Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

Saturday, August 5, 2000

National TV
coverage may elude
UH football team

Fox Sports relegates two
Warriors games to regional
telecasts in its Western
Athletic Conference package

---

Staff and wire services

The University of Hawaii football team will be shown twice on Fox regional telecasts, but is not scheduled to appear in any of the five announced Fox Sports Net national games to be shown as part of the Western Athletic Conference package, conference officials said yesterday.

Of the five Fox national games announced by the WAC, Texas Christian will appear in three. Fresno State is scheduled for two appearances while Rice and Southern Methodist have one each.

Of the five regional games to be shown, Fox will pick up both the Oct. 7 Hawaii at Texas Christian game and the Oct. 21 Hawaii at Rice game.

WAC Commissioner Karl Benson said there is a possibility Hawaii's Nov. 25 game against Wisconsin could be picked up nationally depending on Hawaii's record at that time.

There is another opening Nov. 11 on the Fox national schedule, but that appears unlikely to be used for a Hawaii-Nevada game.

"This package gives the WAC a great opportunity to showcase its brand of football to the nation," Benson said. "Not only are the traditional games being telecast, but some of our newest rivalries will also be shown to a national audience.

"The increase in the number of national and regional games over last year shows that the partnership between the WAC and Fox Sports Net is growing and thriving in just its second year."

Because of WAC-Fox contractual agreements, the Hawaii games broadcast regionally will be shown in the islands on Oceanic and Verizon Americast, formerly GTE Americast, not KFVE Channel 5.

Oceanic said the games will be free to those who have its digital service or subscribe to its Value Plus package for regular cable.

KFVE, which pays the university $1.2 million annually in rights fees, will show all Hawaii home games plus the Sept. 23 game at Texas El-Paso and the Nov. 4 game at Fresno State, station officials said.

The Warriors open the 2000-01 season Sept. 9 at Aloha Stadium against Portland State.