with the Giant West Convention. It used to be simply one thing we had to shore up, as a result of we are an FBS soccer program. We now have a perfect courting with the Giant West. We are hoping that they’re going to need our different 4 groups to stick in there.”
The Mountain West, like different meetings, has been rocked by way of realignment. 5 faculties are headed to the made over Pac-12 in 2026, forcing the MWC to search out new contributors.
In 2026, the Mountain West will include Air Drive, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, UTEP and Wyoming.
–Box Degree Media
