Thursday, April 12, 2001

Hula Bowl
partnership
still strong

ESPN and AFCA show
their continued support
after loss of sponsor

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

The loss of Rivals.com as the title sponsor for the Hula Bowl won't keep the college all-star game from being held on Maui next year.

Hula Bowl chief executive officer Lenny Klompus was aware of the Internet site's economic demise, but had hoped it would stay solvent for another year. He is currently on the mainland meeting with American Football Coaches Association executive director Grant Teaff and ESPN-TV.

All parties are in the final year of their current contracts with the Hula Bowl. Klompus said yesterday from his home in Maryland that paperwork was still being exchanged, but multiyear contracts would likely be signed soon.

"Let me just say we weren't completely surprised at Rivals folding,'' Klompus said. "We are currently looking for another major sponsor, if we can find one. If we don't, we expect things will still work out.''

Teaff is looking for a title sponsor for the AFCA's All-America team. It's possible a deal could be reached for the good of all parties involved. Regardless, Klompus said ESPN wanted to stay involved.

ESPN manager of college programing Dave Brown told Klompus the Hula Bowl was a quality event and that the network was willing to continue the relationship.

"We have what you might call a love affair with ESPN and the AFCA," Klompus said, then laughed. "Losing our sponsor won't be like a house of cards. We planned it that way from the start.

"Having a lot of smaller sponsors isn't such a bad thing. And remember, the Citrus Bowl didn't announce its new sponsor until a month before the game. There's still plenty of time to get something done."

Rivals.com closed its doors Tuesday. Media outlets around the country received an e-mail from Rivals official Maxey Parrish, who was saddened by the Web site's plight. It had been one of the more popular college sites for recruiting in football and basketball.

"They did nothing but good things for us our two years with them,'' Klompus said. "They were first-class all the way. We've been talking with some people. Hopefully, we'll be able to get something in place as soon as we can.''

In a related matter, the Web site hawaii.rivals.com will no longer exist. But the local group that runs it, HawaiiSportsNetwork, will continue. HSN president Chris Dey said plans were in place to eventually disassociate from Rivals.com, anyway.

"It was actually more than a contingency plan all along," Dey said. "Rivals was a great partnership for us and gave us a runway to learn about the Internet. But HawaiiSportsNetwork is a much more integrated company. It's hard to survive on the Internet alone."

HSN, with six Hawaii-based employees, is also involved heavily in television, radio, scouting and other local sports- and media-related projects.

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Star-Bulletin sportswriter Dave Reardon
contributed to this report.