The 11th annual Sheraton Hawaii Bowl kicks off at 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve at Aloha Stadium.

It's a matchup between Mountain West champs Fresno State and Conference USA representative Southern Methodist University.

Bowl officials said ticket sales are slower than in years past, but they're banking on television exposure to boost the state's economy.  This year, it's more than double the TV time.

Final practices for Fresno on the field at UH and SMU at Aloha Stadium.  It's the Bulldogs' first appearance in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl and bowl organizers are hoping the matchup with June Jones' Southern Methodist Mustangs will give fans a good show.
 
"I think they're going to see an exciting game. Both teams have great offenses," said Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Executive Director David Matlin.
 
About 28,000 tickets have been issued so far.  That's a little better than last year's game between Southern Miss and Nevada.  But it's still far below the 40,000 plus tickets sold when the University of Hawaii has been in the game.
 
What is the bright spot: organizers point to the three to four hours of national broadcast time Hawaii will get with the Hawaii Bowl.    
 
"The beauty of it is our Dec. 24 timeslot. It's Monday night football, there's no other games and we're primetime on the East Coast," said Matlin.
 
Matlin said an estimated 13.5 million viewers tuned in to watch last year's game.  This year, bowl organizers are expecting the same or better, and the state's marketing potential is even greater because of the Diamond Head Classic that starts Saturday.       
 
"Over four days we're going to have 25 plus hours of programming live from Hawaii between 11 basketball games on network and the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl," said Matlin.
 
So as winter blows in on the mainland, it's warming the hearts of tourism officials who are hoping no matter who comes out on top at Aloha Stadium on Christmas Eve,  it's the state who comes out the winner.