Hawai'i seeks 13th game

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

If a 13th football game involving Hawai'i can be arranged, it would be on Christmas Day at Aloha Stadium. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Dobelle said the request was faxed to the NCAA yesterday afternoon, and Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson is scheduled to lobby on UH's behalf during a teleconference with NCAA officials today.

Dobelle said Benson has met with ESPN officials, who agreed to televise the game, should it receive certification from the NCAA.

If approved, the game would be played at 4 p.m. Christmas Day at Aloha Stadium, Dobelle said. UH would underwrite the cost of the game, with some of the proceeds going to charity.

"They may grant it, they may not," Dobelle said. "The reality is we need to find out. I don't ever want to ask myself, 'Did you do everything you could?' I'm going to do everything I can."

The Warriors (9-3) finished the regular season with a 72-45 victory over previously unbeaten Brigham Young Saturday at Aloha Stadium. But UH, which finished tied for fourth in the WAC with a 5-3 record, did not receive either of the conference's berths in the Silicon Valley Football Classic in San Jose, Calif., or Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho.

After Saturday's game, Dobelle told The Advertiser that he would ask the NCAA to consider arranging a bowl at Aloha Stadium. Last Christmas, the Aloha Bowl and O'ahu Bowl were played at Aloha Stadium; since then, the O'ahu Bowl moved to Seattle while the Aloha Bowl, after receiving certification to move to San Francisco, will not be played this year.

Yesterday, Dobelle modified his strategy, petitioning the NCAA "not necessarily for a bowl game, but for an additional game."

He said he contacted Mississippi, but was told that the Bulldog players had been excused for the year and it would be too difficult to assemble them again. Dobelle said he will consider asking UCLA or Wake Forest to play here.

"The odds are a long shot," Dobelle said. "My attitude is, it's my job to try. The players did their job. The coaches did their job. If it works out, the fans will do their job and support the game."