Nick Rolovich is not feeling appreciated in the Mountain West.
The second-year Hawai'i head coach led the Rainbow Warriors to seven wins in 2016, their highest total since 2010. The former Hawai'i quarterback has brought renewed optimism to Manoa with their most successful season since joining the Mountain West five years ago.
But seven wins and a bowl victory for the first time since 2006 don't eradicate Rolovich's beef with the Mountain West.
When the Hawai'i jumped from the WAC, the school agreed to pay travel costs for away teams for Mountain West games. The extra costs were one reason that then-athletics director Ben Jay to said in 2014 there was a "very real possibility of football going away." According to Hawaii News Now, they paid $625,000 for four Mountain West home games in 2015. The program, specifically Rolovich, doesn't think the conference and its members appreciate that they're picking up the tab.
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"I haven't gotten one thank you card for the travel subsidies," he told Hawaii News Now. "I don't know, I don't think it's fair."
"That's the deal that was made. Doesn't mean it's fair, doesn't mean I agree with it, but that was the deal that was made," Rolovich added. "But, I think there's some value that UH brings that we're not getting credit for. The ability to have week zero games … that means you can play a week earlier, and you have TV options, and that's only in place because of us."
Hawai'i plays four conference home games in 2017. It is unclear what it will cost to pay for those four teams to travel.
