UH won't host MPSF tournament
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i has failed to come up with an adequate financial guarantee to bring the entire Mountain Pacific Sports Federation postseason volleyball tournament to Hawai'i in April.
That means for this year, the MPSF, of which UH is one of 12 volleyball members, will revert to the previous system of eight teams qualifying for the league's postseason tournament. The top four teams will host opening-round matches and, after that, the highest remaining seed will host the semifinals and championship match.
Because the NCAA final four will be played in Hawai'i in May, the head volleyball coaches unanimously approved a measure to stage the MPSF tournament at the Stan Sheriff Center. They believed holding the MPSF tournament here would make an easy lead-in to the final four, which usually consists of two MPSF teams.
The coaches' proposal was approved last June, and the official recommendation was relayed to UH officials in September. The MPSF, composed of teams from five athletic conferences, wanted UH to guarantee significant ticket sales for the event, as well as help arrange for discounts in lodging.
"They provided me with some information, but not anything I was hoping to see," said Al Beaird, the MPSF's executive director. "I don't have a strong proposal to take to my board."
The governing board of the administrative committee includes representatives from the Western Athletic Conference, Pac-10 Conference, Big West Conference, West Coast Athletic Conference and Mountain West Conference. The board must approve all changes to postseason formats.
UH associate athletic director Tom Sadler said "we were conservative with our bid."
Sadler added: "We're going to focus on the final four."
MPSF coaches said the delay in reaching an agreement — the season began nearly three weeks ago — made it difficult to play the league tournament in Hawai'i this year. "We have to go forward," Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy said.
UH is fourth: After splitting two road matches against UC Santa Barbara last week, UH dropped one place, to No. 4, in this week's USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches Association top-15 poll.
Pepperdine (4-0) remained No. 1 with 234 points and 15 of 16 first-place votes.
Long Beach State (5-1) moved up five spots, to No. 2, earning 211 points and a No. 1 vote from Pepperdine coach Marv Dunphy. UCLA (5-1) dropped from No. 2 to No. 3.
Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.
