At San Jose State this week they will undertake the annual “Fire on the Fountain.”
In two weeks at Brigham Young they will ceremonially “Light the Y” on the mountainside overlooking LaVell Edwards Stadium.
And in four weeks they will also hold a “Fired Up by the Fountain” at Fresno State.
The reason for all this pyro and illumination mania?
It will be homecoming at all three schools with the University of Hawaii football team just happening to come to town. Three UH road games and three homecomings featuring the Rainbow Warriors. Anybody spot a trend here?
Remarkable coincidence? Perhaps, but given how homecoming schedules are generally put together it sure looks a lot more like calculation.
As Paul Johnson, a former UH offensive coordinator (1987-94), used to remind folks, “Being somebody’s homecoming game opponent isn’t meant to be an honor.”
I mean, for UH’s own homecoming this season the school had a wide choice of possible home opponents to pick from: Duquesne, Wyoming, Nevada and, maybe even Utah State.
But who did UH choose? Duquesne of the less well-heeled Football Championship Subdivision, which was projected to be the least formidable opposition of the bunch, of course.
Schools want their alumni to come back to campus or at least the home stadium, have a good time and donate generously. And few things pump up the old school pride or help open wallets like, well, winning.
So, as in the case of San Jose State this week, there is the promotion of Fire on the Fountain, Campus MovieFest and San Jose State Sports Hall of Fame inductions all topped off, of course, by Spartan football against Hawaii.
That’s why you don’t see Boise State or Alabama being the designated homecoming opponent three consecutive road games.
And it is why, coming off seasons in which UH has done poorly, the Rainbow Warriors usually end up with a lot more homecoming invitations than when they are piling up winning seasons and contending for championships.
Of course, the system isn’t foolproof. Much of the choice of the pairing is based on how opponents did in the previous season and projections for the immediate campaign.
And the ‘Bows were 3-9 in 2017 and seen as more likely to contend for the bottom of the West Division of the Mountain West Conference, where they finished in ‘17, than the top.
In San Jose State’s case, the ‘Bows undoubtedly looked a lot like the best chance for a victory since they finished 1-7 in 2017, sharing the West Division cellar with the Spartans. Given a choice of UH (3-9), Colorado State (7-6), Army (10-3) and Nevada-Las Vegas (5-7) in a one-month stretch, San Jose State selected UH.
Had opponents known back in February or March, when some of the schedules were announced, that the Rainbow Warriors would be 4-1 right now and lighting up scoreboards at a 41.6 points-a-game pace, they might have opted to make somebody else their designated victim.
But here we are. The party tents have been ordered, the festivities scheduled, invitations sent out and a place, if not a role, has been ascribed to UH.
And it is left to the ’Bows to either wreck the party or be in danger of getting chosen for more homecoming appearances next season.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
