The 2025 season is near for the University of Hawai‘i football team.
On Wednesday morning, the Rainbow Warriors will take the field at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, the same site of their season opener against Stanford on Aug. 23.
Wednesday's practice, which marks one month until their season opener, will be the first of fall camp for the team. Fall camp began on Tuesday for the 'Bows with onboarding for the team.
"I think going into camp, we're focused," linebacker Jamih Otis told Aloha State Daily at last week's Mountain West media days in Las Vegas. "Camp is just where we get all the kinks out and we flow right into season.
"I think we have a standard to meet during camp. Camp is going to be hard, gritty, day in and day out, and I think we're ready for it. It's something I look forward to, because that's the point in time where boys become men and where we start to shape ourselves into the players we want to be for the upcoming season. So, I'm excited."
Hawai‘i's 2025 campaign begins with Stanford and new interim head coach Frank Reich, who will only serve as the head coach for the Cardinal for the 2025 season. Reich, who was most recently the head coach for the NFL's Carolina Panthers in 2023, was brought in by former player and Stanford football general manager Andrew Luck after Troy Taylor was fired following an internal investigation that found Taylor had bullied members of Stanford's staff.
Following the Stanford game, Hawai‘i will face Arizona in a road game on Aug. 30. The 'Bows close out their home slate with home games against Sam Houston and Portland State before opening Mountain West Conference play against Fresno State on Sept. 20.
Five programs (Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State) are set to leave the Mountain West in favor of a retooled Pac-12 Conference following the season. In response, the Mountain West added Hawai‘i as a full-time member. UTEP, Northern Illinois and UC Davis are also set to join the Mountain West in 2026. Northern Illinois joins as a football-only member, while UC-Davis will join in all sports except football. Additionally, Grand Canyon University will officially join the Mountain West this fall but does not have a football team.
During fall camp, the Rainbow Warriors will practice on most weekdays with scrimmages on Saturdays. Practices will be closed to the public.
UH went 5-7 in 2024, head coach Timmy Chang's third season at the helm. In its season finale, UH defeated New Mexico 38-30 on senior night, serving as a showcase for freshman quarterback Micah Alejado.
In his first career start, Alejado threw for 469 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Alejado, an ‘Ewa Beach native who graduated from high school football powerhouse Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, played in only four games in 2024, preserving a redshirt. He will still be a redshirt freshman as he assumes the starting quarterback job on a full-time basis in 2025.
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
