RUSTON, La. — In the beginning, this University of Hawai'i-Louisiana Tech football series could have been voted most unlikely to evolve toward a rivalry.

But, now?

Well, let's just say there's a rapidly developing edge if not rising animus between these two physical teams that nobody saw coming. There is a bubbling undercurrent swirling around the two most distant of Western Athletic Conference foes that gives today's 1:05 p.m. (Hawai'i time) meeting at Joe Aillet Stadium a crispness you don't normally find in such a young, one-sided series.

In just five previous meetings — four of them won by UH — there have been enough flash points and carryover feistiness for a series of much longer running.

Apparently the 4,035 miles and five time zones that separate the two schools aren't always enough.

That the WAC Office this year issued a directive — the so-called "Haka Rule" — ordering schools that perform the war dance and chant to do it when the visiting team has left the field is seen as a followup to last year when, we're told, Louisiana Tech took objection to UH's performance at Aloha Stadium preceding a 61-17 blowout.

WAC officials aren't saying much about what sparked the rule other than it falls under new sportsmanship guidelines, but word is Bulldog complaints last year started the ball rolling to the point where the WAC office has "strongly suggested" visiting teams to avoid doing the haka at road sites. A request UH is not expected to observe today.

But the growing rivalry between the two schools predates the haka, apparently kindled in 2003, the second year of the series, when UH came into Ruston and took home a 44-41 shootout win, if not exactly the endearment of Bulldog players and fans.

Tech players said they took exception to UH "dancing" on their midfield "L" and complained that players "disrespected" their Bulldog statue. So much offense was taken that Tech coaches reminded their players about it during UH's return in 2005 and the Bulldogs cited payback in 46-14 blowout win.

Of course not about to leave a score unsettled, UH touted the retribution angle after scoring 52 unanswered points en route to last year's 61-17 win at Aloha Stadium.

So, never mind that UH has been as much as a 28-point favorite on the Las Vegas betting lines this week or that the players on each team, coming from such disparate locales, hardly know each other except by reputation. Forget that this series is still in its kindergarten infancy. We have the beginnings of a spirited rivalry here and today is Round 6.

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