Time for UH to get creative to boost winless Warriors

At 0-9 and desperate to avert an 0-12 finish, it is time for the University of Hawaii to roll up its collective sleeves and really get creative this week.

Football coach Norm Chow?

Well, he and the coaches, too, of course. But we’re talking promotion and marketing here.

Two-for-one deals, military discounts and retro nights are swell, but trying times — and Bovada.lv listed the odds of UH going winless at 3-to-1 on Monday — call for bolder approaches.

Like, "guaranteed win night" for example.

Without a championship to chase, a bowl game to count down to or an All-America candidate to celebrate, about the only drama UH has to sell right now is whether the Rainbow Warriors can avoid going 0-for-2013. That and escaping what would be the ignominious distinction of being the first Football Bowl Subdivision program to draw the dreaded bagel twice.

It is what people are talking about, if they are still talking about UH football at all.

Attempts to sell everything else have, so far, resulted in one of the smallest crowd averages since that 0-12 season of 1998. At this rate, UH fears its football ticket revenue could fall nearly $1 million below projections. And it is getting late.

So, why not take a page out of the late baseball promoter Bill Veeck’s entrepreneurial playbook and declare the last two home games "guaranteed win nights?"

Coaches might not dare to publicly guarantee victory, but it doesn’t mean the cash-strapped athletic department can’t. Guarantee that if the team doesn’t win, fans still can. Tell them "we feel your pain," and offer them a deal to come back.

Say, in effect, the athletic department has so much confidence in this team coming around for a win — or two — that it’s willing to back it up, if you’ll join in at Aloha Stadium to help make it happen.

Here’s the deal: Fans who buy multiple tickets to either of the two remaining home dates, Saturday’s San Diego State game or the Nov. 30 finale against Army, would receive free home game tickets for the entire 2014 season should the ‘Bows wind up winless in 2013.

It is one way to get some fans into the seats and limit the red ink at the box office. And, who knows, maybe even build some buzz at a time when fans are turning their attention to basketball and Christmas shopping.

What’s the worst that could happen? Sure, you might have to give away some tickets in 2014, but if UH thuds to an 0-12 finish, it isn’t like they would be a hot commodity.

More likely, UH plays with some renewed confidence — or the law of averages catches up — and puts it together for a win. Then, the department is off the hook, all the while having demonstrated some initiative and winning back some fans.

Short of laying down some moolah on those 3-to-1 odds — something bound to be frowned upon by the NCAA and State Sen. Donna Kim — this could be the best wager UH could make.

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Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.