Assistant athletic director for ticketing and marketing Scott Wetherbee said ECU wants to be sure someone will sit in its seats for the Sheraton Aloha Bowl on Dec. 23 in Honolulu by buying tickets and donating them to active members of the service.

"We know we're not going to take 5,000 fans to Hawai'i," Wetherbee said.

Hawaii Bowl Executive Director Jim Donovan had contacts with all five branches of the armed services, Wetherbee said, and the idea was to give those stationed on the islands — preferably those not from Hawai'i — a chance to request tickets to the game.

The five branches of the military have 45,564 active, reserve and National Guard troops and sailors stationed at 13 installations throughout the islands, according to the Hawaiian government. If there are not enough takers from the military, Wetherbee said, tickets will be offered to firefighters, police officers and local charities.

In exchange for their donations, ECU fans will receive a commemorative bowl ticket. As for the ECU followers buying and using their own tickets, Wetherbee said the number grew slowly last week.

"Right now, we're pushing 200 that have ordered," he said. "If I had to guess, I would hope we would have 400 or 500 make the destination. We told them to send us about 1,000 and the rest of our allotment we would try to donate."