UH-Boise State football game now Dec. 6 on ESPN

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer

The University of Hawai'i is moving its Nov. 8 home football game with Boise State to Dec. 6 to accommodate ESPN, the Western Athletic Conference and UH officials confirmed yesterday.

"It's good for us," UH coach June Jones said. "This will give us great exposure."

UH athletic director Herman Frazier had been holding the Dec. 6 date in reserve in case an opponent for a season-opening game could not be found. It now appears UH will open against an NCAA Division I-AA opponent. While Montana has been mentioned as a possible opponent for the Aug. 30 vacancy or Sept. 6 open date, the Grizzlies would have to juggle their schedule to be available.

The shift of the Boise State game means the Warriors could play as many as four games on national cable or television this season. ABC has expressed an interest in the Sept. 13 game at Southern California while ESPN is targeting the Oct. 11 Fresno State and Nov. 29 Alabama games at Aloha Stadium in addition to the Boise State contest. A return to the ConAgra Hawai'i Bowl would add another appearance.

With Boise State coming off an 11-2 WAC championship season and UH returning most of its starters from a 10-4 campaign, ESPN is projecting the game will have title implications and is including it in its "Championship Week" lineup.

The Aug. 30 opening date became vacant when Akron pulled out to play Mid-American Conference rival Kent State. The vacancy, if left unfilled, would pose a problem for UH, which would then have to play its first two games on the road at USC and Nevada-Las Vegas — both of whom would have already played a game.

UH and conference officials said it is unlikely the school will land a berth in one of the designated Aug. 23 kickoff games. Such events, exempted from the normal 13-game limit, can be worth as much as $700,000 to participating teams.

UH will not receive any additional money for its ESPN appearance, but would benefit from the exposure.