In a University of Hawai'i fan's wish-for-the-stars scenario, the Warriors-Rainbow Wahine-Rainbows-Rainbow Warriors will someday call the Pacific-10 Conference home.

Like we said, it is a dream. An improbable, if not impossible, one.

In the present-day, real-world realm of UH, hey, we'll settle for the Warriors just being able to play the Pac-10 on a more regular basis in football. That hasn't been getting a whole lot easier as Washington State's intention of canceling the scheduled 2011 game at Aloha Stadium, the planned third game of a three-game series, underlines.

The cancellation, which comes when WSU pays the contracted $300,000 buy-out fee, will make Saturday's meeting at Qwest Field in Seattle the finale of a series.

And that's disappointing because there would seem to be a lot to like about not only retaining but expanding the relationship on both sides.

Coupled with the Pac-10's cancellation earlier this year of its agreement with the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, UH is faced with a dwindling number of opportunities to play members of its nearest Bowl Championship Series-guaranteed conference.

Currently the only other football games listed with Pac-10 members through 2019 are a 2011 appearance at Washington and three games (2010, 2012 and 2013) with Southern California.

This is where UH athletic director Jim Donovan has his work cut out for him in both the short and long terms. Financially strapped UH doesn't have a whole lot of money to fatten up appearance checks, but it needs to add to its Pac-10 scheduling.

Currently, UH is believed to be talking to at least two other Pac-10 schools about possible games, but Donovan declined comment on which schools they are and where negotiations stand.

Such matchups would seem to have a lot to recommend for both parties. For UH, the Pac-10 provides a marquee draw. The conference's teams, because of strong alumni ties and visibility, are brand names here, even bottom half ones such as WSU.

Cincinnati, Purdue and some other non-conference opponents of recent vintage might be as good or better teams on the field, but the Pac-10 is more recognizable. And a win over one of them brings more validation here.

For the Pac-10, regular-season games here tie in with recruiting and offer up the possibility of a 13th game via the so-called Hawai'i exception. Though the latter might be losing some of its luster since the NCAA expanded to 12 the non-UH maximum.

The hope is that the Cougars' surprise exit will prompt UH to aggressively enhance its future Pac-10 scheduling and not let it deteriorate.