Hawaii, six other schools commit to Mountain West

With limited options, the University of Hawaii signed a pledge of allegiance Thursday to keep its football team in the Mountain West Conference through at least June 30, 2032.

Since Sept. 11, five schools have announced plans to secede from the Mountain West and join the rebuilding Pac-12 in 2026. UH, which is a football-only affiliate of the Mountain West, joined the other six schools in signing a memorandum of understanding to remain in the league. The seven schools also agreed to execute a grant of media rights, which locks them into a yet-to-be-determined television contract from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2032.

“Our immediate priority was solidifying the membership of the Mountain West,” commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a release. “Now our focus turns to our collective future on behalf of our student-athletes. The agreements announced today mark a historic moment for the Mountain West and provide much-needed stability and clarity as the world of intercollegiate athletics continues to evolve rapidly.”

Ten football teams officially departed the Pac-12 on July 1, leaving behind Oregon State and Washington State. The remaining schools decided to hold onto the Pac-12 brand. To fill this year’s football schedule, OSU and WSU reached an agreement to play Mountain West teams. As part of the deal, OSU and WSU agreed to pay a “poaching” penalty starting at $15 million for each Mountain West team that joins the Pac-12. Mountain West teams also agreed to pay $17 million if they seceded.

On Sept. 11, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State announced their intent to move from the Mountain West to the Pac-12. UH Athletic Director Craig Angelos said Mountain West officials then promised bonuses to the eight remaining members who chose to stay put. On Monday, Utah State became the fifth Mountain West team to join the Pac-12.

With today’s loyalty pact, Nevarez announced these retention bonuses drawn from the poaching penalties and exit fees:

>> Air Force and UNLV will receive 24.5% apiece.

>> Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State and Wyoming each will receive 11.5%.

>> Hawaii will receive 5%.

With the poaching penalty at more than $50 million and exit fees totaling $85 million, UH’s estimated cut would be about $6.75 million.

The Pac-12 filed a federal lawsuit against the Mountain West that challenges the poaching penalty as unlawful and unenforceable. There also is no time table on when the exit fees must be paid. “I don’t think any of us are anticipating anything right away,” Angelos told reporters during today’s Zoom conference call.

UH also did not receive any relief on the travel subsidies it pays visiting league opponents. UH pays $150,000 to Mountain West teams from the Pacific time zone, $175,000 to schools traveling from the Mountain time zone.

Angelos said UH has not been asked to move most of its other sports, which compete in the Big West, to the Mountain West. He said there is an exit fee of $750,000 to leave the Big West.

Angelos said he had joined a group that had met with Pac-12 officials and their consulting firm, Navigate. Angelos said the group responded to Navigate’s questions about what value UH would bring to the resurrected conference. Citing the cost-benefit ratio — the poach and exit fees for adding UH would be about $30 million — Navigate told Angelos it would recommend against offering Hawaii an invitation this morning.

Angelos notified UH president David Lassner, who also had been in consultation with Gov. Josh Green and UH Board of Regents chair Gabriel Lee.

“When that door closed, the president was able to sign the MOU with the Mountain West Conference,” Angelos said. “And we are going strong with the Mountain West Conference.”

Angelos said it had not been decided what UH would do if it received a Pac-12 invitation.

“It’s hard to say,” Angelos said. “There were pros and cons each way.”