WAC commissioner seeks to change UH game day
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson is flying in for meetings tomorrow aimed at resolving more than a month-long stalemate over whether the University of Hawai'i will move its football game with the Air Force Academy to accommodate television.
Advertiser library photo
ESPN2 has asked the conference and UH to move the game from its scheduled Saturday, Nov. 24 kickoff to Friday, Nov. 23, the day after Thanksgiving. Game time would remain at 6:05 p.m.
Karl Benson will meet with UH officials.
If UH and the conference office reach agreement, UH would only have to move the game if ESPN picks it up. An ESPN spokesman said the network usually makes its decisions up to 12 days in advance of the game.
Benson, who expects to be here for only a day before returning to Colorado, is scheduled to meet with UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida and football coach June Jones.
"I would expect that, in meeting face to face, we'll be able to come away with some type of a decision," Benson said. "Unfortunately, 2,500 miles and the travel involved have kept us from having this type of a meeting before now."
The network wants to show either the UH-Air Force or Fresno State-San Jose State game on Nov. 23, and is reportedly leaning toward the Warriors' contest as long as the other game isn't for the WAC title. Four other FSU games are already scheduled.
On the heels of a begrudging change of the UH-Fresno State game for ESPN, UH officials at first refused to consider moving the Air Force game. But both university president Evan Dobelle and Yoshida have said they will consider the switch in the context of the school's best interests as long as it does not require an early afternoon kickoff.
"It is a little different than the Fresno State game, but there are still some issues out there that need to be resolved," Yoshida said.
UH officials have said they are concerned a switch might impact them at the gate and would leave the Warriors with a short week of practice for Air Force's wishbone offense.
The WAC has argued that the Falcons would also lose a day of preparation in travel and UH would receive considerable exposure from ESPN2's potential audience of 77 million households as the only game in the 8 p.m. West Coast and 11 p.m. Eastern time slot.
The WAC agreed to cover any shortfall in ticket sales for the UH-FSU game up to $100,000 in order to have the Warriors move the game, which has a 3 p.m. kickoff. Indications are UH may, again, ask to be protected at the gate for the Air Force game.
