University of Hawaii still working on football travel logistics

As the University of Hawaii football team works toward a return to the playing field, school officials also are keeping open the possibility of the games becoming a spectator event.

The Board of Directors of the Mountain West Conference, of which UH is a football-only member, gave its blessing to starting the 2020 season on Oct. 24. While commissioner Craig Thompson expressed confidence the 12 football-playing schools will participate in the eight-game regular season, arrangements still need to be made to ensure each team meets state and country protocols dealing with the pandemic. UH president David Lassner is working with government officials in resolving concerns that would allow the Rainbow Warriors and their opponents to play and travel safely.

The Mountain West has assured teams it will pay for the thrice-weekly, rapid-antigen tests. The money will come from the league’s reserve fund. Quest Diagnostics will handle the collection and processing of tests.

“Once we get that resolved, then we’ll address the potential fan considerations,” UH athletic director David Matlin said, noting that working with government officials is a priority. “That’s the main thing, to make sure the protocols and tests will meet the state’s guidelines, which we believe they will.”

It is hoped the pre-testing protocol, in which incoming trans-Pacific travelers are exempt from the 14-day quarantine if they can produce a negative test result within 72 hours of travel, will be helpful in starting the season. That program begins on Oct. 15.

“I don’t want to get the cart ahead of the horse, but certainly we’re optimistic that they will be able to resolve some things, and a team can fly the night before a game, play in Hawaii, and return home safely,” Thompson said.

Matlin said: “We have our first step now with the Mountain West. The second step is working for the travel, going in and out. Next step will be looking at the fans in attendance.”

Matlin said he does not anticipate a scenario in which Aloha Stadium could be at “full capacity.” But UH has several models, from no fans at games to various percentages of capacity.

“It would be great if we could have fans in a socially distant manner,” Matlin said. “That would be great for the team, for the community, and, as well, for our players. That’s where you get the home-field advantage. But we’ll do it one step at a time. Hopefully, that would be nice to get to that reality where we can have some fans, especially on Dec. 19.”

The Mountain West championship game is set for Dec. 19. It will be played at the home field of the team with the highest winning percentage. Because of previous commitments — Air Force is set to play nonconference games against Army and Navy, and Boise State wants to honor its game against Brigham Young — and possible cancellations, not all teams will play the same number of Mountain West games. A schedule will be announced in the next couple of weeks.

The Warriors already have started preparing for the opening weekend. They are in the five-day acclimation phase. On Monday, they will be allowed to wear the light shoulder padding known as shells. Wednesday will be the first practice in full pads.

UH was supposed to open training camp on July 31. But that did not materialize because of three delays and then the Aug. 10 announcement that the Mountain West was postponing the 2020 season. The Warriors maintained voluntary by-appointment conditioning drills. Head coach Todd Graham noted that the 29 days leading to the Oct. 24 opener is the same length as the usual training camps of past years.

“We’re looking forward to playing, and I’m excited to lead these guys on the field,” Graham said.