Hawaii to Depart Big West and Join Mountain West Conference

Hawaii is set to become a full member of the Mountain West Conference before the 2026-27 academic year, leaving behind the Big West.

According to Craig Angelos, the athletic director at Hawaii, the move has been confirmed to Spectrum News Hawaii.

Currently, Hawaii is only a part of the Mountain West for football, but will now also move most of its non-football sports.

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One of the main factors in this decision, as reported, is that the Mountain West has agreed to waive the travel subsidies that Hawaii currently pays to conference opponents. This includes sports such as baseball, softball, women's volleyball, and men's and women's basketball, which Hawaii currently pays subsidies for in the Big West.

Angelos stated, "That's a significant victory for us to finally be relieved of the burden of paying travel subsidies for our conference opponents to come and play us."

Spectrum News also reported that the Mountain West will cover the $750,000 exit fee from the Big West.

Angelos mentioned that the Big West was open to eliminating the subsidies, but Hawaii ultimately decided to prioritize their football program in the Mountain West, which will now remain as a full FBS conference with eight members.

The Big West does not have a football program.

This move leaves four Hawaii teams without a conference - men's volleyball, women's water polo, beach volleyball, and men's swimming and diving. Angelos expressed hope that they could remain in the Big West as affiliate members, but if not, Hawaii will try to find a spot for them in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

"We're very hopeful that this will be the case," Angelos said about remaining in the Big West. "We have a great relationship with the Big West. This move was not a reflection on them, it was just something we needed to do to solidify our position as an FBS football program."

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The Mountain West, like other conferences, has been affected by realignment. Five schools will be joining the revamped Pac-12 in 2026, forcing the MWC to find new members.

In 2026, the Mountain West will consist of Air Force, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, UTEP, and Wyoming.