Hoping to capitalize on the mushrooming interest in its football team, the University of Hawai'i athletic department is looking into the possibility of an earlier sale for its 2007 season tickets.

John McNamara, UH associate athletic director, said department officials will have preliminary talks this week and would like to, "decide something as soon as expeditiously possible with all the logistics that have to be considered."

Season ticket renewals have usually begun in the spring and sometimes concluded as late as June.

But blessed with a surge in interest for a team that won nine of its last 10 regular-season games and the upcoming Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, McNamara said, "we want to capture the momentum and maximize it. We want to move it toward having a great season next year and getting the fans out to the stadium."

UH sold 18,185 season tickets this year, a 20-year low, and attendance was poor for much of the season. But the Warriors' school-record nine-game winning streak and nation-leading offense have helped bring back fans in droves. UH sold out the regular-season finale against Oregon State, despite the game being on ESPN, and averaged 40,168 over the final three games.

McNamara said ticket sales "are based upon a schedule and a timeline but sometimes there are factors that cause you to take a look and, maybe, think outside the box and we want to do that. This is definitely one of those cases and we'll be meeting to discuss some ways we can tweak that timeline and do some innovative things to make sure we capture the excitement in the community. We're looking at all the logistics and if it is something that we can do, we'll move forward with that."

McNamara said if UH goes with earlier sales, "we'll make sure that our loyal season-ticket holder base is accommodated." He said renewals would "be the first component in the timeline."

McNamara said fans would have "as much relevant information as possible with regard to the schedule and personnel on which to base their decisions. We'd like to go as early as possible. We're looking at some ideas to move things up and allow people to step forward a little sooner than the current timeline allows."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.