We're prepared to move ahead if both ABC and ESPN withdraw. As of now, our longtime title sponsor Jeep has given no indication that they want the games to be played only on Christmas. We believe there are plenty of people in the Seattle and San Francisco areas that Jeep can appeal to. In the presentation to the NCAA, we asked to move the Oahu Bowl to Seattle for a Jan. 2 date and for the Aloha Bowl to go to San Francisco and be played on Dec. 27. Current contracts call for the postseason games to be played on Christmas, a coveted time slot sources say ABC and ESPN won't give up.
Jeep reportedly pays a seven-figure fee for the two games because of the television exposure.
It's hard to beat a captive audience of 25 million viewers. Rohlfing wanted to clear the NCAA hurdle before moving forward. But we've got a very good plan that I believe will work. The Seattle package looks very good. Haugh told the Seattle Times two weeks ago that he was 90 percent sure the NCAA would give its certification.