How crazy of an idea is it that the University of Hawaii would someday play a football game in Japan?

Probably not as arienai (Japanese for “hard to imagine”) as the notion that the Warriors won’t have to worry about conference realignment again for another 33 years.

When you are the only major college-football-playing school 2,500 miles removed from the mainstream, it behooves you not only to think outside the box but beyond a few time zones, too. At least if you expect to still be a viable participant in another decade or so.

When the most recent round of conference musical chairs stopped last fall, the Warriors were fortunate to have landed in the Mountain West Conference for 2012. The alternatives — a weakened Western Athletic Conference or independence — were grim to contemplate.

Providence, some fortuitous relationships and an open checkbook to subsidize travel might not be enough to save the Warriors further down the realignment road. At least you don’t want to bet the future on it.

Television has heavily driven conference shakeups in recent years and figures to play the major role for seasons to come. That can’t be a comfortable thought when you are UH and your home designated market area is ranked 72nd for TV households. Honolulu, at 433,530 TV households, is only slightly ahead of Springfield, Mo., and Spokane, Wash., and well behind Fresno, Calif., and Toledo, Ohio. Throw in travel time and costs and UH needs something to bolster its appeal.

Which is why it behooves UH to indulge in some forward thinking, the kind that pushes the boundaries and just might extend its reach. Unless you anticipate a building boom on Nihoa Island or French Frigate Shoals, that means expanding sports links in Asia.

Build even a cult following there and, who knows, maybe develop a player or two from Japan or China who can compete at the Division I level along the way, and UH just might have something to sell. Imagine the interest a productive slotback, kick returner or big-play defensive back could stir.

But you have to start somewhere. And, in fact, some UH sports events — football, volleyball and basketball among them — are shown on the Exsports cable channel in Japan, according to Ross Yamasaki, a UH linebacker in the 1980s, whose Pacific Rim Sports Initiatives put together the deal.

The logical step is taking the UH brand there in a meaningful yet affordable way. Make no mistake about it, UH can’t afford to underwrite anywhere near the estimated $500,000-$600,000 it would take to play a game in Japan unaided. Nor should it try.

But with the right kind of sponsorships — and remember the recent UH basketball trip secured some airline and hotel backing — it could become do-able. Get the Hawaii Tourism Authority, a TV entity and assorted others involved, and there is both a reason and a way to push on.

With three years lead time, UH would seem to be limited only by its vision, resourcefulness and perseverance.

The question shouldn’t be: Why is UH even thinking about playing a football game in Japan? Rather, it should be: How — and when — can it pull this off?

What UH can’t do is sit on its, well, status quo.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.