UH declined '06 game at BYU

Frazier and Jones preferred a home game vs. Oregon State instead of reviving the rivalry

Rather than revive a long-standing series with rival Brigham Young this season on the road, Hawaii athletic director Herman Frazier said yesterday he chose to schedule a home football game with Oregon State.

"BYU wanted us to come there. I wanted a home game. That's why it didn't work," said Frazier, of the decision he made in February.

Sources at BYU, including assistant head football coach Lance Reynolds, said the Cougars wanted to start a series of games against the Warriors, including games at Hawaii, but UH balked.

"I guess there was resistance (on UH's end)," said Reynolds, who has coached at BYU nearly 25 years.

Frazier said UH will schedule BYU in future years, but would not disclose what years are planned.

BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe could not be reached yesterday.

"Tom Holmoe and I have had conversations about games between BYU and Hawaii and we have not selected the dates at this time," Frazier said.

UH coach June Jones said he'd much prefer to play a home game against Oregon State than a road game at BYU, but is eager to start playing the Cougars on a regular basis.

UH announced in February a series of three games with Oregon State, starting with Dec. 2 this year and continuing with another home game and a road game in future seasons.

Frazier said he also chose Oregon State over BYU (and Utah, among other schools) for the end of this season partly because of the Beavers' Pac-10 affiliation.

"If we were undefeated we have Purdue and Oregon State at the end of our schedule. What helps us more in the BCS, Oregon State or BYU? Strength of schedule," Frazier said.

Hawaii is 0-1 after losing its season opener at Alabama on Sept. 2. The Warriors open their home schedule Saturday against UNLV.

Only two of a possible five nonconference games are scheduled for 2007, Frazier said. They are a road game at UNLV and a home game against Michigan State. Frazier said he has options, but declined to disclose them.

"We're still deciding who they're going to be," he said. "It could be two, it could be three. It could be home, could be away."

BYU is not a possibility for 2007, he said. Frazier added he hasn't had scheduling conversations with anyone in the Cougars administration since February.

"The only time we talked to BYU is when we were trying to fill our (2006) schedule," Frazier said. "It's an old story."

But so is the UH-BYU rivalry, which dates back to 1930 when the host Rainbows beat the Cougars 49-13. But BYU has dominated the series, winning 19 of the 27 games, including the last time they met, in 2002 at Provo, when the Cougars won 35-32.

BYU held a stranglehold on the WAC in the 1970s and 1980s, including 1984 when it went undefeated and captured the mythical national championship. The Cougars beat the Rainbows 18-13 that year, one of 10 consecutive BYU wins over UH.

The matchup played to six sellout crowds of 50,000 at Aloha Stadium, including 1989 when UH won 56-14 to end the 10-game losing streak, and 2001 when Hawaii beat BYU 72-45 and knocked the Mountain West champions out of a possible BCS game. After that game, Cougars coach Gary Crowton complained of injuries from the artificial turf, and vowed to never bring a team to Aloha Stadium again as long as the surface remained.

Crowton is no longer the Cougars coach and the more player-friendly FieldTurf is now on the floor of the stadium. The timing just wasn't right to resume the rivalry this December, Frazier said.

"At the end of the day we wanted a home game here," he said. "Oregon State worked out for us better. We have eight home games. BYU did not work for 2006, it doesn't mean we would not schedule BYU."