HONOLULU -- University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle expects it will take a few months to determine which sports conference UH will play with.

Dobelle made the comment Saturday, the day after it was reported that Rice, Southern Methodist and Tulsa will leave the Western Athletic Conference to join Conference USA.

Their departure will leave the WAC with Hawaii and six other schools.

"Where we'll go is something we'll have to decide over the next three to four months, I suspect," Dobelle said. "And a lot of people want to talk to us. And we're going to make the best deal for Hawaii."

UH men's basketball coach Riley Wallace said Hawaii and the other remaining WAC schools will look out for themselves.

"The first option is to try to stay together and put a conference together that can compete in for all sports," Wallace said. "And the second option is if someone comes calling, you listen."