Thursday, July 30, 1998
UH snubbing defectors
The Rainbows have turned down
By Paul Arnett
several invitations to play
schools that split from the WAC
Star-BulletinLAS VEGAS -- Three weeks ago, Nevada-Las Vegas head football coach Jeff Horton made the University of Hawaii an offer he couldn't believe the Rainbows would refuse.
''I told them I wanted to have a 10-year home-and-home beginning in the year 2000,'' Horton said, then paused for effect. ''They told me no thanks.''
Horton was so stunned by the shun, he called Gov. Ben Cayetano and asked him if there was anything he could do. After all, the governor's grandson, Micah Ancheta, is a sophomore running back for the Rebels.
''He told me he wanted to see his grandson play against Hawaii, both in Honolulu and Las Vegas,'' Horton said. ''We even have (Boyd group chairman) Bill Boyd looking into it to see if there is anything he can do to change their mind.''
Several years ago, the Boyd Group donated $250,000 to the university. A California Hotel advertisement has been prominently displayed on the end zone scoreboard at Aloha Stadium for several seasons.
The reason for the refusal is a directive issued by UH president Kenneth Mortimer not to play any of the eight defecting schools from the Western Athletic Conference in any sport.
UH head baseball coach Les Murakami recently turned down a home-and-home series with rival San Diego State. Murakami wanted to play the Aztecs, but he had his orders.
''I don't know why the president would want to alienate those schools because you don't know how the landscape is going to change over the next few years,'' Horton said. ''It's a natural for the two tourist destinations.
''Our largest crowd last year was the Hawaii game (27,717). People in Hawaii love coming over here to play. I just think it makes sense for us to keep playing nonconference games if we can.''
UNLV isn't the only former WAC school that has made overtures to Hawaii. BYU, Utah and the Air Force Academy also want to play the Rainbows on a regular basis. The Falcons are scheduled to fly over in the year 2000, a contract Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry expects Hawaii to honor.
''We're going to be there and are looking forward to it,'' DeBerry said.
