HONOLULU — By Craig Angelos’ reckoning, the Mountain West portion of the 2024 Hawaii football schedule – featuring the last three programs to win the conference championship – represents a step up in competition from what the Rainbow Warriors have seen in recent years.

The UH athletic director also thinks coach Timmy Chang and his team will be up to it in Year 3.

What You Need To Know

  • The Hawaii football team's complete 2024 season was released on Thursday, with seven Mountain West games, plus a road game at Washington State through the MWC's partnership with the two-team remnant of the Pac-12

  • UH will open Aug. 24 against Delaware State, an FCS team that was a replacement for Oregon after the Ducks withdrew from the game heading into their first season in the Big Ten

  • The Rainbow Warriors will play two FCS opponents (Northern Iowa) for the first time since the Sugar Bowl season of 2007

  • UH's draw of Mountain West opponents is tougher than in recent years, in the estimation of UH Athletic Director Craig Angelos, which contributed to the decision to play a lighter nonconference schedule, he said

“Timmy’s been here, it’s going to be his third season, so I think it's going to be a real positive year for him and the team,” Angelos told Spectrum News. “I think he's got some real solid players, starting at quarterback, some great receivers … some additional coaches.

“I'm looking forward to a successful year and I really do believe we will be bowl eligible this year.”

The full 12-game schedule dropped on Thursday, including a seven-game Mountain West schedule, plus a game at Washington State through an arrangement between the MWC and the two-team remnant of the Pac-12.

UH will open against Delaware State Aug. 24. The Hornets of the FCS, 1-10 last season, were brought in via a matchmaker as a Week Zero replacement for Oregon, which withdrew from its date with UH heading into its first year as a member of the Big Ten Conference. UH and UO are discussing whether to play that game, plus a 2031 game at Oregon, in later years, or if UH will take a payout for the Ducks’ withdrawal, Angelos said.

Angelos credited Dave Brown of Gridiron for helping arrange the matchup at the 11th hour.

Highlights of the schedule include UCLA’s first appearance in Honolulu since 1939 on Aug. 31; Boise State’s first trip to the Islands with fans in the stands since 2016, on Oct. 12; the program’s first game against Washington State in Pullman, Wash., on Oct. 19; and a Nov. 2 game at Fresno State to resume a series that was interrupted last season for the first time in 31 years.

Boise State, Fresno State and UH’s Nov. 16 road opponent, Utah State, won the last three MWC championships.

With two FCS opponents among UH’s first four games with Northern Iowa’s visit Sept. 21, plus a Sept. 14 game at a young FBS program in Sam Houston, UH hopes to build confidence heading into its Oct. 5 Mountain West opener at San Diego State.

Angelos is in his first year at UH but is a veteran of athletics administrations at several East Coast FBS schools. He said he talked to Chang “extensively” about whether to remain at 12 games for this season with the understanding that it will effectively take a 7-5 year to be bowl eligible, given that a second FCS win does not count toward bowl qualification. It is the first time since 2007 that UH is playing two FCS teams in a season, and the first time since 2017 that UH is playing a 12-game schedule, not 13 (not including the 2020 season impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic).

Angelos said that an FBS opponent emerged as an option during one of UH’s three bye weeks this season (Weeks 2, 5 and 13), but it would’ve required playing a future road game to complete a home-and-home. In the end, UH opted to remain at 12 with a lighter nonconference load this season.

“We want to have a mentality that will play anywhere, anytime, anyplace kind of deal,” Angelos said. “I think everyone's aggressive, wants to be as productive as possible, win as many games as you can. And so, yeah, I think we'll probably go back up (to 13 in the future). I think this was just more of a scheduling alteration with everything that's going on.”

WSU replaced Air Force on UH’s schedule with the partnership struck between the MWC and WSU and Oregon State; all MWC schools will see one or the other this season. That game will not factor into the conference standings, leaving just seven games to determine which of the MWC’s 12 football schools will participate in the conference championship game.

UH's Nov. 9 home game against UNLV will be the only time one of UH's four perpetual trophies with opponents will be contested this season, with San Jose State, Wyoming and Air Force off the schedule, barring a title-game matchup.

UH seeks its first winning season and bowl appearance under Chang. The 'Bows went 5-8 in 2023, but won three of their last four games.

2024 UH FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Date-Opponent
Aug. 24 – Delaware State
Aug. 31 – UCLA
Sept. 14 – at Sam Houston
Sept. 21 – Northern Iowa
Oct. 5 – at San Diego State*
Oct. 12 – Boise State*
Oct. 19 – at Washington State
Oct. 26 – Nevada*
Nov. 2 – at Fresno State*
Nov. 9 – UNLV*
Nov. 16 – at Utah State*
Nov. 30 – New Mexico*

*– Mountain West game

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.