The University of Hawaii’s men’s volleyball, beach volleyball, water polo and men’s swimming/diving programs will not need to change addresses in 2026.
On Friday, the Big West approved a measure allowing those four UH teams to remain in the league as affiliate members.
“I think it’s great,” UH volleyball coach Charlie Wade said. “It’s what we were hoping for. It’s a win-win for both our school and our department, and the league. … It’s great not only for Hawaii fans to be able to keep the familiar rivalries that we have, but also the possibility to host Big West championships that have been great for our community and the fans of Hawaii.”
Fifteen UH sports are set to join the Rainbow Warrior football team as members of the Mountain West Conference on July 1, 2026. The Warriors has been a football-only member of the Mountain West since 2012. Most of UH’s non-football sports competed in the Big West.
But the Mountain West does not sponsor men’s volleyball, beach volleyball, water polo or men’s swimming/diving.
During the Big West’s monthly meeting on Friday, the board of directors — comprised of the presidents or leaders of the league’s 11 member schools — voted to allow those four UH sports to remain as affiliates.
The league waived a rule that capped a school from having no more than three affiliates.
Acting UH athletic director Lois Manin said the affiliate fee is $27,500 for all four teams. The Mountain West is expected to cover the $750,000 exit fee for the 15 UH teams leaving the Big West.
Although UH has been a member of the Big West for 12 years, UH’s men’s volleyball team competed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation through 2017. Back in 2010, Wade, Jim Donovan and Dennis Farrell met to discuss the possibility of the Big West creating its own men’s volleyball league. At the time, Donovan was UH’s athletic director and Farrell was commissioner of the Big West. That became a reality in January 2018. Since then, the volleyball Warriors have won 39 of 50 regular-season matches against Big West opponents.
“We’ve added value to the league all the way back to Jim Donovan and I meeting with Dennis Farrell in 2010,” Wade said. “This really is the genesis of the Big West men’s volleyball league. We’ve been a part of it for a long time, well before it ever started. … I’ve been here from the beginning. I’m proud to see what the Big West has done in men’s volleyball. Not only our success, but all the teams in the league have proven it’s the best league in the country.”
Since the league was formed, the Big West has won four of six NCAA Tournament championships — UH in 2021 and 2022, and Long Beach State in 2018 and 2019. There was no championship in 2020 because of the pandemic.
