LAS VEGAS >> On Wednesday and Thursday, representatives from the University of Hawaii and the 11 other Mountain West schools are set to promote their football programs at the media days in Las Vegas.

For the Rainbow Warriors, who are a football-only member of the Mountain West, it is time to use this forum to proverbially put their cards on the table.

It is time for the Warriors to defend their shortcomings, renew their vows to a conference they begged to join a decade ago, and then lead the league through an evolving college-football landscape built on sand.

While Power Five football programs are forming alliances in pursuit of more lucrative television contracts, the Warriors are stuck in neutral — and that is not a preferred gear on a slippery slope.

Except for the urinal troughs and that nagging rust problem, Aloha Stadium was once the league’s best facility in terms of sight lines and affordable parking. But the facility has been self-condemned for spectator-attended events since December 2020. And while $400 million has been appropriated for a new stadium on the same Halawa site, there is a difference between having the money and releasing it. In other words, how’s that state hurricane fund going?

Media days are trade shows, with teams showcasing their programs to television affiliates, broadcast companies, newspapers and podcast hosts. In these times, Mountain West members Fresno State, Boise State and San Diego State would not be opposed to the soon-to-be-shifting Pac-12 taking notice.

Fresno State has generous donors who like to build things. Boise State has an unparalleled winning tradition as a mid-major. And SDSU, which already had advanced facilities, was able to buy land, conduct environmental studies and community meetings, win referendums, and build a $350 million stadium in time for this season’s opener. In contrast, UH has a combination of fewer resources and thicker red tape. The Warriors, for the next few years, are not an attractive expansion option. It is why UH’s best hope is to remain a key member in a league whose membership stays relatively intact.

UH has fragile stake in the Mountain West. Hawaii is 2,300 miles from the nearest member. With the league’s decision to go from two six-team divisions to a 12-team format next year, UH is not needed for geographical balance. And the Warriors’ home field for the next few-to-several years — the Ching Complex — is at 9,000-seat capacity for the second consecutive football season.

The Warriors need to show they are worth the wait until a new Halawa stadium is built. The Warriors have shown they are competitive (four consecutive bowl invitations) and not a financial leech (they pay travel subsidies to visiting teams and only receive a fraction-share of the league’s national television revenue).

The Warriors also should strive to be leaders in redesigning college football. In 2023, there will be 68 power-conference schools and 62 remaining group-of-five and independent schools.

As suggested by several football analysts, those 62 schools should created their own playoff system of eight or 16 qualifying teams. While the power schools would dominant the regular-season viewership, the other 62 would provide an entertaining and competitive postseason. Playing at campus stadiums would draw enthusiastic crowds. UH could offer the new Halawa stadium as a future championship site. There would be an opt-out option if a team wanted to play in an established bowl instead of the playoff. There also could be a spot if a power school wanted to complete in the playoff.

UH should used this week to begin to make a statement.