One of the areas in which the University of Hawai'i athletic department hopes to reap quick benefits from its Sugar Bowl and top 20 exposure is a new apparel contract for its football team.

With its Nike contract set to expire in May, UH is currently negotiating with what it terms, "several interested parties" on a new agreement that it hopes will reflect the status of a program that went 12-1 and made its first Bowl Championship appearance.

Speculation that a new, more lucrative deal is in the works has been circulating.

But associate athletic director John McNamara said, "We don't know, at this time, who the new apparel partner will be going forward. We're in discussions right now and the situation is very fluid."

McNamara declined to confirm which manufacturers UH was negotiating with.

To date, UH's annual apparel contracts have been strictly agreements in which UH receives free or discounted merchandise.

Several top 20 teams have deals that also involve cash. But McNamara declined to say what terms UH is seeking.