Even as it heads out the door of the Western Athletic Conference, nobody can say the University of Hawaii football team has failed to give its all for the dear ol’ WAC.

“Give” being the operative term here.

With the selection of the Nov. 12 UH at Nevada game by the network said to be imminent, four of the six WAC contract games scheduled to be shown this season on ESPN or ESPN 2 — including Friday’s 3 p.m. (Hawaii time) game at San Jose State — will feature the Warriors.

And, for being the WAC’s most telegenic team, the Warriors will receive …

Well, undoubtedly the gratitude of commissioner Karl Benson and the esteem of the colleagues they are about to leave behind. But the irony of the situation is that it will not add one red cent to the depleted Manoa piggy bank.

As a condition of their flight from the WAC after 33 years for the Mountain West come July 1, 2012, the Warriors leave on the table much of their share of the conference’s year-end spoils, possibly forfeiting as much as $1 million, including all conference TV rights fees.

Nevada and Fresno State do the same, but they aren’t shouldering as much of the TV load. The Wolf Pack are scheduled for just one ESPN appearance under the WAC contract so far and the Bulldogs two.

UH has been a staple of the WAC’s TV contract since the June Jones era, and its success, especially the 2007 march to the Sugar Bowl, was a factor in the $4 million-a-year deal the conference signed two years ago.

Back then, ESPN guaranteed the WAC a minimum of 10 ESPN/ESPN2 appearances a season and 21 showings across the full ESPN spectrum — ESPNU, ESPN Regional, etc. But when Bowl Championship Series-buster Boise State bolted for the Mountain West, also leaving money on the table, the value of the WAC package declined significantly. ESPN sliced the guaranteed games on the attractive ESPN/ESPN2 windows to six and overall appearances to 11 and reportedly cut the money by more than half.

As the preseason favorite — and only WAC team to boast a winning record at this point — it has been left to the Warriors to carry the conference banner. The Warriors, with Bryant Moniz at quarterback, are the WAC’s poster team and one of the few generating interest beyond their zip code.

For the Warriors, the payment for this will have to be in visibility. Because it sure won’t be in cash. In addition to the money they leave behind in WAC rights fees, the Warriors forfeit the ability to enhance their pay-per-view prospects on the home front.

The San Jose State game was a surprise pick by ESPN, but at least it was plucked during the summer. The Nevada game was the one road contest Oceanic Time Warner’s local crew thought it was going to retain the rights to. As such, it could have helped push PPV receipts into the range where UH received more than the contracted $2.3 million minimum.

But with the Nevada game shaping up as a possible WAC championship showdown, ESPN can invoke an option to grab a game up to 21 days in advance of kickoff. A WAC spokesman said, “the game will be done (by the network). It is just a matter when it is announced.”

What requires no announcement is that the Warriors are the WAC’s money team this year.

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