The Mountain West Conference released its 2026 football schedule Monday, revealing a 12-game slate for the Hawaiʻi Rainbow Warriors football that includes six home games and six road contests.

It marks the third consecutive season Hawaiʻi will play a 12-game regular-season schedule. The program last played a 13-game regular season in 2023, when the Rainbow Warriors finished 5-8.

They went 8-4 overall (5-3 conference) in the regular season last year before finishing with a 9-4 record after a 35-31 win over California in the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl.

Season opener at Stanford

Hawaiʻi will open the season in Week 0 on Aug. 29 with a road game against Stanford Cardinal football. The matchup will be the first ever played in Stanford, California, between the programs. The teams have met five previous times, all in Honolulu.

The Rainbow Warriors will return home the following week for their Mountain West opener against UNLV Rebels football on Sept. 5 at the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex. UNLV finished as co-regular-season champions last year.

Hawaiʻi will then host a nonconference matchup against New Mexico State Aggies football on Sept. 12 before its first bye week.

Alternating stretch of games

Hawai’i Defensive Tackle Luther McCoy holds up the Paniolo Trophy after the Rainbow Warriors’ win over Wyoming in 2025.

Mountain West play resumes Sept. 26 with a road game against the Wyoming Cowboys football in Laramie.

The Rainbow Warriors will then alternate home and road games over the next month, beginning with a home matchup against the San José State Spartans football on Oct. 3. Hawaiʻi will travel the following week to face the Arizona State Sun Devils football in Tempe, Arizona.

Hawaiʻi returns home Oct. 17 to face New Mexico Lobos football, another co-regular-season champion from last season.

New conference opponents

The Rainbow Warriors will then face three of the conference’s newest members in consecutive weeks.

Hawaiʻi travels Oct. 24 to face the Northern Illinois Huskies football in DeKalb, Illinois — the program’s first appearance there. After a second bye week on Oct. 31, Hawaiʻi will play at UTEP Miners football on Nov. 7.

The Rainbow Warriors will host North Dakota State Bison football on Nov. 14 in the first meeting between the schools.

Closing the regular season

Hawaiʻi will close the regular season with a road game against the Nevada Wolf Pack football on Nov. 21 in Reno, Nevada, before returning home to face the Sacramento State Hornets football on Nov. 28.

The date for the Mountain West championship game has not yet been announced.

Schedule notes

Hawaiʻi will open the season away from home for the seventh time in the last 11 seasons and will play two games against power conference opponents — Stanford and Arizona State — both on the road.

The Rainbow Warriors will also compete for three rivalry trophies during the season: the Island Showdown Trophy against UNLV, the Paniolo Trophy against Wyoming and the Dick Tomey Legacy Trophy against San José State. Hawaiʻi currently holds the Paniolo Trophy.

Only three of Hawaiʻi’s 12 opponents played in bowl games in 2025 — UNLV, Arizona State and New Mexico — while four teams on the schedule won at least eight games last season: North Dakota State (12), UNLV (10), New Mexico (9) and Arizona State (8).

2026 HAWAI’I FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Date – Opponent

Aug. 29 – at Stanford

Sept. 5 – UNLV*

Sept. 12 – New Mexico State

Sept. 19 — Bye Week

Sept. 26 – at Wyoming*

Oct. 3 – San José State*

Oct. 10 – at Arizona State

Oct. 17 – New Mexico*

Oct. 24 – at Northern Illinois*

Oct. 31 — Bye Week

Nov. 7 – at UTEP*

Nov. 14 – North Dakota State*

Nov. 21 – at Nevada*

Nov. 28 – Sacramento State

* denotes Mountain West game | Home games in bold