Some colleges have summer quarterback controversies. Then, there is the University of Hawai'i, where the simmering pay-per-view debate has just been reheated.

But, then, UH is unique for the depth of its plunge into pay-per-view, the practice of selling football games into homes and businesses of fans on a subscription basis.

After four years of debating the merits of pay-per-view in letters to the editor, call-in shows, message boards and UH offices, this year should provide a definitive snapshot of whether it can be the bonus that it was envisioned to be or is the biggest bane to Aloha Stadium attendance it has often been labeled.

That's because the just-announced fee schedule for 2006 on O'ahu — $350 for new subscribers and $285 for renewals — is at the highest levels for those most likely to choose between attending a UH game or sitting in front of the TV to watch the Warriors.

The 15-game package — which includes seven football home and two road contests, in addition to three women's volleyball and three men's basketball games — offers three more events this year, and the average charge per event is $19-$23 in some categories.

Still, with UH having frozen the cost of most of its season tickets this year, it will be cheaper to buy some premium seating season tickets than pay-per-view. Some non-premium season tickets will be less than a third of the price of a new season pay-per-view subscription.

All of this is important — and very much under the microscope — at a school that has seen its biggest source of revenue, football season tickets, dwindle to barely over 20,000 while too many of its games have been played in front of a half-empty stadium even when pay-per-view sales dropped last year.

Initially, pay-per-view was seen as a way to bring in new revenue by reaching fans who couldn't — or wouldn't — attend games. And UH profited to the point where it helped the school leverage a $1.75 million annual TV rights deal with K5 last year.

But the years of low pay-per-view prices — $75 to $150 in the first three years — cost UH some Aloha Stadium faithful as living room and garage parties mushroomed. Of course, pay-per-view hasn't been the only reason. Premium fees, lack of parking, short tailgating hours, rowdy behavior, quality of opponents, the change of music, logos, nicknames, etc., all have contributed.

Now, with pay-per-view prices going up, the potential for an exciting football team and UH rolling out new online ticketing and in-stadium fan initiatives, we'll see if the Warriors can score what would be their biggest victory of the season: winning back fans.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.