Warriors schedule two Big Ten powers
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Two Big Ten schools have signed contracts to play the University of Hawai'i in football at Aloha Stadium, and UH officials are exploring the possibility of playing games against teams from the powerful Southeastern Conference.
UH will play host to Northwestern on Nov. 27, 2004, and Wisconsin on Nov. 26, 2005.
Both schools signed "game-cancelation clauses" in which UH will receive up to $250,000 if either decided not to play.
UH officials insisted on the buyout clauses after Texas, Iowa State, Virginia, Purdue and Notre Dame canceled games. Host schools rarely seek such clauses, which are likened to prenuptial agreements.
"After we explained how we got burned, (Wisconsin and Northwestern officials) said, 'OK, that's fine,' " UH associate athletic director Jim Donovan said.
Donovan said the buyout amount was determined by how much UH would lose in "premium fees." UH charges up to $5 above the usual ticket price for games against popular opponents.
"We're not trying to replace the total gate, because we believe we can get another team to come in," Donovan said. "We're trying to replace the difference between what we can get from a regular game and a game against a marquee opponent."
After discussions with UH coach June Jones, Donovan said, UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida and special assistant Scott Harada contacted Big Ten schools in an attempt to upgrade the schedule.
UH already has agreed to play a series of games against Southern California, Brigham Young, Nevada-Las Vegas and San Diego State. All of those teams signed buyout clauses.
Donovan said Yoshida and Harada have had informal discussions with Southeastern Conference teams. Donovan said SEC teams would prefer to play a home-and-home series, although UH's preference would be to play two games here for every one on the road.
"It's very early, but at least we're looking around," Donovan said.
Donovan said UH would like to play no more than five of its 12 football games on the road each year. With UH usually playing four WAC road games each year, that leaves few opportunities for home-and-home series.
• Uso OK: After watching a video on NCAA rules and signing some liability documents, wideout Tafiti Uso was cleared to compete in workouts.
Uso, who transferred from Stanford last year, said a sprained right ankle, now healed, did not delay his participation.
Wide receiver Omar Bennett, a junior college transfer, is awaiting transcripts before being permitted to practice. Jones said he does not expect any problems that would cause Bennett to miss extended time.
• Catch him if you can: At a self-proclaimed 5 feet 7 — in thick socks, long cleats and while inhaling — Justin Colbert admittedly is overlooked and underestimated.
Since winning the starting job at left wideout, Colbert has faced challenges from near (Mililani's Neal Gossett), far (San Diego's Mark Tate) and all over (Uso, a former Punahou School and Stanford University standout).
But Colbert remains atop the depth chart and, quite possibly, is running away, as evidenced by his play yesterday morning. He out-jumped cornerback Keith Bhonapha for a lob and, soon after, parlayed a screen pass into a catch-and-sprint scoring play.
"I don't worry about the next player," Colbert said. "We're all out here to win. If they bring in a player who's better, then we'll get better. I try to do what I can. If you worry about losing your position, this and that, you'll just make yourself crazy in the head."
Colbert said he has maintained his quickness — he can run 40 yards in 4.3 seconds — by running sprints, lifting weights and fielding more than 100 passes a day from the automatic throwing machine.
