MWC TV deal more burden than blessing for Warriors

The irony of this situation would be laughable if it weren’t so painful in the wallet for the University of Hawaii.

On one hand UH is being told it may be forced to move its most lucrative Mountain West Conference football home game this season, an Oct. 31 meeting with the Air Force Academy, from Saturday night to a Thursday or Friday night to accommodate television.

While, on the other, it not only doesn’t share in any money from the deal, it stands to lose a tidy sum in the exchange.

Welcome to what will be Halloween weekend and, if the move comes to be, surely more trick than treat for UH. Which, we all know, needs every buck it can get its eager hands on these days. 

“We’ve told (the conference) we’re not interested in moving the game, but we may not have a choice,” athletic director Ben Jay said Friday. “It is in the contract.”

Such is life in the Mountain West for UH, which, by terms of its membership agreement, is obligated to pay for opponent travel to Aloha Stadium — $175,000 in the Falcons’ case — but has little say in the date.

The Air Force game is one of the most attractive on UH’s home schedule with it being the Falcons’ first appearance here in 14 years and a “Military Night” promotion. 

Not to say that it has been a long time in coming, but when the Falcons last appeared in Aloha Stadium Ashley Lelie was catching touchdown passes from Nick Rolovich.

As part of their TV rights agreements with the conference, CBS Sports Network and ESPN select the games they want and can force a shift in days or starting times to suit their needs. 

UH receives none of the MWC TV moolah until all 11 other conference members’ shares top $2.3 million each, which has never happened. But, UH does retain its local Oceanic Time Warner Cable fees, currently a guaranteed $2.3 million. 

Of course, other MWC teams can qualify for $300,000 “bonuses” for each home, weeknight national TV appearance and $500,000 for nationally shown Saturday games, avenues not open to UH.

Maybe, if the Air Force game was being shown on one of the ESPN platforms, the Rainbow Warriors could partially salve it with the exposure they might gain. But on CBS Sports Network, cable cousin of CBS, the network’s ratings haven’t been significantly high to be Nielsen tracked.

Nor does it help that the kickoff, if moved to Thursday or Friday, would be 6 p.m. here — midnight on the East Coast and 9 p.m. on the West Coast.

A move that does little for walk-up or season-ticket sales here.

Moreover, it would be the second of UH’s seven home games to be switched to a weeknight and the two with the most revenue potential, as it turns out. The season opener with Colorado, the only Power Five conference school on the home schedule, was shifted from Saturday to Thursday, Sept. 3, to accommodate the Buffaloes. 

And while that favor may someday be repaid by CU and also gives UH two extra days before its Sept. 12 appearance at Ohio State, it does nothing for ticket sales and the already wobbly bottom line about to be additionally impacted by the Air Force game. 

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.