UH might play South Florida
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i football team can expect to share its Christmas with Tulane or South Florida in the Dec. 25 ConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl.
"That is the plan as of today," said Pete Derzis, senior vice president of ESPN Regional Television, which operates the game.
The inaugural matchup hinges on the outcome of Friday night's ESPN2 Cincinnati vs. East Carolina game, which will decide the final two of Conference USA's five bowl slots.
If Cincinnati (6-6) beats East Carolina (4-7) for the first time in eight tries in Greenville, N.C., then Tulane (7-5) will come to the Hawai'i Bowl and Cincinnati will play North Texas in the Dec. 17 New Orleans Bowl.
But if East Carolina wins, then independent South Florida (9-2) will play here, Tulane will stay home to play in the New Orleans Bowl and Cincinnati will sit out the postseason.
South Florida entered the equation at the behest of Conference USA, which will take in the school next season. "We'd like to keep it (the bowl slot) in the conference family," Derzis said.
"It would be an honor to play there," said South Florida head coach Jim Leavitt. "It would be an incredible experience for our team."
South Florida's only losses this season have been to nationally ranked Arkansas (42-3) and Oklahoma (31-14). The Bulls, who average 31 points a game, are 4-0 against Conference USA competition, having beaten Southern Mississippi, East Carolina, Memphis and Houston.
The Bulls have a player from Hawai'i, linebacker Kawika Mitchell, who was born here and moved with his family to Florida in junior high. He will represent South Florida in the Hula Bowl.
The Hawai'i Bowl, which is contracted to match teams from the Western Athletic Conference and Conference USA, had explored some other at-large possibilities. But Texas A&M, which would have been available at 6-6, fired its coaching staff Monday. Big 12 Conference sources said it was unlikely the Aggies would accept any bowl bid.
There would be some Pac-10 teams available if the Silicon Valley Bowl and Seattle Bowl, which are contracted for the conference's sixth and seventh choices, do not meet this week's extended deadline for filing $1.5 million letters of credit with the NCAA. The NCAA did not immediately return calls yesterday but a WAC official said he had been assured by the bowls that the letters were being "taken care of."
The Seattle Bowl was formerly the O'ahu Bowl and held its first game in Seattle last year.
There is still a possibility that Boston College, the Big East's fifth-place finisher, could become available.
