The rise of the University of Hawai'i football team to the doorstep of a Bowl Championship Series appearance is evidence that the current system works the way it was intended, the BCS coordinator said yesterday.

"I think Boise (State) last year, a very fine football team, proved it. Hawai'i has had a great season and, I think by moving (eligibility) from top 6 to top 12 we have even created more interest in the BCS and and spread it around," Mike Slive said on a conference call yesterday. "So, I think it has worked out the way it was anticipated."

If UH (11-0), which is currently ranked No. 12 and closes its regular season Saturday against Washington, finishes in the top 12 Sunday, it will be guaranteed a place in one of the five BCS bowls, probably the New Orleans-based Sugar Bowl.

Until 2006, the BCS required schools that weren't members of one of the five guaranteed conferences to finish in the top 6 of the rankings to be assured a BCS bowl game. But beginning last year, when Boise State of the Western Athletic Conference broke through, the threshold was amended to top 12.

"I've said all along, with Boise State and now, Hawai'i, that the process works," said Karl Benson, WAC commissioner.

Slive, who is also commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, said, "... if you don't like the BCS, you're going to have to admit that it has made a contribution to the interest in college football. And one of the things I always cite is take a game as important now as Hawai'i and Boise State. Fifteen years ago that would have been an important game in the region and to the fans. But now that game is a national game and I think there's some appreciation for that."

ESPN said an audience of 2,647,000 households for its telecast of the UH-Boise State game was the largest of its 14 Friday night games this season and most watched game on ESPN2.

If UH beats Washington and appears in the Sugar Bowl, Slive said it could be a mistake to assume the Warriors ended up there because the bowl had the last choice of eligible teams.

"I don't think you can say that because you don't really know what rationale that (bowls) have in selecting teams," Slive said. "One of the things I don't try to do is categorize teams. The bowls have a selection right and they'll exercise it and when you're talking to bowls they have a whole lot of different reasons for selecting teams. As you know, they've got reasons that relate to their own situation. Last year — or a couple of years ago — when Utah was in, it worked very well and last year with Boise State it worked very well, regardless of the selections rights, so I don't focus on that too much," Slive said.

"I think any bowl would be glad to have a team as attractive as an undefeated Hawai'i would be," Benson said.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.