Friday, July 17, 1998

Oahu Bowl joins Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day Star-Bulletin staff The two Christmas Day college bowl games were given their official names during yesterday's press conference at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki. As originally reported in the Star-Bulletin last April, Aloha Bowl officials will host the first college football bowl doubleheader. The opening game will be called the Jeep Aloha Bowl Football Classic and will be televised nationally on ABC-TV. Kickoff is 10:30 a.m. and will involve a team from the Pac-10 against an at-large opponent. The second game will be called the Jeep Oahu Bowl. It will be televised nationally on ESPN-TV. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. and will involve teams from the Pac-10 and the Western Athletic Conference. "It will be a pleasure to welcome the first college football doubleheader in history to Hawaii on Christmas Day," Gov. Ben Cayetano said at yesterday's press conference. "The Jeep Aloha Bowl is already a college football tradition, and I'm certain the new Jeep Oahu Bowl will begin a tradition of its own." The Oahu Visitors Bureau also will be involved in the marketing of the doubleheader, something Aloha Bowl chief executive officer Lenny Klompus believes will help the games on national and local levels. "With the title sponsorship of the Jeep Oahu Bowl, coupled with OVB's aggressive marketing efforts, this event will truly put Oahu and the state of Hawaii in the forefront of college football," Klompus said. "Moreover, the cross-promotion of ABC and ESPN creates a powerful, unprecedented medium for this historic event."