Notre Dame's wide-reaching appeal stretched across the Pacific for Hawaii's Aaron Bain.

The Fighting Irish were a favorite in the household when Bain was growing up. So the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl matchup between the Warriors and the Irish holds added significance for his family.

“;One of my uncles graduated from Notre Dame,”; Bain said. “;He's probably going to come to the game with a Hawaii shirt and a Notre Dame hat.”;

Bain said his family regularly followed Notre Dame football, which rubbed off on him when he was a youngster. But his allegiance shifted to Hawaii as he grew, and he walked on with the Warriors after graduating from Saint Louis.

Bain said many of those relatives, some of whom are flying in from the neighbor islands, will be in the Aloha Stadium stands when he closes out his college career against the Irish.

“;I never imagined us playing Notre Dame,”; Bain said.

After waiting his turn for most of his first three seasons at UH, Bain ranks third on the team with 44 receptions for 448 yards and four touchdowns as a senior.

“;This is going to mean a lot,”; Bain said of the season finale, “;not only to me, but to all the seniors and the rest of the team because it's going to put a stamp on what they've got next year.”;

More family ties

Senior quarterback Jake Santos will be the second member of his family to experience a bowl week in Hawaii.

His brother Jonathan was a redshirt freshman receiver with Fresno State when the Bulldogs closed the season in the 1993 Jeep Eagle Aloha Bowl against Colorado.

“;He loved it. We watched it on TV and my parents are going to be able to do the same thing (on Christmas Eve),”; said Santos, who plans to return home right after the game and arrive on Christmas morning.

The Warriors checked into the Moana Surfrider yesterday, the same hotel Fresno State stayed in during the Bulldogs' trip in '93.

Short yardage

Thursday morning felt more like a Tuesday for the Warriors. The team began its game-week routine yesterday, watching film of Notre Dame and introducing the game plan in the on-field portion of practice ... Warriors' head coach Greg McMackin will miss tomorrow's practice to attend UH's graduation ceremony to support the Warriors players who will be receiving their diplomas.