Holiday Bowl set to spurn the WAC

Steve Carp

Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1998 | 11:21 a.m.

First, it was the Las Vegas Bowl that sought to sever its ties with the Western Athletic Conference. Now, it's the Holiday Bowl's turn.

But unlike the Las Vegas Bowl, which is asking out of the third year of its three-year deal to be completed in 1999, the Holiday Bowl doesn't want to wait until next year. The San Diego-based game, which usually features the WAC champion, wants to drop the WAC this year.

The Holiday Bowl is scheduled for Dec. 30 at Qualcomm Stadium.

The move would clear the way for a re-organization of the game next year, to pit the champion of the new league consisting of eight former WAC members against either the Pacific 10 Conference's runner-up or a Big 12 opponent.

As it stands, the WAC and the Pac-10 have agreements with the Holiday and the Cotton Bowl, with the leagues sending one team to each of those respective bowls.

However, sources said the Pac-10 wants to bow out of the Cotton Bowl altogether and forge a firm alliance with the Holiday Bowl. At the same time, the Holiday Bowl wants to be able to strike a deal with the departing WAC schools, which includes San Diego State among its members.

Executive director John Reed said the Holiday Bowl is looking at all options.

"We want a clean sheet of paper," he said. "We looked at our situation and saw if we didn't act now, it might lock us in for the next three years. But for our future, San Diego State has to have access to our game."

On July 24, the Holiday Bowl sent a letter to all parties -- the WAC, the Pac-10, the Big 12 and the Cotton Bowl -- that it was terminating the agreement immediately. The WAC, as well as the other parties, had three more years with the Holiday Bowl following this year.

However, Reed said the WAC has not been eliminated from this year's game just yet.

"Right now, we don't know what's going to happen," he said. "We've had a 20-year relationship with the WAC. There's all kinds of conjecture you can make from all of this and though it's way too early to speculate, my feeling is the WAC will be part of the decision."

Reed said all of the parties will talk soon, although he didn't know when.

"Everyone's checking their hole cards and digesting what has happened," he said. "We are going to meet, hopefully sooner than later."