Football Warriors suffer schedule setback

UH is waiting for word on the final piece of the puzzle

Hawaii athletic director Herman Frazier declined to guarantee yesterday that UH's 2007 football schedule would not include more than one Division I-AA opponent.

Frazier said yesterday he was working with three teams to fill two open spots, one game on the road, one at home. When asked if one of the three is a Division I-AA school, Frazier answered by saying, "I can't go into complete detail about that."

UH is scheduled for a Sept. 22 home game against I-AA Charleston Southern. Only one win a year against a I-AA opponent can count toward bowl eligibility, and such games generally sell fewer tickets and draw less interest than games against Division I opponents.

Frazier was also asked if he could guarantee a 13-game schedule.

"I ain't guaranteeing anything, based on how people react," he said.

Warrior fans didn't get much yesterday when they were led to expect a completed football schedule from the UH administration.

In the latest of many delays in completing the 2007 slate, UH sent out a news release saying it was "awaiting confirmation" from a school it hopes to fill one of the remaining openings.

"Once we slot that, we will announce the other game," Frazier said. "We know what team we're talking to, but it's more than just that."

Last Thursday, when the Western Athletic Conference announced its schedule, Frazier said, "We'll finalize our nonconference matchups and be prepared to release them Monday afternoon."

This time, Frazier did not provide a new delivery date for the schedule.

The open dates are Sept. 1, Oct. 20 and Nov. 3.

Recent speculation had Hawaii playing a road game at Indiana, but the Hoosiers have released their schedule and none of those dates are open, and they've begun to sell season tickets. If UH is negotiating for a game with Indiana this season, it is not from a position of strength.