Shhh! and keep it under your hat for now, but if the University of Hawai'i football team finishes its regular season with a victory over Washington on Saturday, UH will be inviting fans to a nationally televised celebration of its bowl pairing as part of Fox Sports' Allstate Bowl Championship Series selection show Sunday.

UH and network officials confirmed that plans are in the works, but — not wanting to "jinx anything" — said a formal announcement will come after Saturday's game should the Warriors win.

The Warriors, 11-0, are expected to clinch a berth in the BCS with a victory over Washington, 4-8, in their regular-season finale.

The bowl pairings, which likely would send UH to the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, will be revealed in the 40-minute program that follows Fox's NFL coverage at 3 p.m. Hawai'i time. Fox will televise four of the five BCS bowls, including the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl.

Last year's selection show drew an audience of 13.3 million households. The 2007 Sugar Bowl was seen in 14.5 million households, according to Fox.

Plans call for fans to join members of the UH football team, cheerleaders, the pep band and Rainbow Dancers at a yet-to-be-announced campus site to view and celebrate the selection announcement, according to John McNamara, UH associate athletic director. The Stan Sheriff Center is expected to be the site. The state high school cheerleading championships, originally scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m., were moved up to noon yesterday.

"They are an exciting team that we want America to get to know better, and what better way than when you have a prime-time BCS selection show?" said Fox spokesman Dan Bell.

"Not only are they a tremendous story, they have one of the best players in the country in Colt Brennan, one of the most exciting offenses and best teams in the country."

Last year, Fox did a similar segment from Boise State's jam-packed 12,380-seat Taco Bell Arena as the 12-0 Broncos received their Fiesta Bowl bid.

"(Reporter) Chris Myers was amazed with the atmosphere," Bell said.

Bell said reporter Charissa Thompson and a camera crew will be on hand, should UH win Saturday.

"We're excited about the possibility of doing a (segment) from Hawai'i," Bell said.

The BCS selection show will be anchored from Los Angeles by Chris Rose and include analysts Charles Davis, Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Bell said Fox also expects to have on-site reporting from West Virginia, Missouri, Ohio State and Virginia Tech or Boston College.

"We're working internally to coordinate all the logistics and details with Fox but we won't be announcing anything publicly until after the game on Saturday, hopefully a UH victory," McNamara said.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.