Athletic Director Craig Angelos told Spectrum News on Tuesday that Hawaii will become a full member of the Mountain West Conference in 2026, giving the league the eight players it needs to remain in the FBS conference. told Hawaii.
Hawaii has been a member of the Mountain West only for football since 2012, and most other Big West sports are members. Last month, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State announced plans to leave the Mountain West for the Pac-12 in 2026. Utah State later did the same. However, MW was able to continue its unity by securing a commitment from the remaining six full members, including those from Hawaii, until 2032.
The Mountain West then announced it would add UTEP from Conference USA in 2026, and the eighth full spot had interest from other schools, including New Mexico State and FCS programs, but ultimately Hawaii It was easiest to promote from affiliate member to full member. Move.
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UTEP leaves Conference USA to join Mountain West
But the Mountain West may never be finished. Some hope to gather at least nine football members to schedule at least eight conference games, league officials said. The league has shown interest in at least Northern Illinois and Toledo from the MAC. Similar to the Pac-12, MW isn’t scheduled to get much bigger in order to not split the pie among more schools. If NIU and Toledo switch to soccer, they will likely need to find new homes outside the MAC for other sports.
According to a binding agreement signed by MW schools and obtained by The Athletic, schools can only opt out of entitlements if they receive a Power 4 invitation. It also decided that tens of millions of dollars in exit and poaching fees from current and future Pac-12 schools would be divided unevenly among the remaining MW schools. Air Force and UNLV each had 24.5 percent. Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose, and Wyoming each had 11.5%. and 5% to Hawaii.
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Here’s what we learned from the notes putting together the new Mountain West.
Angelos told Spectrum News that the bonus distribution will not change if Hawaii becomes a full member, but the rest of the conference’s revenue will be divided equally. Angelos also said Hawaii will no longer have to pay travel subsidies to the Mountain West (or the Big West if it secedes), saving Hawaii critical funds.
The agreement also specifies that MW will move its headquarters from Colorado Springs to Las Vegas when the lease expires in a few years.
The Pac-12 will be created with the addition of non-football member Gonzaga, but will need at least one full-time member by July 2026. The league has delayed expansion talks, instead focusing for now on securing the terms of its next television deal. According to league officials, that’s the case.
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(Photo: Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
