LAS VEGAS > UH football coach Timmy Chang says the Rainbow Warriors have assembled the parts for a Timmy Chang title run as he enters his fifth season leading the program.
According to athletic director Matt Elliott, the team will travel on chartered flights for all six road games this fall. Elliott also outlined a plan that will direct at least 2.5 million dollars in revenue sharing to the football program. In June, several key assistants, including the associate head coach, coordinators and veteran staffers, received two-year contracts with raises.
At the center of the push is quarterback Micah Alejado. Chang called him the roster’s centerpiece and a big-time player who gives Hawai‘i a real chance. After the 2025 opener, Alejado played the remainder of last season with fractures in his right ankle. This week in Las Vegas, he was voted the Mountain West Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.
Conference realignment is reshaping the landscape for Hawai‘i, which had been a football-only member of the Mountain West since 2012 but became a full member as of June 30 following the move of 15 UH sports from the Big West. Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State shifted to the Pac-12 this summer. The Mountain West added Northern Illinois and North Dakota State for football.
Chang, now second in league seniority behind Air Force’s Troy Calhoun, said the new mix creates opportunities for programs ready to capitalize. He said the conference is open for teams that play the best ball each week, stay healthy and keep their rosters together.
Despite last season’s 9-4 record, Chang acknowledged the ongoing challenge of competing in an era defined by the transfer portal, name-image-likeness deals and profit sharing. He described a bidding-war element in college football, noting that retaining players often means fending off suitors. He said some Warriors left because they expected to be paid significantly more elsewhere, and UH was not going to chase prices it could not match.
Still, Chang believes Hawai‘i has enough firepower to meet a championship standard. He said the Warriors have given themselves a chance with the personnel in the building and the work they are putting in. The outcome will hinge on Saturdays, he said, emphasizing execution, handling adversity and putting the team in position to win. He pointed to continuity, player development and getting the right pieces into place as critical to sustaining a Timmy Chang title run.
Timmy Chang title run hinges on QB health and new resources
As UH eyes a breakthrough, Alejado’s health, the stability provided by staff extensions and the logistical lift from charter travel could help the Warriors navigate a reconfigured schedule. With added revenue sharing and a wide-open conference race, Chang said it is a great opportunity for Hawai‘i to go out and win.
For more on Chang’s long-term future with the program, see Timmy Chang commitment underscores rising hopes for 2026 and how expectations are building around UH football.
The University of Hawai‘i athletics department has emphasized the importance of stability during this transition. The Mountain West also outlined its realignment plans on the conference’s official site, detailing membership changes that affect Hawai‘i’s schedule.
