HAWAII FOOTBALL
UH open to another date with Alabama
Fresh off a visit to Alabama that resulted in a highly competitive contest and a nice paycheck for the school, the Hawaii athletic department is looking into continuing the Warrior football team's series with the Crimson Tide.
Hawaii made its first trip to Tuscaloosa last week, falling 25-17 in a game that wasn't decided until the final play. It was the third meeting between the schools in five years.
"(UH coach) June (Jones) and I discussed during pregame our intent to continue the series with Alabama," UH athletic director Herman Frazier said. "I visited with (Alabama AD) Mal Moore and we will see when the two schools will have possible openings."
Frazier said the department is also in discussions with other schools from BCS conferences about scheduling future road games for the Warriors, although he declined to divulge the specifics just yet.
The Warriors already have a few big names lined up beyond this season's visits by Purdue of the Big Ten (Nov. 25) and Oregon State of the Pac-10 (Dec. 2) to Aloha Stadium.
Most of those contests will be UH home games, with the exception of a highly anticipated visit to the "The Swamp" for a meeting with Florida to open the 2008 season and a trip to Washington State in 2009.
Other BCS schools currently scheduled to play at Aloha Stadium in coming years include Michigan State (2007), Washington State (2008 and 2011), Navy and Wisconsin (2009) and Southern California (2010).
The school receives a guarantee for traveling to play big-name teams, which can boost the department's bottom line.
When he implemented a plan to get the athletic department out of a hefty deficit in 2004, Frazier included playing nonconference road games among the plans to generate revenue. Although the final numbers still need to be audited and the expenses factored in, UH was to receive a guarantee of about $650,000 for playing at Alabama.
But the finances are just part of the equation in lining up trips to places like Bryant-Denny Stadium, where the Warriors opened the season before a record crowd in excess of 92,000.
"While the finances are a given, we play the games for the experiences of our student-athletes," Frazier said. "We want them to have a great experience representing the University of Hawaii at stadiums all over the country."