Sidelines
BEING home is good. Home means hugs and two scoop rice. Home means leis and face paint and the band playing "Hawaii 5-0." Wahine keep up ‘home
run’ WNIT barrageHome means a 3 at the buzzer and overtime aren't enough to beat you.
And that's why the Wahine basketball team embarks on its fourth senior night of the season tonight when it hosts Oklahoma State in the WNIT.
"Any time you play at home, it's a big advantage," University of Hawaii athletic director Hugh Yoshida said.
So UH put its money where its mouth is. The athletic department bid $10,000 plus expenses for its first postseason home game. Then $14,000 plus for the second. The athletic department doubled its original bid for the third game, to $20,000, and tonight the Wahine host again.
The WNIT home games have brought added excitement, exposure and best of all, people, this postseason. In the first game, the crowd was a pleasant bonus. In the second, the Wahine got its biggest audience (3,279 spectators) in over two years.
"The kind of support we had was very unexpected," Yoshida said.
Tonight?
Tonight it's expected.
Tonight, it appears the gamble has paid off.
UH is projecting a total of over $50,000 in gate revenue for the three home games. "Enough to cover all the costs and expenses and probably make a few dollars along the way," Yoshida said. "We hope."
They weren't as sure to begin with, so the university turned to KHNL, its television broadcaster, and KCCN, its radio broadcaster to help out with the package, just in case UH was short at the gate. "It made fiscal sense for us to help UH out," said KHNL general manager John Fink. The broadcasters would get an extra game, a big game, a postseason game. And so, pointed out Fink, would UH. The stations agreed to pitch in if UH came short of the money needed to make its guarantee. The media outlets served as insurance.
"That's a good way to put it," Fink said. "We were insurance that allows UH to go bid more and get one more game at home." And women's basketball, Fink said, is one of the fastest growing television events. Fan and advertiser response validated the decision, he said.
In the second round, the Wahine were originally set to head to Provo, Yoshida said. But Hawaii increased the bid. It worked with Panda Travel to find lower fares. It showed the WNIT that Hawaii was a better buy.
The fans got their money's worth, in a 77-73 overtime thriller. UH had seen the magic of the hugs and the leis and the two scoop rice. Now, Hawaii wanted another night at home.
"We felt more comfortable because this was the first time we've done anything like this," Yoshida said. And so, UH went for it. The athletic department plunked down $20,000, double its original bid. And here we are tonight.
"It's part of our responsibility to the kids to be able to perform in front of the home crowd," Yoshida said.
Kalani Simpson's column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
He can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com