In the University of Hawaii’s march to the Sugar Bowl four years ago head coach June Jones liked to say “everybody in the country” was following the Warriors.

Well, maybe not everybody, but the wide reach of ESPN sometimes made it seem every college football fan was.

The visibility and validity gained from appearing — and winning — on the self-proclaimed “worldwide leader” certainly helped UH crack the Bowl Championship Series and quarterback Colt Brennan get to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist.

And those are things to think about Saturday afternoon when UH plays Brigham Young on ESPN2, the last regular-season home game on the network in the Warriors’ forseeable future.

With the move to the Mountain West Conference for 2012, UH will become part of a CBS College Sports package that airs on Versus (Comcast) and The Mtn., among other outlets. But not on ESPN, which reaches 100 million homes.

The MWC deal runs through 2015-16, but is subject to renegotiation in the wake of widespread and, likely continuing, membership changes.

“I think Boise State, if they are still in the Mountain West, and Hawaii will look back, probably sooner than later, and wish they were back on ESPN,” said Karl Benson, Western Athletic Conference commissioner.

Perhaps nobody in the current WAC has benefitted more from the conference’s contracts with ESPN than UH. The Warriors have appeared in 37 games on one of the network’s two major platforms, ESPN or ESPN2, since 1996. They’ve had as many as five ESPN regular season appearances in one season as well as some of their biggest triumphs. And, unfortunately, some of their most painful pratfalls, too.

The ESPN association has not been without its hardships. Dealing with the cable colossus can sometimes be like trying to negotiate with North Korea. Appearances on ESPN have taken dates and drained some funds away from UH’s in-state pay-per-view package and forced some games onto nontraditional days.

But they have unquestionably benefitted the Warriors’ brand and recruiting. No small consideration when you are a school 2,500 miles removed from your nearest opponent and closer to Tokyo and points in Russia than some Top 25 poll and Heisman voters.

The combination of a made-for-TV passing offense, hard-hitting defense, allure of Hawaii and unique late-night time slot have made the Warriors a recognizeable entity coast to coast. One of the things that made UH attractive to the MWC when it went looking for a replacement for Texas Christian.

“I think that (ESPN visibility) has done a lot for the university and the state,” said Jones, who will be watching from Dallas. “The late-night time slot will always help Hawaii.”

UH can still appear on ESPN in years in which it plays in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, which is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television. There will also be opportunities when playing nonconference road games against opponents from ESPN-contracted conferences.

It may be that whatever TV package the MWC eventually puts together will pick up a lot of the slack left by the departure from the ESPN umbrella. But right now it is a step into the unknown that is a concern when you’ve enjoyed the spotlight UH has flourished in.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com.