The University of Hawai'i will shortly submit bids to host an NCAA baseball regional and super regional, associate athletic director Carl Clapp said yesterday.

There are 16 four-team regionals the week of June 2-4, followed by eight two-team super regionals June 7-9, with winners advancing to the June 16-24 College World Series in Omaha, Neb. Bids are scheduled to be awarded later this month.

Clapp declined to say how much UH would bid but said the NCAA-mandated minimums are $50,000 for a regional and $35,000 for a super regional. "We're willing, capable and ready to be a part of it," Clapp said.

The Rainbows (37-12) lead the Western Athletic Conference by one game at 14-6 with one week of regular-season play remaining while they take final exams this week. Their pursuers each have two weeks remaining.

The winner of the May 24-28 tournament in Fresno, Calif., receives the WAC's automatic berth to the 64-team NCAA Tournament. The runner-up may be considered for an at-large bid.

Despite more than 10 bids in its history, UH has only hosted once, 1977, when it held games at the old Rainbow Stadium and Aloha Stadium. UH last made a bid in the 1990s.

In 1991, UH was 13th in both major polls, offered a $153,000 bid and pre-sold more than a third of Murakami Stadium but was passed over.

"Being new I don't even know (what UH's chances are), but we're going to put it (a bid) in," Clapp said.

Clapp said as much as UH would like to host this year, the athletic department is also looking toward the future.

"We're going to work to start improving our chances over time," Clapp said. "That's the way I'm looking at it. We're going to put in a bid and let them know we are here."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com and Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.