Aztecs Certain to Get Bid : Football: Freedom Bowl has agreed to take loser of Saturday’s SDSU-BYU game.

The Western Athletic Conference runner-up--the loser of Saturday’s San Diego State-Brigham Young game--has been assured of an invitation to the Freedom Bowl, sources close to a bowl said Tuesday.

Although Don Andersen, Freedom Bowl executive president, would neither confirm nor deny the deal, he said the Freedom Bowl remains intrigued with the WAC.

“We’re very interested in the WAC runner-up and have had discussions along those lines,” Andersen said Tuesday night.

The bowl, scheduled for Dec. 30 in Anaheim, plans to send at least two representatives--Rob Halvaks, associate director, and Craig Russell, selection committee member--to the SDSU-BYU game.

Official bowl bids cannot be extended until noon Sunday, with the bowls that violate this rule facing a $250,000 fine. The Freedom Bowl payout to each of the participating teams is $650,000.

“I’ve got to wait and see Sunday if (our runner-up) gets officially invited anywhere,” WAC Commissioner Joe Kearney said Tuesday night.

The WAC champion gets an automatic bid to the Holiday Bowl Dec. 30 in San Diego.

Fred Miller, SDSU athletic director, would not confirm the deal and did not want to speak publicly about the Freedom Bowl.

“It’s too early,” Miller said. “We want to make sure we position ourselves to be successful Saturday night. Any comment I make will dilute our effort Saturday night.”

In another development Tuesday afternoon, Stanford, the team Freedom Bowl officials had hoped to pair with the WAC runner-up, apparently backed out of the game in favor of the Aloha Bowl. Kansas (5-4), Tulsa (6-2) and Baylor (7-2) are the leading candidates to replace Stanford.

“Stanford had verbally committed if it had won its game Saturday (a 27-10 victory over UCLA), and the Pac 10 even told us it was a deal, but in the last couple of hours it is slipping,” Andersen said. “All of a sudden somebody’s word doesn’t mean anything anymore. . . .”

But the Freedom Bowl-WAC deal guarantees SDSU its second Division I bowl appearance. The Aztecs (8-2, 6-1 in the WAC) have only appeared in one major bowl game, in 1986, when they were defeated in the Holiday Bowl by Iowa, 39-38.

The Aztecs played in the Camellia Bowl in 1966 and 1967 and the 1969 Pasadena Bowl.

SDSU Coach Al Luginbill could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Three WAC schools have played in the Freedom Bowl--Colorado State (1990), BYU (1988 and 1986) and Air Force (1987).