Hawaii will become a full member of the Mountain West conference in 2026, athletic director Craig Angelos told Spectrum News Hawaii on Tuesday, giving the league the eight members required to remain an FBS conference.
Hawaii has been a football-only member of the Mountain West since 2012 and in the Big West with most of its other sports. 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. But the MW was able to stay together, securing a commitment from its six remaining full members through 2032, as well as Hawaii.
The Mountain West later announced the addition of UTEP from Conference USA for 2026, and while there was interest from other schools like New Mexico State and FCS programs for the eighth full spot, elevating Hawaii from an affiliate member to a full member was ultimately the easiest move.
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But the Mountain West may not be done. League sources said there is a preference from some to get to at least nine football members for the sake of scheduling at least eight conference games. The league has shown interest in at least Northern Illinois and Toledo from the MAC. Like the Pac-12, the MW doesn’t plan to grow much bigger, for the sake of not dividing the pie among more schools. NIU and Toledo would likely need to find a new home outside the MAC for their other sports if they made the football move.
Schools can leave the grant of rights only if they get a Power 4 invitation, according to the binding agreement the MW schools signed, and obtained by The Athletic. It also determined that tens of millions of dollars in exit fees and poaching fees from the current and future Pac-12 will be split unevenly among the remaining MW schools: 24.5 percent each for Air Force and UNLV; 11.5 percent each for Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State and Wyoming; and 5 percent to Hawaii.
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Angelos told Spectrum News that bonus distribution will remain the same with Hawaii becoming a full-time member, but the rest of the conference revenue will be shared equally. Angelos also said Hawaii will no longer have to pay travel subsidies to the Mountain West (or the Big West when it leaves), which will save important money for Hawaii.
The agreement additionally states that the MW will move its headquarters from Colorado Springs to Las Vegas when the lease is up in a few years.
The Pac-12, coming off the addition of non-football member Gonzaga, still needs at least one full-time member by July 2026. The league has slowed expansion talks and is instead focused on securing parameters for its next TV deal for the time being, according to league sources.
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