2004 Hula Bowl to be played Jan. 17

Advertiser Staff

The 2004 Hula Bowl will be played a month earlier on Jan. 17 to accommodate the schedules of coaches and players, according to the Hula Bowl's top executive.

Dick Schaller, Hula Bowl president and owner, said concerns from coaches and players about recruiting and professional football workouts prompted him to move the game from Feb. 7. The game will be played at Maui's War Memorial Stadium.

"The coaches are recruiting at that point (national signing day will be Feb. 4), so we would have had trouble getting coaches (if the game was played on Feb. 7)," Schaller said. "We also felt that it was a little late for players because the combine is a couple weeks after that."

The Hula Bowl will no longer be the last college all-star football game of the season. It will now be played between two other all-star football games — the East West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl. In the 2003 Hula Bowl, some players declined to attend because they already played in an all-star game.

"Usually, with agents involved, the players will play in maybe two all-star games, but usually one," Schaller said. "This positions us between the Shrine game on Jan. 10 and the Senior game on Jan. 24. I think it will make it easier for us to recruit players."

Schaller said he talked with the NFL and ESPN before making the change.

The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

The 2003 Hula Bowl was played a day before the NFL's Pro Bowl as part of a marketing partnership that promoted an all-star football weekend in Hawai'i.

Schaller said the NFL was "very understanding" about the concerns of the coaches and players and accepted the schedule change.

Schaller said the Hula Bowl will continue to promote the Pro Bowl and its 25th anniversary this season.

Ohio State's Jim Tressel and Maryland's Ralph Friedgen will be the head coaches for the 2004 Hula Bowl.

Tressel was named the 2002 AFCA I-A National Coach of the Year after leading the Buckeyes to the national championship.

Friedgen, who shared the 2001 AFCA I-A National Coach of the Year honors with the University of Miami's Larry Coker, led the Terrapins to two straight bowl games and compiled a 21-5 record in two seasons.