Insurance policy paying off for UH coaches

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

In what proved to be a unique cost-saving measure, the University of Hawai'i athletic department used an insurance policy to pay bonuses to the coaches of teams that qualified for NCAA postseason tournaments this year.

Last fall, UH bought a $40,000 premium from SCA Promotions, a Dallas-based insurance company that offers to cover the cost of bonuses for coaches of NCAA teams.

This year, UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida said, the company will pay out about $53,000 in bonuses to the head coaches and assistants of three UH teams, a 32.5-percent return on the department's investment.

"It's a good deal," Yoshida said.

The standard UH contract guarantees a coach a bonus, equivalent to one month's salary, if his or her team qualifies for a postseason tournament or football bowl. Last year, to curb rising expenses, Yoshida asked each team's booster club to pay the bonuses.

But Yoshida said several of the booster clubs did not have the money. An NCAA official then told Yoshida about the insurance company, which has sold policies to several schools.

Yoshida said UH's policy only covers teams that qualify for NCAA postseason tournaments. It has not been determined how the coaches of the women's basketball team, which played in the postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament, will be paid.

Men's basketball and women's volleyball were the only UH teams to qualify for NCAA tournaments this year. Yoshida said he expects the softball team to receive a berth in next week's NCAA tournament.

Yoshida said he will explore the possibility of extending the coverage to include the football bowls and other postseason tournaments.

"Right now," he said of the deal, "it has been a good investment. It already has paid for itself."