Hawai‘i to Join Mountain West As Full Member in 2026

When it came to looking for an eighth full member, the Mountain West kept it simple.

The league will add the University of Hawai‘i as a full member beginning in 2026, Hawai‘i athletic director Craig Angelos said late Monday. The school currently plays in the Mountain West for football only, and the Big West Conference for other sports.

It’s the latest move in the most recent wave of conference realignment centered on the Pac-12 and Mountain West. Both leagues have been looking for eight full FBS football-playing members, which is the NCAA requirement to maintain FBS status.

The Mountain West was depleted when the Pac-12 poached five of its members, all of whom will make the switch in 2026: Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State, Colorado State, and Utah State. The Mountain West was then able to sign a retention agreement with existing members, and it announced it would add UTEP as its seventh school. Hawai‘i, which already has a relationship with the Mountain West for football, was an obvious choice to satisfy the eight-school requirement. 

Hawai‘i was already looking forward to a revenue boost from a signing bonus with the Mountain West’s retention agreement: It will receive 5% of exit fees and damage payments from departing programs. (The damage fees, which could total $55 million, would come from the Pac-12, per a scheduling partnership the two leagues signed in December. The fees are now the subject of a new lawsuit filed by the Pac-12 against the Mountain West.) The Mountain West has also reportedly agreed to end its requirement that the Rainbow Warriors pay a travel subsidy to visiting football programs.

The Pac-12, meanwhile, has since also added Gonzaga. The Zags don’t have a football team, however, so the league will still need at least one more member. But the Pac-12 has momentarily paused its expansion discussions, focusing instead on signing a new media deal, a source confirmed to Front Office Sports.