SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Pacific-10 Conference has agreed to extend its ties with the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, reaching agreement for a representative to play in the game in 2008 and 2009, officials said yesterday.

Under the deal, which is to be announced shortly, the game is scheduled to receive the sixth-place team in 2008 and seventh-place finisher in 2009, according to Jim Donovan, executive director of the game.

Arizona State became the first team from the Pac-10 to appear in the 5-year-old game, losing to the University of Hawai'i, 41-24, last season.

Previously, the Western Athletic Conference representative played a team from Conference USA, as will be the case Dec. 23, 2007, at Aloha Stadium. UH is assured of being the WAC representative if it wins at least 7 of its 12 games.

"When I took this job my first goal was to make the game viable and the second one was to get a team from the Pac-10," Donovan said. "My third one was to get a Pac-10 team consistently, which is what we're doing. Next, we'd like to move up (in the order)."

Donovan declined to reveal the terms of the agreement but it is believed ESPN Regional Television, which owns and operates the game, will substantially increase the Pac-10 guarantee over the 2006 terms.

The San Diego-based Poinsettia Bowl, which also sought a Pac-10 tie, will get the seventh-place representative in 2008 and sixth-place team in 2009, Donovan said. The Poinsettia Bowl is operated by the San Diego Bowl Association, which also runs the Holiday Bowl, which receives the No. 2 Pac-10 team. Bowl options for Pac-10 ties beyond 2009 will be negotiated next year.

The Pac-10 had eight bowl-eligible teams in 2006. In the event not enough of the conference's teams earn bowl eligibility, the Hawai'i Bowl would pick from among eligible teams not already committed.

The UH-ASU game drew 43,475, the largest of the five Hawai'i Bowls and had a TV audience of 2.33 million households, also a record for the game.

"We're very pleased the Pac-10 agreed to extend its relationship with the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, building upon the success we had last year with Arizona State in the game," Donovan said. "We believe with a Pac-10 team in our bowl we will see increased attendance, more in-bound visitors and better TV ratings. This is another step in the right direction, building the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl into a nationally renowned event."

Donovan added, "I can't thank Conference USA enough for their partnership over the bowl's first six years of existence. They helped to get the game approved by the NCAA."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.