Mountain West, ESPN Regional Television Partner in a Two-Year Deal for the Sheraton Hawaii Hawaii Bowl

ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, joins with the Mountain West Conference (MW), to send a team to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl for the 2012 and 2013 games. The move comes as the University of Hawaii transitions to the Mountain West next season from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

"ERT is pleased to reach agreement with the Mountain West to be affiliated with the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl for the next two years," said Pete Derzis, Senior Vice President and General Manager, ERT.  "Aligning the interests of Hawaii, our many sponsors and the Mountain West is a great move for the long-term success of the bowl and should prove to be beneficial to all."

"As we celebrate the first 10 years of the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, we also look to the future," said David Matlin, Executive Director of the bowl. "With the University of Hawaii moving to the Mountain West in 2012,  the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl is proud to announce an affiliation with the MW that will allow the Warriors opportunities, when eligible, to continue participating in a game that means so much, to so many in the islands."

"We are very pleased to announce this agreement to participate in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, which brings us back to five bowls slots and matches our number of bowl-eligible teams from the most recent five consecutive seasons" said Commissioner Craig Thompson.  "This progressive step is also part of our institutions' blueprint for the future.  It is a natural extension of the University of Hawaii's membership, which begins next season, and our long, productive relationship with ESPN Regional Television."

Under this new arrangement, a team from the Mountain West will be the new opponent for Conference USA, which has been associated with the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl since its inception in 2002.