Warriors to open season
against Florida AtlanticThe addition of a Sept. 4
home game against the Owls
completes Hawaii's schedule
Hawaii breaks its four-year streak of opening its football season against a Division I-AA team this fall.
2004 Hawaii football schedule
Sept. 4 Florida Atlantic Sept. 18 at Rice * Oct. 2 Tulsa * Oct. 9 Nevada * Oct. 16 at UTEP * Oct. 23 San Jose State * Oct. 30 at Boise State * Nov. 6 Louisiana Tech * Nov. 13 at Fresno State * Nov. 20 Idaho Nov. 27 Northwestern Dec. 4 Michigan State
* denotes WAC game
Barely.
Florida Atlantic will be playing its first Division I-A game when it meets UH on Sept. 4 at Aloha Stadium.
The Owls of Boca Raton, Fla., have only been playing football since 2000. But success has come quickly under legendary coach Howard Schnellenberger. FAU went 11-3 last year and to the semifinals of the Division I-AA playoffs.
"I don't know anything about their team," Warriors coach June Jones said. "I do know Coach Schnellenberger has done an unbelievable job everywhere he's been, and would anticipate he'll do the same there."
Schnellenberger coached Miami to the 1983 national championship and was offensive coordinator for Bear Bryant at Alabama for three national titles. In 1972, he was an assistant coach for the 17-0 Miami Dolphins, the NFL's only undefeated team.
The Owls' best players on offense and defense return in quarterback Jared Allen and linebacker Chris Laskowski. FAU is transitioning into the Sun Belt Conference and will be a full-fledged member in two years.
UH athletic director Herman Frazier signed a one-year deal to play FAU yesterday. The contract guarantees an unspecified payout to cover the Owls' airfare, hotel and per diem costs.
The Owls replace Sacramento State on UH's schedule. The Hornets pulled out because of financial reasons.
Frazier said he had talks with representatives from UCLA about scheduling the Bruins. Although it couldn't be worked out this time, Frazier said the seeds are planted for at least one game against the Pac-10 team down the line.
"There would have been some juggling involved and at one point they showed interest. They were going to add it as an extra game," Frazier said. "We don't have the years yet, but there's no question UCLA will be on our schedule in the future."
UH also tried to schedule Grambling State for the season opener here, with the possibility of future games between the teams in Japan. But that went by the wayside when Grambling coach Doug Williams, a friend of Frazier and Jones, left the Tigers for a job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Frazier said the Warriors still hope to play in Japan eventually, under the right conditions.
"It's still an option for us. The NCAA book says we can schedule a foreign game once every four years," Frazier said. "But we have to find a good sponsor. The question is, can we afford to give up a home game to play in Japan or would it be an away game?"
Frazier knows some fans want big-name opponents for every nonconference game, but said that isn't always feasible, or even desirable.
"What we prefer is a balanced schedule," Frazier said. "In a perfect world would we schedule USC and UNLV back-to-back on the road? I don't think so. You have to think about the development of your team."
Last year, in a schedule that was put together before Frazier arrived at UH, the Warriors lost to the Trojans and Rebels to begin the season 1-2.
Frazier and Jones have said they want to play challenging BCS conference teams on the road though. The Warriors are scheduled to play at Michigan State in 2005, and Frazier said he expects to continue talks with Alabama athletic director Mal Moore about a future game there, now that the nonconference schedules for this year and next are set.
