With the rest of the teams in the Mountain West, the University of Hawaiʻi football team released its complete 2023 schedule on Thursday. The Rainbow Warriors open conference play against UNLV on Sept. 30 at Allegiant Stadium in Nevada.
Here! We! Go! 🗓🏈➡️ https://t.co/Ha9OiRkswp#GoBows #BRADDAHHOOD pic.twitter.com/3DdpND69Ln
— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) March 2, 2023
Under second-year head coach Timmy Chang, UH begins the 2023 season in Nashville as they play Vanderbilt on Aug. 26. The Commodores won last season’s season opener between the two teams by a score of 63-10.
The Rainbow Warriors’ home opener is on Friday, Sept. 1 against Stanford, before playing FCS program Albany the following Saturday. Filling out the rest of the non-conference schedule is a road game against Oregon on Sept. 16 and a home game against New Mexico State on Sept. 23 — UH’s fourth game against the Aggies in three seasons.
2023 also marks the elimination of divisions in the Mountain West Conference. The conference did “protect” certain matchups where each team would play two opponents annually from 2023 to 2025. UH’s two guaranteed opponents over the next three seasons are UNLV and San Diego State.
After the Rainbow Warriors’ conference opener at UNLV on Sept. 30, UH will have a bye week before playing San Diego State at the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex on Oct. 14. UH alternates home and road games in 2023 beginning with San Diego State, playing San Jòse State on Oct. 28, Air Force on Nov. 11 and Colorado State on Nov. 25 at home.
The other conference road games for UH are at New Mexico on Oct. 21, at Nevada on Nov. 4 and at Wyoming on Nov. 18.
UH went 3-10 overall, 2-6 in Mountain West in Chang’s first season as head coach last year, losing the Paniolo Trophy to Wyoming. In 2023, the Rainbow Warriors have a chance to reclaim the Paniolo Trophy, as well as the Kuter Trophy (Air Force) and Dick Tomey Legacy Trophy (San Jòse State).