The University of Hawaii’s connection to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl will follow the Warriors to the Mountain West Conference starting next year.

The bowl, owned by ESPN Regional Television, announced a two-year agreement with the MWC on Wednesday. The pact coincides with the UH football program’s move to the MWC from the Western Athletic Conference in 2012.

David Matlin, the game’s executive director, said UH "will be given access to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl" the next two years if the Warriors are bowl eligible and aren’t the Mountain West champion nor selected for a Bowl Championship Series game.

The MWC champion is slotted to play in the Las Vegas Bowl.

"With the University of Hawaii moving to the Mountain West in 2012, the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl is proud to announce an affiliation with the MW that will allow the Warriors opportunities, when eligible, to continue participating in a game that means so much, to so many in the islands," Matlin said in a release.

The announcement ends the bowl’s 10-year affiliation with the WAC. The game has reserved a spot for Hawaii when the Warriors were bowl eligible and the Warriors have appeared in the game six of the last seven times it won at least seven games. The exception was in 2007 when UH was selected to play in the Sugar Bowl.

The addition of the Hawaii Bowl gives the MWC five bowl affiliations for next year. UH athletic director Jim Donovan said if Hawaii reaches the requisite win total, "I would expect we would play here. If we’re bowl eligible we’ll be assigned, but I expect we’ll be assigned to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl."

The MWC representative will continue to face a team from Conference USA under the arrangement for 2012 and 2013.