If Big West expands, UH won't have to boost travel subsidies

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While it remains to be seen if Boise State will join the University of Hawaii in the Big West Conference, UH would not have to foot travel subsidy costs for new members, officials said.

Big West Conference commissioner Dennis Farrell said, "We told Hawaii they were only obligated to pay (subsidies for) those schools that were in the conference at the time they were brought in."

UH will leave the Western Athletic Conference June 30 and become a member of the Big West on July 1 for most sports other than football. The Warriors will join the Mountain West Conference in football.

San Diego State will join the Big West in sports other than football in 2013 and there is speculation that Boise State is renewing a push for membership of its nonfootball sports. The Broncos were rebuffed last year after trying to gain entry as a package deal with San Diego State.

Since then the issue has taken on renewed urgency for Boise State with the splintering of the Western Athletic Conference, where the Broncos’ teams are scheduled to head in 2013 when the football team joins the Big East.

Farrell declined comment on a Boise State bid, saying, "If I had any conversation, (with Boise State) it should probably be private."

The Big West Board of Directors is scheduled to meet next week, when membership could be voted upon.

What — if any — membership changes the conference makes will not impose additional subsidy burdens on UH, Farrell said.

"It would be a little unfair if, all of a sudden, we brought in another eight schools or something that would force Hawaii to pay travel allowances for those schools," Farrell said. "We just didn’t think that was fair."

Farrell said "San Diego State was aware of that when we brought them in."

UH is expected to pay about $500,000 a year to subsidize Big West travel to Hawaii and approximately $750,000 a year for MWC subsidies.

A MWC spokesman was not immediately able to say whether the Warriors would be responsible for underwriting travel to Hawaii by Utah State and San Jose State when they join the MWC in 2013.

If Big West expands, UH won’t have to boost travel subsidies