Wednesday, April 11, 2001
[ HULA BOWL ]
Hula Bowl RIVALS.COM closed its doors yesterday, leaving the Hula Bowl without a title sponsor.
sponsor Rivals.com
shuts down
College all-star game joins
Hawaii bowl games in troubleBy Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinBowl executive directors Marcia and Lenny Klompus were on the mainland last night and could not be reached for comment. Lenny Klompus was asked about the situation with Rivals.com at the last Hula Bowl three months ago, but he was unaware that the Internet site was in financial trouble.
"They've come in here and done a wonderful job this season," Klompus said the week of the college all-star game that moved to Maui in 1998. "They haven't indicated to us that they aren't financially sound."
The title sponsor was in the final year of its Hula Bowl contract. The previous sponsor was Hooters Inc. That controversial marriage lasted five years, before American Football Coaches Association executive director Grant Teaff indicated he wanted someone else to sponsor the game.
In stepped Rivals.com, a Web site for sports fans. Not only was it a popular college site for football and basketball, it also was a link to several recruiting sites across the country.
Rivals.com executive director Maxey Parrish sent an e-mail to media outlets across the nation from his Waco, Texas, location yesterday, saying in part:
"You may have heard by now that Rivals has shut its doors. I have just had a couple of hours to contact everybody before the e-mail system is turned off, so I don't have a lot of time for details. I have faith God will sustain me and open up a wonderful door. He is in control."
This is the second major hit for local college bowl games. Aloha Sports Inc. executive director Fritz Rohlfing recently announced he will likely move one or both of the Christmas Day doubleheader bowl games to the mainland.
Seattle will likely get the Oahu Bowl if the NCAA selection committee approves it later this month. It's also possible that the Aloha Bowl will go. The top mainland destination is San Francisco, but keeping the game in Honolulu is being considered.
Lenny Klompus recently said he is working on a new deal with the AFCA, which is also in its final year with the bowl game. Klompus indicated he and Teaff were on solid ground. He expected to make an announcement soon about a multi-year contract. But without a title sponsor, that may be difficult.
The college all-star game has done well on Maui. The University of Hawaii capitalized on it by scheduling its season opener at Maui's War Memorial Stadium on Sept. 8 against Division I-AA Montana.
UH also has indicated it would like to get involved in helping at least one of the Christmas Day games stay here.
