HONOLULU, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The University of Hawaii announced Friday its football team will begin playing in the Mountain West Conference in 2012.
The rest of the school's athletic program, however, will become a part of the Big West Conference.
Hawaii has spent the last 32 years in the Western Athletic Conference, but that league will now have only five teams left after previous defections by Boise State, Nevada and Fresno State. Those three schools will be joining the Mountain West.
The Mountain West, in turn, lost one of its key members last month when Texas Christian University announced it would become part of the Big East Conference.
"The Mountain West Conference is very pleased to gain the University of Hawaii as a football-only member beginning with the 2012 season," said MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson. "Hawaii's outstanding football program and television value fit perfectly with the MWC's strategic initiatives for the future direction of the conference. We look forward to adding the Warriors to the MWC family."
Hawaii shared the WAC football championship this season with Boise State and Nevada.
The move to the Big West in sports other than football will be effective July 1, 2012.
