Three UH games on ESPN's 'board'

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer

Three University of Hawai'i football games are among those ESPN could pick from when its national television contract with the Western Athletic Conference is finalized.

WAC presidents met by conference call Wednesday to approve a multi-year ESPN proposal covering both football and men's basketball, officials said.

"Hawai'i has always been an attractive site for ESPN and I would suspect if this materializes Hawai'i will be part of the package," said Karl Benson, WAC commissioner.

ESPN's proposal calls for it to do at least four and possibly six games featuring WAC members this season.

Benson said an agreement in principle had been reached but declined to discuss other specifics of the proposal or when a formal announcement would be made.

"The presidents reviewed the deal points and I'm optimistic things are headed in the right direction," Benson said.

Among the UH games believed to be "on the board" at this point are the Oct. 27th Fresno State, Nov. 24th Air Force and Dec. 1st Brigham Young games.

UH hasn't appeared on national television since its 1999 O'ahu Bowl victory over Oregon State. Its last WAC appearance on ESPN came against Michigan in 1998.

The WAC has had a TV deal with Fox the past two seasons and may still reach a regional deal with that network.