Division I-AA Northern Colorado has surfaced as a candidate to fill an opening on the University of Hawai'i's 2007 football schedule, possibly in the season opener.

UNC athletic director Jay Hinrichs said yesterday he wasn't "comfortable" talking about discussions with UH until the Bears of the Big Sky Conference complete their schedule. "Hopefully, we'll keep working on some things and keep having some things happen and, maybe, I'll have some information," Hinrichs said. "There is nothing to announce at this point."

The Bears went 1-10 last year, their inaugural season in the Big Sky, after moving up from Division II.

UH needs two games to complete a 13-game schedule and has the option of three dates — Sept. 1, Oct. 20 and Nov. 3 — in which to place them. A UH spokeswoman said, as of late yesterday, there was no word on either game.

Speculation has been that a I-AA school would fill the Sept. 1 slot on the Warriors' schedule with UH pursuing a Division I-A team to fill one of the remaining dates. Though head coach June Jones has held out the possibility of three I-AA teams in an interview on the Bobby Curran Show.

UH already has a I-AA opponent, Charleston Southern, on Sept. 22.

UNC has been seeking a season-opening opponent since its game with Air Force was canceled. The Greeley (Colo.) Tribune reported the cancellation was because the Bears did not offer enough scholarships to meet the minimum level that would have allowed Air Force to count the game for bowl eligibility purposes.

Division I-A teams, such as UH and Air Force, may count one victory over a I-AA team toward bowl eligibility if the opponent averages a minimum scholarship standard over a two-year period. UH and Air Force are allowed a maximum of 85 scholarships. I-AA teams may offer a maximum of 65.

The Bears have begun booking so-called "guarantee" games to help offset a reported $604,000 deficit from 2006 and an accumulated $1.14 over three years, the Tribune said. It said UNC will realize $100,000 from a game at Cal Poly and $400,000 from a game at Purdue.

UH and UNC have yet to meet in football. Scott Downing, a former assistant coach at Nebraska, Purdue and Wyoming, will be in his second season as head coach at UNC.

There had been reports that UH was attempting to work a three-way deal with Division I-AA Eastern Kentucky and the University of Kentucky of the Southeastern Conference to fill the Sept. 1 and Nov. 3 openings, respectively. But spokesmen for those schools said their schedules are complete and they know of no plans to change them.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.