NCAA Rumor: Hawaii To Join Mountain West Conference, MWC Now Old WAC

Various Hawaii news resources are reporting that the University of Hawaii football team has been invited to join the Mountain West Conference. It is anticipated the school will accept the offer and place its other sports in the Big West. 

The move by the MWC is odd and overtly hypocritical, considering the conference told BYU less than three months ago it would not consider having the Cougars as a member which didn't play all its sports in the league. 

The move is even more ironic considering one of the professed reasons for the original 8 MWC members leaving the old 16-team WAC, was the financial burden of travel to the islands to play against the Warriors. 

And to boot, soon-to-be members Boise State, Nevada and Fresno State also complained about the high cost of travel to Hawaii. 

It's widely anticipated TCU is set to join (or save) the Big East in football, which would leave the Mountain West Conference football members at a familiar lineup:

• Boise State
• Fresno State
• Nevada
• Hawaii
• Air Force
• Colorado State
• UNLV
• San Diego State
• Wyoming
• New Mexico

Look familiar? It's nearly the old WAC, slightly upgraded. Boise State's attempt to upgrade conferences has left them in a familiar place, as the class of a slightly different group of have-nots. 

Only the league and its teams remain hamstrung by a television contract with Comcast which leaves teams playing on poorly viewed and broadcasted stations which has devastated the programs of Wyoming, New Mexico and Colorado State.

BYU is scheduled to begin football independence in 2011, while the University of Utah is headed to the PAC-12. 

By the way, be sure to check out my predictions for the Mountain West Conference this weekend.

Ryan Teeples runs BYUUtahRivalry.com and can be followed at  twitter.com/ryanteeples