UH still awaits bowl opponent
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
It will likely be the end of the week before the University of Hawai'i knows who it will play on Christmas Day in the ConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl at Aloha Stadium, officials said.
Advertiser library photo • July 8, 2002
They had hoped to announce the pairing for the inaugural game today but with a number of key conference races still up in the air, "we're probably looking at the end of the week before we know who the opponent will be," said Pete Derzis, senior vice president for ESPN Regional Television, which operates the bowl.
"Some teams that could have, should have and would have cleared up the situation didn't," said Pete Derzis, senior vice president for ESPN Regional Television.
"Some teams that could have, should have and would have cleared up the situation didn't," Derzis said.
Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson said it may be the weekend before any of the three conference bowl representatives, Boise State, Fresno State and UH, have opponents locked in.
The Hawai'i Bowl has a contracted tie-in to take the fourth or fifth pick from Conference USA, but the CUSA lineup is unsettled heading into the final week of the regular season. The Liberty Bowl has chosen Texas Christian (9-2, 6-2 conference) and the GMAC Bowl took Louisville (7-5, 5-3), while the Houston Bowl wants Southern Mississippi (7-5, 5-3) for geographical purposes and the New Orleans Bowl would like hometown Tulane (7-5, 4-4).
But if Cincinnati (6-6, 5-2) beats East Carolina (4-7, 4-3) Friday, the Bearcats would become bowl eligible and earn a share of the CUSA title.
Bowl officials said they are not interested in a rematch of the UH-Cincinnati game that ended in a brawl and finger-pointing Nov. 23, and would have to work out a switch with another CUSA bowl, probably New Orleans. The option of sending Cincinnati to an outside bowl doesn't look promising since the Motor City Bowl is the most likely to have an opening and it had UC the past two years.
Should Cincinnati lose to East Carolina, leaving CUSA unable to fulfill its bowl obligations, the Hawai'i Bowl would be free to invite an at-large team. While it is still too early to say which teams might make up the at-large pool, Boston College, Texas A&M and South Florida could become possibilities.
