The University of Hawaii football team could find itself the most far-flung member of a 22-school, six-time zone, 4,735-mile-wide conference as early as the 2012 season under a merger of the Mountain West and Conference USA announced Friday.

The Warriors, who are in their 33rd and final Western Athletic Conference season, are scheduled to join the MWC July 1, 2012, as a football-only member. Most of UH’s other teams will join the California-based Big West Conference.

But the MWC and C-USA signed a memorandum of understanding Friday that will result in one yet-to-be-named football conference for competitive and marketing purposes by 2013, but possibly in time for 2012, their commissioners announced.

C-USA currently has 12 teams spread from Mountain to Eastern time zones, including Orlando, Fla.-based Central Florida and Huntington, W.Va.-based Marshall University, and the MWC will have 10 members spread from Hawaii to the Rockies in 2012.

"It is a positive (for UH) in the sense of having a broad base of programs helps provide some stability, increased annual television revenue and postseason opportunities," UH athletic director Jim Donovan said. "So, I think it is very good development."

While the merger has been more than a year in the making, its announcement comes amid the rapidly changing realignment of conferences, and is, in part, an attempt by the MWC and C-USA to retain members who are currently exploring moves.

For example, the Big East has talked to MWC members Boise State and the Air Force Academy and C-USA member Central Florida and could issue invitations as soon as next week, the Associated Press reported Friday. San Diego State of the MWC and Southern Methodist of C-USA have publicly lobbied for berths in the Big 12.

"The role of a conference is to provide its members with the best possible environment in which to conduct their intercollegiate athletics programs," said Craig Thompson, MWC commissioner. "Rather than await changes in membership due to realignment, it became clear the best way to serve our institutions was to pursue an original concept. The Mountain West and C-USA share a number of similarities."

Neither receives an automatic berth in the lucrative Bowl Championship Series for its champion, and the TV rights for the two conferences lag far behind those of marquee leagues. MWC teams receive approximately $1.5 million each annually from TV rights but have been told by consultants that those payments could increase with a merger, officials have acknowledged.

"I think what we have created here is a new inventory opportunity and really unique programming opportunity for our (TV) partners," said Britton Banowsky, C-USA commissioner.

Thompson said, "There’s no indication (the merger) means a guaranteed automatic bid (to the BCS) and there is no indication that it doesn’t." He said he plans to explore the concept with BCS officials next month.

In the new conference, UH would be expected to pay travel subsidies for visiting teams as per its membership agreement with the MWC, a conference spokesman said.

UH is to pay visitors from the Pacific Time Zone $150,000 per trip in 2012 and $175,000 to visitors from the Mountain Time Zone. UH will not receive a travel stipend when it goes on the road for conference games.

But Donovan said that, at least initially, games against current C-USA members would be considered nonconference contests.

"The way it was explained to us, primarily the current Mountain West schools will play each other eight games and determine a champion and the current Conference USA schools will play each other and determine a champion and those two champions will come together and play a championship game, " Donovan said. "If we play any games against any teams that are currently in Conference USA they will be nonconference games."

UH negotiates its own terms both as a home and visiting team for nonconference games.

Banowsky said there may "be some cross-scheduling, but the idea here is to have divisions that are regionally oriented and not to break up any rivalries."

Banowsky said: "Our conferences together will stand up as one conference and we will speak with a strong voice and we will expect to have our champion recognized at the highest level."