Now that the Mountain West Conference has deigned to bring back football (schedules still under construction), it is the Big West Conference and women’s volleyball that is on the clock.

And, it is ticking.

The NCAA opened the way for the other fall sports the University of Hawaii competes in to return to competition as soon as Jan. 22. And, now, it is up to the Big West Board of Directors — the league’s presidents and chancellors — to say when practices may commence, when matches get underway, how many may be held and what the schedule might look like.

(The other fall sports UH competes in, soccer and cross country, may begin competition Feb. 3 and Jan. 23, respectively, the NCAA has said.)

There is an urgency to getting into form since, although the NCAA says that it will hold a championship for women’s volleyball, it will be a pandemic-adjusted bracket that undergoes 25% shrinkage.

Instead of a 64-team bracket that has existed for the past 22 years, the NCAA has laid out a 48-team model where competition for at-large berths will be the most acute. All 32 conference champions will get berths, but there will just be 16 at-large slots awarded, half of the usual number.

And, since the Power 5 conferences traditionally gobble up the majority of those, it looks like the road to the postseason will be a one-lane path this year for conferences such as the Big West.

In 2019, for example, the five power conferences received 22 at-large berths and the 27 other leagues divided up the remaining 14 bids.

UH is still expected to be the favorite when the Big West preseason poll comes out, but perhaps not by as commanding a margin because freshman All-American outside hitter Hanna Helvig of Sweden has chosen not to return to the Rainbow Wahine for her sophomore season due to COVID-19 concerns. Helvig led UH in kills, was third in blocks and was the league’s freshman of the year in 2019.

Two months ago today the Big West, citing the COVID-19 impact, announced postponement of its fall sports lineup (UH competes in volleyball, soccer and cross country) until the end of the calendar year.

A spokesman for the Big West said Monday that discussions about the volleyball format, “… have been ongoing and we expect to move forward with a plan that includes updated protocols within the next couple of weeks. The athletic directors will be reviewing possible options, which include start dates and number of competitions. The Board of Directors would either approve or adapt any proposed plan.”

Because less than 50% of the 331 Division I schools chose to play volleyball in the fall, the NCAA will not hold a championship in 2020. But it will offer an all-inclusive one in April (4-25) at a yet-to-be-confirmed site, probably Omaha, Neb.

The NCAA said it has encouraged its selection committee to “consider all data available to them at the time of selections.”

UH has played in a remarkable 27 consecutive NCAA tournaments. Over the course of the past 40 years, particularly the rare times the Rainbow Wahine didn’t win their conference, they were fairly secure in the knowledge of receiving an at-large bid as a runner-up.

This time, in a period of so much change, that assumption in a limited NCAA field is subject to change as well.