Prep Bowl
might be
live on TV

The Nov. 27 game will be
shown if public schools agree
to an eligibility rule

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii's premier prep football game will be televised live this year -- unless public high school principals vote against playing the annual Prep Bowl due to an eligibility-rule conflict with a rival league.

At a meeting this morning at McKinley High School, the Oahu Interscholastic Association's executive council voted to recommend televising the Nov. 27 Prep Bowl on Oceanic Cable.

OIA Executive Secretary Dwight Toyama said the one-shot Oceanic deal is for $30,000 up front and a percentage of the tentative $12.95 cost per customer for the pay-per-view event.

Profits from the game are split equally among OIA members and six Interscholastic League of Honolulu members. The average split in the past has been between $3,000-$4,000 per school, said Toyama. ILH Executive Director Clayton Benham said his league's principals voted over the weekend to approve televising the game.

In the past, the ILH has opposed televising games, saying it overemphasizes football and hurts the live gate.

The TV proposal resurfaced last Friday during a meeting at Kamehameha Schools between top officials from both leagues.

But the deal breaker could come later today, when the 21 OIA principals vote on the retention policy of private schools which permits an athlete to play four seasons over a five-year period.

About 30,000-35,000 people are expected if the St. Louis Crusaders end up playing the Kahuku Red Raiders in the Prep Bowl, officials say.

Toyama expects the OIA principals' vote to be close. "It's going down to the wire," he said. "Some are very much against it."