Hawai'i Bowl payouts down $156,000 in 2003

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer

The conferences that participated in the 2003 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl will each receive a net payout of approximately $790,000, about $78,000 less than the previous year, officials said yesterday.

Under NCAA rules, it is the contracted conferences — in this case the Western Athletic Conference and Conference USA — that receive the payouts. The participating schools, Hawai'i and Houston, receive a share of the conference payout, per conference distribution policy. UH stands to receive about $350,000 plus ground transportation and expenses.

The drop in payout from 2002 resulted from a drop of approximately 9,000 in attendance, according to Pete Derzis, vice president of ESPN Regional Television, which owns and operates the game.

"While we may not have reached our projections on net profit, we're working hard to improve," Derzis said. "I think everybody involved feels there is great value in the event and our charge is to grow the business. That's what we're focusing on."

The Hawai'i Bowl is one of 27 bowls going before the NCAA Bowl certification committee this week for recertification. The committee is expected to recertify the game for its new date, Dec. 24 at 2 p.m.

In other news, the Boise-based Humanitarian Bowl has signed a two-year sponsorship agreement with Nampa, Idaho-based MPC Computers to become the MPC Computers Bowl.

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