"I think the discussion we had (yesterday) with Karl moving towards positioning the WAC for another bowl was very positive," said Herman Frazier, UH athletic director, who was attending the WAC Council meetings in Arizona.

For the past three years the WAC has guaranteed the top two teams in the standings bowl slots and assured UH a berth in the Hawai'i Bowl as long as the Warriors win a majority of their games.

But that took place in a three-bowl framework. When the NCAA refused to relicense the Silicon Valley Football Classic in San Jose, Calif., last month, the WAC was left with just two postseason berths, the MPC Bowl in Boise, Idaho, and the Hawai'i Bowl at Aloha Stadium.

Last year the athletic directors voted to end UH's guarantee, but were overruled by the conference's Board of Directors.

Benson said he is in discussion with the Memphis-based Liberty Bowl and the new Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego about possible tie-ins. The Liberty Bowl has featured the Conference USA champion vs. Mountain West champion but is exploring options. The inaugural Poinsettia Bowl was created to match a Mountain West team vs. an at-large opponent and has eyes on Navy.

"I'm optimistic that we're going to be able to secure a third bowl spot that will allow us to return to the policy that we have had in place," Benson said.

Benson said he hopes to know "within the next 30 to 60 days" if a deal can be made but that "no set-in-stone date" has been set.