Pac-10 better fit for bowl
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Columnist
The Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl games have been good and close, but after two years of an association with Conference USA, it is apparent that Hawai'i fans aren't buying the C-USA label.
As competitive as Tulane and Houston have been against the University of Hawai'i — and it would be hard to beat the UH vs. UH triple overtime for drama — the C-USA connection hasn't brought much to the box office or ratings.
Now, the Hawai'i Bowl might be in a position to do something about it — and sooner rather than later. The Silicon Valley Classic's contract with the Pac-10 has expired and conference athletic directors meet next month to decide whether to renew or go elsewhere.
Within two years the Pac-10's contracts with three of its other four bowls — every game but the Rose Bowl — will also be up for renegotiation.
That should be food for thought for the Hawai'i Bowl as it reassesses its past and looks toward its future.
The bowl's owner, ESPN Regional Television, says it has heard from fans and is considering moving the game off Christmas Day, which should help. Now, it also needs to review its C-USA affiliation.
After announced crowds of 30,000 for Tulane and 25,000 for Houston, the profile of the opponent matters considerably. And few C-USA teams have one that will draw more than a yawn here, a bigger concern now that the NCAA has set 25,000 as the minimum attendance standard for bowl re-certification.
Contrast that with the more visible, more attractive Pac-10, where just about every member but Arizona and Arizona State has demonstrated drawing power here. If the Hawai'i Bowl had even the Silicon Valley's sixth-place tie-in with the Pac-10, we could have seen UCLA instead of Houston last Christmas. It would have been Oregon rather than Tulane in 2002.
The Hawai'i Bowl shouldn't have been happy with the way C-USA fumbled through putting together its bowl lineup at the last minute in 2003. Or, ending up with 6-5 Houston instead of 9-3 Louisville.
The Hawai'i Bowl is in the third year of a four-year deal with C-USA, but with the massive overhaul the conference is undergoing, you'd think there must be a contractual provision allowing the game an out. If not this year, then certainly the next.
As Texas Christian's expected announcement of a move to the Mountain West underlines, four of C-USA's 10 football-playing members will be gone by 2005. And the replacements are unlikely to add stature.
When the Hawai'i Bowl began in 2002, it had barely eight months to get up and running and was thankful for the tie-in it could get. The Pac-10 wasn't available then. Now, it could be.
The next move is up to the Hawai'i Bowl.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
