The addition of Appalachian State yesterday probably didn't do much to stimulate season-ticket sales for Hawaii's upcoming football season, but the schedule for three years from now is off to a good start with the booking of Purdue. UH’s 2003 football schedule
filled out; 2006’s beefed upThe Warriors get I-AA Appalachian State
next and the Big Ten's Boilermakers laterBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com
Hawaii athletic director Herman Frazier continued his master plan of upgrading UH's nonconference schedule yesterday while taking care of the business at hand by filling the Aug. 30 void left by Akron's pullout last week.
Aug. 30, Appalachian State UH schedule
Sept. 13, at USC
Sept. 20, at UNLV
Sept. 27, Rice*
Oct. 4, at Tulsa*
Oct. 11, Fresno State*
Oct. 18, at Louisiana Tech*
Oct. 25, UTEP*
Nov. 1, at San Jose State*
Nov. 15, at Nevada*
Nov. 22, Army
Nov. 29, Alabama
Dec. 6, Boise State*
*WAC games
Purdue, which will play UH on Nov. 23, 2006, at Aloha Stadium, was actually supposed to visit here last season. But Boilermakers coach Joe Tiller preferred not to play a 13-game schedule, and Purdue pulled out of that game in 2000, joining Texas, Notre Dame and Virginia as teams that dropped Hawaii sojourns from their schedules. Washington State did the same last year.
Frazier has booked multiple games with Alabama and Michigan State since his arrival, and inherited from former AD Hugh Yoshida schedules that include encounters with USC.
With that being said, 2003 will now be the fourth consecutive season in which Hawaii opens against a Division I-AA team. The others were Portland State, Montana and Eastern Illinois. Appalachian State has made the Division I-AA playoffs nine of the last 13 seasons, and will probably present the Warriors with as much of a challenge as Akron would have.
"I'm glad we got the vacancy filled and don't have to worry about opening the season on the road," said UH coach June Jones, who faced starting the season at USC on Sept. 13 if a replacement was not found.
Hawaii could still end up starting away from home if it gets in the BCA Classic on Aug. 23. Jones hasn't given up on that idea, but it doesn't seem likely at this point.
Appalachian State will probably be the opener.
"We're excited and delighted to have the opportunity to come to the islands and play a quality team like Hawaii," Appalachian State athletic director Roachel Laney said. "Coach Jones has built a solid program in a short period of time and it's going to be a challenge for us. The educational experience is something our kids would not have if it weren't for athletic competition. It's also good exposure for our program because we get to play a quality opponent like Hawaii."
Hawaii has never played Appalachian State or Purdue in football.
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