Ask what the weather holds for tomorrow's University of Hawai'i football game at Utah State and Aggie athletic director Randy Spetman quips, "rain, sleet and snow."

He is joking, of course, because the forecast for Logan is for a high of 52 degrees and clear. And besides, the Aggies need good weather as much as the Warriors. Maybe more.

"We're praying hard for good weather for these last two (home) weeks," Spetman acknowledges, because the Aggies urgently need to get fans into Romney Stadium.

They are averaging 13,134 per home game, ranking 118th in Division I-A, according to this week's NCAA statistics.

Whatever problems the Warriors might face on the road, a large, loud and hostile crowd no longer figures to be one of them. After playing before a record sellout at Alabama (92,138) and near-capacity crowds at Boise State (30,642) and Fresno State (39,122), the surroundings lost some of their ferocity in recent weeks. At UH's last road stop, New Mexico State, the gathering was announced at 17,318, but looked — and sounded — much smaller. Tomorrow's crowd might not be much more.

Indeed, attendance numbers are a Utah State concern because the Aggies need to make the NCAA-mandated minimum season average threshold of 15,000 in either turnstile or paid attendance. Tomorrow is a key game if the Aggies are going to get there. If the UH and Nov. 25 regular-season home finale against New Mexico State don't bump that figure up to 15,000, then the Aggies head into 2007, the second year of a rolling two-year NCAA certification cycle, forced to meet the minimum

Until Spetman, a former Air Force colonel, arrived, attendance numbers were, let us say, suspect. Utah State claimed a capacity of 30,257 (just over the then-NCAA minimum of 30,000) but figures didn't seem to add up. So much so, Spetman and staffers physically went around Romney Stadium last year counting the seats and were somewhat surprised to come up with just 25,013.

"I think it is important when you're trying to build a program to be honest," Spetman said. "Where you make your money is on people sitting in the seats and not just on saying what it is and making up numbers."

Heading into the season, Utah State was one of 12 schools — including fellow Western Athletic Conference members New Mexico State and San Jose State — that received so-called "courtesy" letters from the NCAA reminding them of the requirement. Schools that don't achieve the 15,000 mark this year receive a letter of noncompliance, triggering an evaluation period, which, with continued noncompliance, could eventually result in being placed on restricted membership and result in ineligibility for bowls.

So, the Aggies have been ramping up the marketing efforts and providing incentives to get students out in order to improve their attendance numbers. Spetman said UH comes as one of the most attractive opponents.

"Obviously Hawai'i is not a regional opponent to us, but it has been a very well-known WAC member, so our fans get excited when they hear Hawai'i is coming," Spetman said. "I think we're going to be all right. It looks like we could get over 15,000 without a problem."

For all the Warriors' struggles at the turnstiles at Aloha Stadium, Utah State is among the many places in the WAC where UH's numbers (27,361 turnstile; 32,295 tickets distributed) are gazed upon and envied.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.