Hawaii football coach June Jones said today there are still "eight to 10 teams" remaining as possibilities for the Warriors to play this season as a replacement for Akron. The Zips pulled out of their Aug. 30 game at Aloha Stadium against UH last week. Hawaii continues
search for Akron subWarriors coach Jones says eight
to 10 teams remain as possible
opponents for the ZipsBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comA Hawaii appearance in the Aug. 23 Black Coaches Association Classic could also still happen, Jones said. He said Texas and Texas A&M were considered potential opponents for UH in the BCA Classic, but neither the Longhorns nor the Aggies wanted the game. The BCA Classic has to be played at a school with a stadium that seats at least 70,000, Jones added.
He said a $1 million payout makes such a game attractive.
"If we have a chance to do something like that we almost have to do it because of the financial situation our department is in," Jones said during a KKEA-1420 radio interview. "Plus the exposure it gives our players and the state. But those teams don't need a $1 million check.
"I know ESPN wants us, because our ratings have been good," added Jones, who said he spoke with a representative from the network this morning.
Such a game would not count against UH's limit of 13 this season.
The potential downside is that the Warriors would have to open their season with three consecutive road games, with two of them against probable Top 25 opponents.
A worse situation would be if Hawaii is forced to add a team at the end of the season, or cannot book any new opponent at all. In those cases, UH opens on the road against the Trojans, who will have already played Auburn and Brigham Young.
"There's the possibility of adding a bigger name school at the end of the year," Jones said.
"But we're losing three offensive linemen to the NFL," he added. "Because we're going to be so young on the offensive line I'd prefer to add a game at the beginning before going on the road.
"I don't want two byes and then going on the road to play USC after they've already played."
Jones also said UH has been in contact with Montana, but the Grizzlies are scheduled to play at Maine on Aug. 30. The Warriors also had discussions with Portland State, another Division I-AA team, last week. But the Vikings are only a backup option at best because they want a guaranteed profit between $70,000 and $100,000 to play here.
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