Alcohol-related misbehavior at the stadium is the driving force behind the fast-tracked proposal. The ban would start with UH's Sept. 3 season-opener against the University of Southern California, the national college football champion the past two years.

It also would put Hawai'i in line with a national trend toward "dry" stadiums. In June, USC agreed to end alcohol sales at its home football games, joining the rest of the Pac-10 Conference teams. The Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference also have bans.

The proposal still needs approval from the nine-member Aloha Stadium Authority when it meets Aug. 25.

The Honolulu Police Department and Mothers Against Drunk Driving welcomed the ban, but there was mixed reaction from the public and disapproval from stadium vendors who depend on liquor sales.

"We are in favor of a ban on alcohol at the football games," said HPD Assistant Chief Bryan Wauke, who added that alcohol abuse is a "consistent problem" at the stadium. "We do see that it is a problem with the alcohol drinking as it relates to disorderly conducts and affrays."

Aiona, who has been a UH season-ticket holder for about 20 years, said fan misconduct has escalated to a point where, "It is just not fun anymore. In fact, my children don't even go to the games anymore."

Chris Masuda, 34, of Honolulu, however, said drinking and football games "(go) hand in hand. I would be bummed if they banned beer. But I would still go. It's not the end of the world."

David Loui, 49, of 'Ewa Beach, and a UH football season-ticket holder for 30 years, said an alcohol ban might not cure bad fan behavior.

"As far as cursing, it's not always alcohol-related. If there was a total ban I wouldn't be affected, but I still expect to hear the things I hear."

"I tend to agree (with the ban), but I don't think it's fair to shut us off because a few guys just drink too much," said Honolulu's Denis Isono, 53, a 30-year season-ticket holder. But he added, "Fights popping up all over the place is not good. That's dangerous for everybody."

Aiona said he would attend the stadium authority's meeting.

"I intend to be at that meeting to recommend and suggest to them that the stadium not sell alcohol at the University of Hawai'i games and also to have the same ban in the parking lot," said Aiona, who spoke with McClain last spring on the matter. "We both agreed that we have a problem at the stadium in regards to drinking."

Questions remained on how officials would enforce an alcohol ban in the stadium parking lot, and what effect the proposed alcohol ban would have on attendance.

"I think attendance might drop because people can watch it on TV," said Justin Nii, 20, a UH student from 'Aiea majoring in civil engineering. "At least they can drink at home."

The alcohol ban would not include other UH sports venues such as the Stan Sheriff Center and Les Murakami Stadium, which do not currently suffer from alcohol-related incidents, McClain said.

The UH athletic department does not receive any money from beer sales at Aloha Stadium, but relies on revenue generated in ticket sales and corporate sponsorships at the facility.

McClain said UH also is looking into another proposal by Aiona that aims to stop UH's practice of accepting advertising and sponsorships from alcohol companies.

The UH athletic department is set to receive $180,000 to $200,000 this year from corporate sponsorships or sports programs from two beer makers, Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing Co., according to UH officials. The amount is equal to 1 percent of the total operating budget for the athletic department, which UH officials pegged at $18 million.

The loss of alcohol sponsorships comes as the UH athletic department has run at a deficit for three consecutive years, and is struggling to pay $320,065 in Aloha Stadium rental fees.

"I've been trying to identify a source of funds that would replace that (the sponsorships) so we could go in that direction" of refusing alcohol sponsorships, said McClain, who is trying to seek a reduction in rent paid by UH.

Aiona said previous experience precipitated his thinking on asking for the ban. Two of the worst fan misbehavior incidents at Aloha Stadium happened when UH played Houston on Christmas Day 2003, and played Cincinnati in 2002.

"I think that Houston game was pretty bad," Aiona said. "The Cincinnati game was pretty bad and a bunch of other games that I saw where fights occurred on the field, spilling over into the field from the stands without any regard to security or anything of that nature.

"The (UH) president and I talked about our own personal experiences that we had the past few seasons at the stadium which wasn't very pleasant and I've just seen it escalate."

Theresa Paulette Winn, a national MADD board member and former president of MADD Hawai'i, applauded the proposed alcohol ban.

"We feel the lieutenant governor's proposal is another step in the right direction," Paulette Winn said. "We think banning the alcohol sales at the games will be a positive step toward reducing and eliminating the negative behaviors in fights and the underage drinking that the UH and the other universities have been experiencing. Health and safety should be the foremost concern for our university officials."

Aiona called drugs and alcohol abuse a top priority with Gov. Linda Lingle's administration, and he added the UH football alcohol ban is part of that priority.

"We can set that example to our young people that college games are just that," Aiona said. "It's the entertainment, the purity of the game, that we come to watch. We can't have any association with alcohol in college sports."