Tide could turn in UH's favor

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Columnist

UH, which was looking for an 11th-hour replacement for Washington State when it started talking to Alabama about playing here Nov. 30, might have stumbled into a lucrative scheduling niche.

If Alabama will come here to soothe its NCAA-tanned hide, maybe other schools in trouble will, too. And, as the flow of indictments coming out of NCAA headquarters reminds us, there are plenty of prospective, brand-name offenders out there.

Perhaps UH's difficulty in scheduling marquee teams of late was that the Warriors weren't looking in the right place: The NCAA's slammer.

A little history: In 85 previous UH football seasons, Alabama, one of the storied names in the sport, hadn't graced a Warrior schedule. The closest the Crimson Tide came was a 1985 Aloha Bowl victory over Southern Cal.

And that is the way it might have stayed if Alabama hadn't run afoul of the NCAA over booster payments to recruits. Suddenly, the Crimson Tide has developed an interest in visiting paradise this season, a yearning no doubt given urgency by a two-year bowl ban, the loss of 21 scholarships over the next three years and five-year probation.

Alabama is appealing the severity of the sanctions but that could take months and the prospects aren't promising. In the meantime, the Warriors need a marquee opponent, and the Crimson Tide is in need of a vacation. Not so much for those who had to deal with the NCAA Committee on Infractions, but for the players who, without somewhere warm and festive to go after the Southeastern Conference season, might consider bolting for greener pastures. (Because of Alabama's probation status, juniors or seniors could transfer to other schools and immediately be eligible).

But if Alabama could offer its players an extra game and a week in paradise as its "bowl game," well, that ought to take some of the sting out of not being able to play in the Outback or Music City bowls. It is less risky than paying the players again and has to be an improvement over December in Shreveport, La., home of the Independence Bowl.

If Alabama has a good time, maybe it will tell its friends. Perhaps ESPN's coverage will inspire others to call their travel agents. The miscreants in the SEC alone — where Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana State and Tennessee are either on probation or under investigation for possible violations surrounding their football programs — could keep the Warriors' schedule packed for the next decade.

Hey, if you have to do NCAA time, where better than here?