University of Hawaii football coach Norm Chow said he was encouraged by the turnout of 1,803 students for the Warriors’ home opener Saturday.

 "It was nice to see a bunch of students having some fun," Chow said on today’s Mountain West Conference coaches’ teleconference. "We obviously would like to see some more Saturday."

UH plays Nevada Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in the MWC opener.

The average turnout for 2011, the first full season since the adoption of the mandatory student athletic fee, was 1,047.

UH makes up to 5,000 seats per game available to students at Aloha Stadium in exchange for the $50-per semester fee.

Chow said, "I didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t know what had happened in the past (but) it looked pretty good. It looked like they were having a lot of fun and that’s what college football should be about."

A UH spokesman said the athletic department will run a full-page advertisement in the student newspaper, "thanking the students for their impressive turnout last Saturday and encouraging them to attend the game Saturday."

UH said it is also emailing all students in on-campus housing residents this week.

UH said 587 students took advantage of the free buses to Aloha Stadium.