Hawai'i Bowl payout higher than projected
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
The ConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl turned a profit in its debut and will be paying each of its participating conferences $118,000 more than originally projected, officials said yesterday.
The Western Athletic Conference and Conference USA will each receive $868,000 as their share of the inaugural Christmas Day event, according to Pete Derzis, vice president of ESPN Regional Television, which operated the game.
"From the standpoint of an inaugural bowl, it was a very solid performance and I'm very pleased," Derzis said. "We hope to continue to grow the bowl."
"I hope we can take it up to a $1 million (payout) in year two or three," said Jim Donovan, executive director of the game. The game reported 35,513 tickets distributed.
By NCAA rules, bowls are required to pay each participating team a minimum of $750,000 — more if receipts reach certain levels — with the money going directly to the conferences.
Under WAC distribution policy, UH actually receives $350,000 plus ground transportation expenses and will help subsidize the Silicon Valley Bowl, which lost money for a third consecutive year.
UH athletic director Herman Frazier termed the Warriors' participation in the Hawai'i Bowl, a "win-win all the way around. We operated within our budgetary means; we made it a unique experience for our student-athletes; we gave money back to the conference and still pocketed about $100,000," Frazier said.
Tulane's share goes to CUSA, which agreed to underwrite the Green Wave's expenses as well as ticket and sponsorship obligations that were expected to total about $700,000. The Hawai'i Bowl joined the Humanitarian Bowl, which drew 30,446 in Boise State's 30,000-seat stadium, as the only WAC-affiliated games that made money.
The San Jose, Calif.-based Silicon Valley game, which suffered a 67 percent drop in attendance to 10,142 and reportedly lost more than $800,000 with Fresno State playing Georgia Tech, is in danger of cancellation.
Because the WAC had already lost more than $1 million in the bowl's first two years, conference members have given the game two more weeks in which to come up with a title sponsor or lose support. An official with the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau said they were "optimistic" a sponsor could be found before the game's petition for re-certification goes before the NCAA April 29.
WAC commissioner Karl Benson said he, "remains hopeful" a sponsor can be secured.
