Mountain West Football Media Days wrapped up at the Circa Resort and Casino, setting the stage for the 2024 season.
The annual Mountain West kickoff event featured head coaches on Thursday, with Timmy Chang representing the Rainbow Warriors for the third time.
On Wednesday, UH was picked 9th in the preseason poll and had no players selected to the all-conference team. In Chang's first two years, the Rainbow Warriors went 8-18. However, UH ended last season winning three of their last four games and is entering its second season back in the run-and-shoot offense, bringing back over 25 players with starting experience. The league schedule features seven new head coaches, making Chang, despite being in just his third season, tied for second in longest consecutively tenured head coaches in the conference.
Chang aims to change Hawaii’s standing as one of six programs that have never won a Mountain West title.
"It's a belief. It's a belief in themselves, a belief that they can do it. It's a belief that even though it hasn't been done, they haven't seen it. These are things that we talk about in our meetings. You haven't done it yet, but believe that it's going to happen. The work that you put in day in and day out, relying on each other, going through the fire together—you know what it looks like. You know what you have to do. Believe in that and trust in that, and it will happen. That's the biggest message in our locker room right now," Chang said.
Chang isn’t alone as a former UH quarterback now coaching in the Mountain West. Radford graduate Ken Niumatalolo has taken over at San Jose State.
"He didn't follow my footsteps. He's way better than I ever was. His dad was actually my high school JV coach at Radford, Levi Chang. So, yeah, it's awesome to see him. I still watch the news even though I was on the West Coast or even when I was on the East Coast. I've always watched the news. I always feel like I'm back home. It's exciting for me to see where he's at and how well he's doing. I look at his staff that he's hired. It's really cool and exciting to see," Niumatalolo said.
"I look in the room and I see him sitting there. A Hawai'i guy with local roots. It's pretty exciting. They have a very similar offense to us, and it's going to be fun to watch him," Chang added.
Although the two programs will not face off in 2024, UH will open the season on August 24th against Delaware State. Training camp kicks off on July 24th.For continued UH football coverage, stay with KHON2 on-air and online all season long.
