Jim Donovan response to questions about the Hawaii Bowl....

[Sportsbow]

......from the RSN board.


Q & A Re: Sheraton Hawaii Bowl -- by Jim Donovan (long)
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I thought I'd come online and try to answer some questions already asked, and some questions that are bound to come up... (I'll do it in a Q & A format)

Why is the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl contractually obligated to the WAC and Conference USA to be participants in the Bowl?

When the Aloha and Oahu Bowls left Hawaii they told the NCAA it was impossible to make a Bowl game work in Hawaii. When ESPN approached the University of Hawaii and the WAC to bring a Bowl game back to Hawaii after UH was 9-3 in 2001 and no where to go, it was believed that the NCAA questioned the logic of trying to start a Bowl game in Hawaii again. ESPN believed that the best chance to get a Bowl game in Hawaii approved by the NCAA again was to have ESPN, the WAC and another conference "sponsor" the bowl game -- that is to say to tell the NCAA these three entities will step up to the plate and put their good name & financial backing behind making a bowl game in Hawaii work. At the time, the only conference that was willing to join the WAC and ESPN making this statement was Conference USA. We are in the third year of a four-year deal with the WAC and Conference USA and both entities have been very supportive of the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, especially in their feedback to the NCAA on what an experience this Bowl is for the student-athletes.

Does UH have to be 7-5 to play in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl this year, and will ESPN take UH if they are 7-5?

According to an NCAA rules interpretation that was made in late summer (this year), UH has to be 7-5 to play in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl this year. Yes, ESPN has made a commitment to UH, that if they are bowl eligible we will offer them a slot in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

What's up with this 25,000 in attendance rule? Will the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl be cancelled or put on probation if we do not have 25,000 in attendance? When did the attendance rule change?

The NCAA changed the rules for how Bowl games would be certified as of spring 2003. Prior to that time a Bowl had to have a certified line of credit to the NCAA; the Bowl had to guarantee that the payout to each conference participating in the Bowl had to be a minimum of $750,000; and the Bowl had to receive satisfactory ratings from the participating institutions to be recertified. There were several problems with this criteria, the primary being the payout was being offset by "ticket commitments" for the participating teams which effectively lowered the payout when the tickets were unsold. Another problem was the attendance at some of the Bowls was low, which led the NCAA to believe that the community surrounding the Bowl did not support it. Starting with the 2003 Bowl season the new NCAA criteria is: same line of credit requirement; the Bowl must raise $1 more in sponsorships and ticket sales than is required in "ticket commitments" from the participating teams; and the Bowl must average over 25,000 in actual attendance, or 70% of the available seating in the Stadium (whichever is smaller) from the 2003 to the 2005 Bowl. If any of these criteria is not met the Bowl is put on probation for one year. If the criteria is not met for a second year the Bowl can be decertified. Currently, there are four Bowls on probation for not meeting the actual attendance requirement in 2003. The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl had 25,500 in attendance last year, so if we have less than 24,500 in attendance this year -- whether UH plays in the game or not – the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl will be placed on probation.

Can we have any other teams play in the game instead of a WAC or Conference USA team?

We are contractually obligated to take a team from each of those conferences. If, on the remote chance either conference did not have enough Bowl eligible teams to fill the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl spot which does not appear to be the case this year, we would approach other Bowl eligible teams to fill the open spot.

If the attendance requirement is such a looming issue, why don't you just give away tickets to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl?

If only it were that simple... While each year we do work with selected groups to make the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl a complementary or low-cost event -- for example we provided over 3,000 comp tickets to military members and their dependents last year (to acknowledge their sacrifices for our country) -- we are still bound by the "other" rule that requires we raise enough in local ticket sales, sponsorships to offset the schools ticket commitments. This means we still have to sell a majority of the tickets to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl to meet the NCAA revenue requirements. For the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl to make it long term, the majority of the tickets distributed need to be sold, even if at a discount, so we can meet the NCAA revenue requirement.

How much does it cost to attend the game? Is there anyway to get a discount? What are you doing to promote the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl?

We have created several ways for fans to purchase an affordable ticket. First off we have not raised our prices for three years -- the regular ticket prices are $40, $25 and $15. In addition, we have done promotions with Pepsi/7-Eleven and Pepsi/Zippy's this year that let you earn a discount off the regular prices. The 7-Eleven promotion let you earn up to between $5 - $20 off the cost of a regular ticket (that promotion ran from 9/1/04 through 10/15/04.) The Zippy's promotion gives you a $10 discount off the regular admission price just by bringing a Pepsi/Zippy's 32 oz. cup to the Aloha Stadium box office (all tickets, except makai sideline tickets, are included in this promotion.) This promotion runs from Thanksgiving Day to 12/23/04 -- they have special cups so you'll have to wait until after Thanksgiving to purchase the special 32 oz. Pepsi cups. We also have a Family Plan in which you can purchase four tickets in the North endzone for $80 and each additional ticket for $20. In addition, we have been running many TV commercials – one featuring Neil Everett and one featuring Lee Corso, print ads in the Honolulu Advertiser, P.A. announcements and Jumbotron spots at UH games (including the Stan Sheriff Center), and soon to be heard radio spots on KKEA and all Cox Radio Hawaii stations.

So what if the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl goes away -- what's the big deal?

Most of us remember the 2001 UH football season when the Warriors were 9-3 and had no Bowl game to play in. That was because almost all the Bowl slots are contractually committed in multi-year contracts. For UH to be guaranteed a Bowl game on the mainland -- if there was no Sheraton Hawaii Bowl -- it would have to win the WAC outright. Since UH has been in the WAC we have never been outright champions -- we were co-champions in 1992 when we played in the Holiday Bowl and we were tri-champions when we played in the Oahu Bowl in 1999 (in 1989 when UH played in the Aloha Bowl, they were not champions, but were invited because of their record.) If the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl is de-certified (goes away) it will be very difficult for the UH football team to play in a mainland Bowl game. Further, the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl is an excellent recruiting opportunity for the Warriors when they are Bowl eligible -- if this exposure were lost permanently it would have long-term ramifications on the UH football program, especially in future recruiting.

If Hawaii loses the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, can’t Hawaii just get another Bowl sometime in the future?

Probably not. Starting with the 2005 Bowl season the NCAA will be “licensing” bowls – the NCAA intends to limit the number of bowl games by creating a “license” to host one. At last year’s NCAA bowl certification meeting three cities made presentations to host future bowl games. The most likely scenario will be for bowls that are currently on probation, or go on probation in the future, will lose certification if they don’t meet the new NCAA criteria. The rights to the de-certified games will then be “licensed” to the new communities that “prove” to the NCAA that they deserve the right to host a bowl game. It will be very difficult for Honolulu/Hawaii to make an argument that it deserves to host a future bowl game if the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl is de-certified, especially in light of the Oahu and Aloha Bowls also leaving Hawaii after December 2000.

What can I do to keep the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl here in Hawaii?

It's pretty simple -- buy a ticket to the game and go through the turnstiles. You can go buy a 32 oz. Pepsi at Zippy's after Thanksgiving and get a $15 ticket for only $5. Or a $25 ticket for $15. What you're really doing is making an investment into the future of UH football -- you'll know you helped make it possible for UH to play in a Bowl game whenever they are bowl eligible. In addition, as the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl matures, because of strong community support, the reputation, television ratings and potential payout will go up, which is a positive for all of Hawaii. Yeah, buying a discounted ticket or two may seem like a small role and a nominal amount of money, but the impact on the future of the UH football program will be huge. The game is at 2pm on Christmas Eve -- and no matter who's playing you should be out of the stadium by no later than 6pm to meet any family obligations you might have...

Please consider purchasing a ticket to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl -- you can do so by going to http://www.sheratonhawaiibowl.com or calling 944-2697. Remember you can save $10 by buying a 32 oz. Pepsi at Zippy’s between Thanksgiving and 12/23/04 and bringing the cup to the Aloha Stadium Box Office (cups will not be accepted on game day.)

Thanks for your consideration and support!

Jim Donovan
Executive Director
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl

[PCBoy]

The discounted tickets sound like a good deal. Maybe I can get some of my friends to go now.

[warriorfan808]

they should put the coupons in the Microwave boxes for Zippy's Chili, that way people on the mainland can get a discount as well. I still have my fingers crossed that I can make the game. For now, I've been missing every game. I just can't free up my schedule saturday afternoons.

If the Hawaii Bowl wasn't around:

Would we of gone bowling last year?
If so, where?
How about the year before?

Without the Hawaii bowl around, Hawaii would continuously get shafted by other Bowls and we would always be left home.

[BigWave96744]

The Zippy's promotion gives you a $10 discount off the regular admission price just by bringing a Pepsi/Zippy's 32 oz. cup to the Aloha Stadium box office (all tickets, except makai sideline tickets, are included in this promotion.) This promotion runs from Thanksgiving Day to 12/23/04 -- they have special cups so you'll have to wait until after Thanksgiving to purchase the special 32 oz. Pepsi cups.

WOW, 5 bucks for a ticket.... I'm gonna buy at least 2 just to support the bowl, regardless if Hawaii is in or not... I read that Jim Donovan said just buying it isn't enough, you need to go through the turnstiles... IF UH doesn't make it and now one want to go, I'll enter, exit, and enter again or maybe bless some kid with a Christmas Present..

We are in the 3rd year of a 4 year contract with CUSA... After that it's open to any conference opponent... By then Rolo II will be a senior

[sponger48]

Heck, instead of the soda, why not use the reciept for zippy's benefit chili that way your supporting the community fundraisers and supporting the bowl at the same time. Can you imagine the impact it would have for these fundraiser's if ticket buyers are searching for someone to sell chili!

[warriorfan808]

The Zippy's promotion gives you a $10 discount off the regular admission price just by bringing a Pepsi/Zippy's 32 oz. cup to the Aloha Stadium box office (all tickets, except makai sideline tickets, are included in this promotion.) This promotion runs from Thanksgiving Day to 12/23/04 -- they have special cups so you'll have to wait until after Thanksgiving to purchase the special 32 oz. Pepsi cups.

WOW, 5 bucks for a ticket.... I'm gonna buy at least 2 just to support the bowl, regardless if Hawaii is in or not... I read that Jim Donovan said just buying it isn't enough, you need to go through the turnstiles... IF UH doesn't make it and now one want to go, I'll enter, exit, and enter again or maybe bless some kid with a Christmas Present..

We are in the 3rd year of a 4 year contract with CUSA... After that it's open to any conference opponent... By then Rolo II will be a senior

great idea big wave. If a good handful of guys do that, then we could be looking at a good turnout. Haha.....wouldn't that be funny if the University of Hawaii gave a few of us loyal fans 1,000 dollars in tickets at 5 dollars a pop, which would come out to 200 tickets. 10 of us could represent 2000 seats!!!