The University of Hawaii will have to wait until the Big West Conference in early December to learn the fate of four of the athletic programs not included in the football-led move to the Mountain West.
UH expects its men’s volleyball, beach volleyball, women’s water polo, and men’s swimming and diving programs to remain in the Big West state as associate members. MWC, of which the university will become a full member in 2026, does not sponsor these sports.
A gathering of the Big West Board of Governors, made up of university presidents and chancellors, will conclude the Big West Conference, which will be held from Dec. 4 to 6, Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly told Spectrum News. .
“The plan is for a decision to be made at that meeting,” Buttery said in a message Thursday.
The university hoped to ease the hard feelings surrounding the sudden move, which came shortly after the news broke on Oct. 15. Athletic Director Craig Angelos said of Big West University: … (This move) had nothing to do with our dissatisfaction, because we love the Big West. ”
Buttery said the university requested a single vote on participation in the four sports.
“We’ll work on the first request first,” Buttery said. “If members want to go sport by sport, they could vote that way.”
He added that schools that don’t sponsor a particular sport may not want to vote for that sport. Some are sponsored by as few as six members.
The Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine were national contenders in their sport. The men’s volleyball team won the NCAA Championship in 2021 and 2022, and the water polo team advanced to the national semifinals this spring.
Cal State plans to affiliate its four sports to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation if the Big West declines. Membership fees for Big West affiliates are expected to cost $25,000 per year per sport.
Other Big West member schools competing in men’s volleyball are Long Beach State University, University of California Irvine, University of California San Diego, CSUN, and University of California Santa Barbara.
Cal Poly, LBSU, UC Davis, California State University Bakersfield, CSUN, and associate member Sacramento State University participate as varsity beach volleyball teams.
UCI, LBSU, UCSD, CSUN, UCSB, UCD and Cal State Fullerton have women’s water polo.
Cal Poly, UCSB, CSUB, and UCSD have men’s swimming and diving.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. Contact him at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
