10 wins might not get Warriors in bowl game
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Even if Hawai'i wins its next four football games to finish the regular season at 10-2 — the second-best record in the program's history — it still would take extraordinary circumstances for the Warriors to receive a bowl berth.
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"If they're 10-2, they certainly deserve to be in a bowl game, and we'll do everything we can to place them in a bowl game," said Karl Benson, commissioner of the Western Athletic Conference, of which UH is one of 10 members.
"Hawai'i is an attractive bowl team," Karl Benson said.
But the math is working against UH.
As underwriters, the WAC is assured berths in the Silicon Valley Football Classic in San Jose, Calif., and the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho.
Only the WAC champion is guaranteed a berth in either bowl. If there are co-champions, both are assured bowl berths. If three or more share in the regular-season title, WAC officials will determine which two will play in bowls. The tie-breaker formula is not used to determine bowl participants.
The Warriors' best chance would be to earn a share of the WAC title, but even that would take outside help. Louisiana Tech, which does not play UH this season, is the only WAC team with one league loss. The Bulldogs have two WAC games remaining. UH, with a 5-2 league record, is one of four teams with two WAC losses.
If Louisiana Tech wins the title outright, the other WAC bowl berth likely would go to Boise State or Fresno State. The Humanitarian Bowl is played on Boise State's home field. Fresno State, which until two weeks ago was in contention for a berth in the Bowl Championship Series, has traditionally brought the most fans to a bowl.
One hope, Benson said, is if the Big 12, Big East or Mountain West cannot meet its quota of bowl-eligible teams. A team must win at least six games and finish the regular season with a winning record to qualify for a postseason bowl.
But while UH, for instance, would be a good fit for the Las Vegas Bowl, which is affiliated with the Mountain West, the WAC probably would have to compete against the Big Ten, Atlantic Coast and Southeastern conferences for open bowl berths.
When the Warriors played in the 1992 Holiday Bowl in San Diego, about 1,500 UH supporters attended. Since then, UH officials have established alumni organizations in Los Angeles, the Bay Area and Las Vegas.
"Hawai'i playing in San Jose will draw up to 8,000 (UH) fans," Benson said. "Hawai'i has name recognition and television value. Hawai'i is an attractive bowl team, but it has to be the right situation. It won't work to try to place them in Orlando or New Orleans."
But history is not on UH's side. The WAC has potentially five bowl-eligible teams, but few bargaining chips. Last year, San Jose State was bowl eligible, but did not play in the postseason, even shunned by the Silicon bowl played in Spartan Stadium.
"To say today we can place all five of our bowl-eligible teams is wishful," Benson said. "It'll be difficult to place five teams."
UH and the WAC have found out how much they miss the Aloha and O'ahu bowls. Last year, UH was guaranteed a berth in one of those bowls if they won at least seven regular-season games. But the O'ahu Bowl moved to Seattle, and the Aloha Bowl, after announcing plans to relocate to San Francisco, will not be played this year because sponsorships could not be secured.
"Unfortunately, the demise of the Aloha and O'ahu bowls come at an inopportune time for both Hawai'i and the WAC," Benson said.
Benson said it will take at least two years for the league to establish another bowl in Hawai'i.
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