Hawaii close to joining Mountain West for football

HONOLULU (AP) - The Nevada Wolf Pack and Hawaii Rainbows are close to being conference mates against.

On Thursday, Hawaii said it is close to joining the Mountain West conference for football, raising the prospect of leaving the depleted WAC after 32 years.

School President M.R.C. Greenwood talked to Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson by phone Thursday, and she was confident a deal would be worked out.

"We have a handshake but we have yet to agree on the details," Greenwood said, before adding: "The people of the state of Hawaii should be very positive about this and convinced that we have a bright future."

It's not clear where the rest of Hawaii's athletic programs fit in. Athletic Director Jim Donovan said his poll of the school's 18 other teams indicated 16 of them would prefer to play in the Big West.

Hawaii is the longest-running member of the Western Athletic Conference. But the WAC recently has lost Boise State, Nevada and Fresno State to the Mountain West.