Posted on: Saturday, May 11, 2002

UH rejects Cougars' request to cancel game

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

The University of Hawai'i has rejected Washington State's request to cancel the schools' Nov. 30 football game at Aloha Stadium.

Cougars coach Mike Price told the Seattle Times he would prefer to cancel the game after a nationally televised game between WSU and UCLA was moved from Nov. 16 to Dec. 7. The revised schedule means the Cougars will have Pac-10 games against Washington and UCLA bracketing the game against UH.

Yesterday, UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida told WSU athletic director Jim Sterk it is too late to cancel the game. Yoshida left open the slim possibility that "if there's a comparable opponent, we'd consider it."

But Yoshida said it is unlikely a replacement could be found at this late date. Yoshida said Sterk "understands it's a late time and they're going to honor the contract."

The contract includes a financial penalty for pulling out of the game without permission. Yoshida said he would seek full-value reimbursement for an unauthorized cancellation.

The Warriors gross between $500,000 and $650,000 for a regularly priced football game at Aloha Stadium. But a premium fee, estimated at $5, will be added to each ticket for the UH-WSU game, making it potentially the Warriors' biggest payday of the 2002 season.

UH has forwarded its season-ticket plan to the Board of Regents, and any changes in the schedule would delay ticket sales.

UH also would lose exposure if the game is canceled. ESPN is looking into moving the game to Friday, Nov. 29, and televising it nationally.