LAS VEGAS — A year ago, the Mountain West expressed an appetite for destruction.

LAS VEGAS — A year ago, the Mountain West expressed an appetite for destruction.

At the time, the University of Hawaii football team was without a permanent home venue since 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium was shuttered for spectator-attended events in December 2020. Although plans were in place to construct a replacement facility on the Halawa property, Aloha Stadium remained untouched.

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Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez had emphasized that a permanent stadium for the Warriors was included in “their membership agreement.” Neither a deadline nor repercussion was specified at the time.

In Wednesday’s annual state-of-the-conference address, Nevarez lauded the progress toward building a new permanent home for the Rainbow Warriors.

“Love the videos of the demolition,” Nevarez said of the “tripping,” a controlled collapse of Aloha Stadium’s support system. “Those were impressive.”

A replacement stadium is tracking toward completion in the spring of 2029 — enough cushion ahead of the Warriors’ season-opening home game. It also helped that the starting seating capacity is now expected to be 31,000, and expandable, according to developers, instead of previous projections as low as 22,000.

Nevarez praised UH president Wendy Hensel and athletic director Matt Elliott.

“I think president Hensel and Matt Elliott have been such a dynamic duo in moving forward, not only on the stadium, but all Hawaii athletics,” Nevarez said.

On July 1, UH became a “full” member of the Mountain West, with the addition of 15 sports teams. Since the summer of 2012, UH was a football-only member. (UH’s men’s volleyball, beach volleyball and water polo remain in the Big West because the Mountain West does not sponsor those sports.)

“We’re excited because, I think, Hawaii brings such a range of competitiveness in their sports,” Nevarez said.

As a full member, UH now receives a full share of the Mountain West’s television revenue. The conference also has sliced in half the travel subsidies UH pays to visiting teams. The goal is to eliminate all subsidies in a couple years.

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Hensel recently joined the Mountain West Board of Directors, which is composed of the presidents and chancellors of member institutions, and was selected to serve on the board’s Executive Committee. On Tuesday, Hensel was selected as the Mountain West’s representative on the College Football Playoff (CFP) Board of Managers. That group oversees the governance and long-term direction of the CFP.

“From the minute she started, you know, her voice has been a powerful one in the boardroom,” Nevarez said of Hensel. “She’s well respected amongst the peers in that room. She raised her hand to serve on these things. And so we couldn’t be more excited. She’s willing. Her background as a lawyer, too, has been really helpful in creating policy. And, yeah, she’s become a very valuable voice in the room very quickly.”

Hensel was hired at UH on Jan. 1, 2025. Elliott joined UH seven months later.

Elliott said Hansel “tackles” issues “with a new perspective from somebody coming both to Hawaii and being in this (CFP) voice. Her voice has real value. And for us, it’s great because she can support the views of UH, as well.”

Nevarez has been mindful of Hawaii’s scheduling concerns, particularly involing the limited on-campus parking.

“For us, it’s really hard for us to play a Friday home game, especially with campus (users),” Elliott said. “We have some protection there. That has not been imposed on us. But also the ability to play in that 6 p.m. slot for football. What we have to keep saying and make sure people understand is the uniqueness of our time slot for football applies to all sports. … We’re the only ones in that time slot. I think our value there is really impressive and that’s what the conference needs to continue to hype.”

Nevarez said the conference is open to championship tournaments being held in Hawaii.

“They are certainly in the hunt for those,” Nevarez said. “We’re certainly open to it if there’s a way to host championships. Of course, you’d have to offset some costs there with travel. But nothing’s off the table.”

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