It would benefit Hawai'i to pay travel subsidies only from California to the islands. However, all MWC football teams take chartered flights to conference games which makes that idea difficult.
Does Hawai'i have to pay to fly to places like Air Force and Colorado state? No, the MWC is funding them for their away games. Hawai'i usually doesn't charter flights due to the cost. I wonder if that will change since the MWC is footing the bill.
As a Hawai'i fan, I am extremely happy that the MWC took us in. The new MWC is probably not better than the old MWC, but it is definitely better than the current and future WAC. If the MWC gains BCS status, there will be a great chance to keep it if the 2011 results are anything like 2010.
I made a list to show the disparity of both conferences from attendance to overall records:
2010 WAC
Team/ 2010 attendance / 2010 record (BCS Rank)
Hawaiʻi / 35,461 / 10-4(24)
Fresno State / 34,120 / 8-5
Boise State / 33,269 / 12-1(11)
Louisiana Tech / 19,485 / 5-7
Nevada / 19,433 / 13-1(15)
Utah State / 17,878 / 4-8
New Mexico State / 15,906 / 2-10
San Jose State / 14,474 / 1-12
Idaho / 12,730 / 6-7
2012 MWC
Team/ 2010 attendance / 2010 record (BCS Rank)
Air Force / 40,093 / 9-4 (37)
Hawaiʻi / 35,461 / 10-4 (24)
Fresno State / 34,120 / 8-5
Boise State / 33,269 / 12-1(11)
San Diego State / 31,814 / 9-4(38)
Colorado State / 22,399 / 3-9
New Mexico / 20,888 / 1-11
Wyoming / 20,791 / 3-9
UNLV / 20,612 / 2-11
Nevada / 19,433 / 13-1 (15)