Penn State is ineligible for postseason play from 2012 through the 2015 season. That means no potential trips to Pasadena, Arizona, Orlando or Dallas. It also means there will be no trips to any Big Ten championship games. For Bill O’Brien and his coaching staff, it means he will not be able to talk about the bowl game experience at Penn State to recruits. Perhaps fortunately, Bill O’Brien doesn’t know anything about the bowl game experience with Penn State anyway.
So, what can Penn State do to have a bowl-game experience without actually going to a bowl game? Schedule road games with Hawaii, and place them at the end of the regular season.
Some will criticize this tactic as a way of getting around the NCAA’s sanctions. It is true that this could easily be perceived as a sketchy move, and there is no indication that Penn State would pursue this kind of scheduling philosophy, but it is something that should be jotted down as a possibility, and here is why.
The NCAA has what is referred to as The Hawaii Exemption, which grants Hawaii and any opponent the ability to schedule a 13th regular season game if the game is played in Hawaii. The rule actually allows for the same terms in Alaska and Puerto Rico, just in case.
As stated in the NCAA Division I Manual:
17.27.2 Alaska/Hawaii, Additional Football Contest
Member institutions located in Alaska and Hawaii shall be permitted to exceed, by one, the maximum number of football contests permitted under Bylaw 17.9.5.1 but otherwise shall conform to the same maximum number of contests and dates of competition permitted other members of the Association.
17.9.5.2 Annual Exemptions. [FBS/FCS]
The maximum number of football contests shall exclude the following:
(j) Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico. [FBS/FCS]
Any football games played in Hawaii, Alaska or Puerto Rico, respectively, either against or under the sponsorship of an active member institution located in Hawaii, Alaska or Puerto Rico, by a Division I member institution located outside the area in question.
Source: NCAA Division I Manual, hat tip to FBSchedules.com
It is not uncommon for schools from the bigger conferences to end their regular season in Hawaii. Wisconsin did it in 2009, 2005, 2000 and 1996. Cincinnati did it in 2008. Washington (2007) and Oregon State (2006) did it in back-to-back seasons, and Washington State and Oregon State did it in 1999. Purdue did it in 2006. Michigan State made the trip in 2004 a week after Northwestern did.
Even Michigan and Notre Dame have done it. The Wolverines ended their 1998 regular season with a trip to Hawaii a week after losing at Ohio State. Notre Dame made the trip in 1997 for a regular season finale. But the best example Penn State should look to is Alabama. In 2002 the Crimson Tide, placed on their own postseason ban made the decision to schedule a trip to Hawaii after careful considerations were given to ensure no NCAA violations were being broken under the terms of the sanctions against the program. But the Hawaii Exemption allowed for the game to be played without an issue. The game was scheduled as a reward for a group of players who have weathered some of the rockiest times in Alabama history," wrote Cecil Hurt for The Tuscaloosa News on May 30, 2002.
Alabama was dealing with booster payments. If that was a rocky time for the program, then Penn State is dealing with Mauna Kea.
The NCAA issued a four-year postseason ban as a way to help force Penn State to re-cultivate their football program with integrity. Keep in mind that none of the actions and decisions executed by high-ranking Penn State officials had a direct impact on the football program, nor was the program acting in direct violations of the NCAA rule book, and with new leadership already in place within the football program the efforts to rebuild the program may not be as drastic as some might think. Scholarships and a four-year postseason ban will be mountain-high obstacles to deal with for the next four years, which is why Penn State must do everything they can to make the idea of playing at Penn State sound attractive to high school players.
Penn State may not be able to lure in a high profile kid who wants to win championships and work on his NFL profile, but the opportunity to play in Hawaii may at least whet the appetite of some recruits. There would be no actual rewards for playing in Hawaii, and none for coming home with a win, but it is something that Penn State does not have right now.
Penn State has never played Hawaii.
