Hawaii's season finale will have a distinctly golden tinge.

Notre Dame accepted an invitation yesterday to face the Warriors in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, bringing one of college football's iconic programs to Hawaii for Christmas Eve.

“;With the tradition they have, everybody knows about Notre Dame,”; Hawaii senior linebacker Adam Leonard said. “;It's just unbelievable and I'm thrilled for the opportunity.”;

The Warriors ended the regular season at 7-6, closing with a 29-24 loss to Cincinnati on Saturday. Notre Dame struggled down the stretch en route to a 6-6 finish, capped by a loss to USC.

But regardless of record, the Fighting Irish remain among the marquee draws in the game and Hawaii Bowl executive director David Matlin said he already noticed an uptick in online ticket sales following the announcement yesterday.

“;I'm really excited,”; Hawaii coach Greg McMackin said. “;This is one of the big-time teams in college football. This is Knute Rockne, Touchdown Jesus and the Four Horsemen. It's one of the top names in the game.

“;They travel well, it'll help the bowl and it'll help the economy.”;

Yesterday's confirmation of Notre Dame's participation brightened the day for the Warriors after suffering a tough loss to Cincinnati in which a 14-point lead disappeared over the game's final 12 minutes.

“;I usually give 48 hours to get over a ballgame,”; McMackin said. “;That just put me right past the bad feelings about that game and on to the next.”;

The matchup became possible when Arizona State lost to Arizona on Saturday, leaving the Pac-10 with only five bowl-eligible teams. The Hawaii Bowl is contracted to get the league's sixth pick.

Matlin said he made contact with Notre Dame three weeks ago “;as a contingency.”; Those talks intensified as it became clear the Pac-10 might wind up short of bowl-eligible teams and went into high gear after Arizona State's loss left the Hawaii Bowl with an at-large pick.

“;Notre Dame is a storied football tradition and getting them is a huge statement,”; Matlin said.

“;We're blessed in that a lot of things lined up for this to be possible. ... It's a thrilling day for me personally and I'm grateful to so many people who helped put us in this position from (former executive director and current UH athletic director) Jim Donovan to (ESPN's) Pete Derzis to Hugh Yoshida.”;

Notre Dame lost four of its last five games to put head coach Charlie Weis' future with the program in question. But athletic director Jack Swarbuck announced last week that Weis would continue as coach next season.

“;We're very excited about heading out west to play in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl,”; Weis said in a release from the school. “;This is a great opportunity for our team to face a quality opponent in their backyard and we'll need to be ready.

“;I know the extra practices this month will really benefit our team and we look forward to ending this season on a good note.”;

Hawaii and Notre Dame have met twice before, with the Fighting Irish winning tight games in 1991 (48-42) and 1997 (23-22) at Aloha Stadium. Notre Dame also played in the 1984 Aloha Bowl, losing to SMU 27-20.

The Fighting Irish will be looking to win their first bowl game since 1993, having lost nine straight postseason games since beating Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.

Hawaii clinched its sixth bowl game in the last seven years when it reached seven wins against Washington State on Nov. 29, and will play in the Hawaii Bowl for the fifth time.