Bank to sponsor tourneys

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

First Hawaiian Bank announced yesterday it will be the title sponsor of the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association's state football tournaments.

For the first time since the tournament's inception in 1999, there will be a six-team Division II tournament for so-called "small schools" that will run simultaneously with the eight-team Division I tournament. The tournaments are slated to run Nov. 21 to Dec. 5 with games on O'ahu, Kaua'i, Maui and the Big Island.

Keith Amemiya, HHSAA executive director, said the sponsorship is for one year with an option to renew for two years. He said the sponsorship is in the "six-figure" range, but he declined specifics. He said the sponsorship will cover losses incurred from the football tournaments. Because of cost concerns with the addition of the Division II tournament, Amemiya and his wife, Bonny, earlier committed their own money to cover losses from the football tournament. But the bank's sponsorship relieves them of that burden.

"My wife is especially pleased with the First Hawaiian sponsorship because we no longer have to explore the possibility of seeking a second mortgage on our house," Amemiya said.

However, the Amemiyas are still committed to $20,000 of their own money to cover travel expenses for the softball and girls basketball tournaments (Division I and II) to satisfy gender equity concerns brought about by extra travel incurred by the extra football tournament.

It was Amemiya's gumption that impressed First Hawaiian Bank.

"I respected that he put up his own money," said Walter A. Dods Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of BancWest Corp, parent company of First Hawaiian Bank. "I admired that."

Dods, a Saint Louis alumnus, said he supports the Division II tournament because "I know the smaller schools struggle and this was a very good idea he had by having (the Division II tournament)."

The Division II tournament was only approved for this year. An extension would have to be approved by the HHSAA board. That is the reason the sponsorship is for one year with a two-year option.

"We want to see if it works, see if the leagues and schools like it," Dods said. "We don't want to do something unless the community gets behind it. We want to give it a boost. We're hoping for the best."

This is not the bank's first venture with the HHSAA. Besides sponsoring the canoe paddling championship, First Hawaiian sponsored last year's Football Classic that featured eventual prep national champion De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) against Saint Louis and nationally ranked Long Beach (Calif.) Poly against then-defending state champion Kahuku. The doubleheader at Aloha Stadium drew 27,811.

First Hawaiian Bank succeeds Chevron as the football tournament sponsor. Chevron had a three-year contract when it initially signed in 1999 for the inception for the football tournament.

It signed on for another year for last year's tournament.

"We're appreciative of Chevron's support over the last four years," Amemiya said. "We're still in discussions of their involvement in other state tournaments."