Monday, April 30, 2001
Schools wary of
tournaments’ future
They know last week's
ruling may be nothing more
than a stay of executionA chance to be 'David'
By Dave Reardon and Brandon Lee
Star-BulletinRiley Wallace was beaming at Murphy's Bar & Grill.
Editor's Note: "Up In The Air" is a three-day series exploring the issue of certified events in college basketball and how it impacts Hawaii and the national scene.
>> Sunday: How Hawaii became basketball paradise during the holiday season.
>> Monday: What the future holds if proposed legislation by the NCAA -- which would eliminate exemptions for teams coming to Hawaii -- is passed.
>> Tuesday: Dick Vitale and others tell the Star-Bulletin why the proposal is bad for all of college basketball.
His University of Hawaii basketball team had just returned from its first NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years, and Wallace was clearly enjoying a "Call The Coach" show full of plaudits and hope for the future rather then second-guessing and criticism.
It didn't take long to temporarily sour his mood.
After the show, Wallace was asked about the future of the Rainbow Classic. With NCAA legislation looming that would make it even harder to bring in quality teams, it isn't a happy subject these days.
"It's been in trouble for some time," Wallace said. "We're trying to not worry about it too much, but we have to think about it."
Lately, the UH administration has been thinking about it.
A lot.
"We may just have to change the way we do business," Hawaii athletic director Hugh Yoshida said. "We might have to travel more for nonconference games."
The NCAA board of directors last Thursday kicked back to its management council a proposal that would, in effect, make it much less attractive for teams to come to Hawaii. The proposal, if passed, could lead to the demise of the Rainbow Classic, and other tournaments hosted by UH, Chaminade, Hawaii Pacific, Brigham Young-Hawaii and Hawaii-Hilo.
Currently, teams that play in "certified events" -- including tournaments hosted by all five universities in Hawaii -- do not count two of the three games they play in a tournament here against their schedule limit.
Before Thursday, it looked like the upcoming season might be the last for the certified event exemption. But the board of directors put a hold on changing things through the 2003-2004 season.
The question now: Is this merely a stay of execution, or have the exemptions been saved?
"Conventional wisdom suggests this could well be the deathknell of these tournaments," BYUH athletic director Randy Day said. "Hawaii offers such a draw that teams may continue to come, but that's to be seen."
And which teams will come? This is an issue that not only impacts Hawaii, but the very core of college basketball on a nationwide scale.
Rich get richer
For programs at the so-called mid-major level -- quality teams, but programs that don't have big arenas and big drawing power -- the exempt events are an important venue at which to earn early-season credibility and RPI points.
"Exempted tournaments give the smaller schools an opportunity to play the bigger teams on a neutral floor," Creighton coach Dana Altman told ESPN.com. "By adding an extra game in the season (which the NCAA proposal would do), well, all that does is give the power schools another chance to buy a home game and it makes it even harder for us to schedule."
For elite programs like UCLA, paradise probably won't win out over the bank account. Elite teams with large arenas would lose two profitable home dates in years when they play in Hawaii (or at other certified events).
Currently, teams are allowed to use exemptions once every two years, and once every four years in Hawaii. That is also being reviewed by the NCAA.
"It's really hard to tell now how things will go, and we have to see how the rule gets passed," said UCLA associate athletic director Marc Dellins, who is in charge of scheduling. "But certainly the exemption makes it much more attractive to come to Hawaii. We try to maximize the number of home games we play because it helps generate money that pays for other sports."
Television is another large factor. When the Western Athletic Conference made a deal with Fox two years ago, ESPN stopped televising the Rainbow Classic, a major blow (the WAC is now trying to negotiate a better deal with Fox or ESPN). And if the lack of exemptions means fewer elite teams playing in the Maui Invitational, the TV dollars there are likely to disappear.
Fred Way of Kemper Lesnik Sports Marketing is the Maui Invitational tournament director. Kemper Lesnik has a deal with Chaminade through 2009.
"As long as Chaminade is involved, we'd like to be involved," Way said. "But if the legislation is not overturned, I don't think we'll be able to attract the quality of teams that we're used to. It would cost them too much money. And there has to be a point where we're able to say that it is no longer profitable, and not purely from an economic standpoint. Right now, it's a good show and we want it to continue that way.
"It's a matter of how long you want to be in limbo. The legislation hasn't been eliminated; it's just been put off until a later date. It will be impossible to get teams to commit if everything is up in the air."
Competition for teams
For the Rainbow Classic -- which had sent out contracts to three teams (with one more spot open) only last week for the Dec. 19-22 tournament -- scheduling has become difficult because of other exempt events.
"There's been a proliferation of tournaments, 32 at last count. A lot of teams are committed to other events. The top teams go where there's television," said UH associate head coach Bob Nash, who handles scheduling for the Rainbow Classic. "We're not knocking them, a lot of them are for good causes. A lot are charities, but in some cases it's corporate sponsorship. It's become just apply for it and get it."
While the competition has become tougher to get big-name teams, UH associate athletic director Jim Donovan said the Rainbow Classic still turns a profit. Last season's event netted about $100,000, he said.
Of a gross around $300,000, about $200,000 goes to expenses, which includes travel for seven teams. Outrigger Hotels provides hospitality and lodging, as well as money, which comes to about $15,000 to $20,000 after expenses, Donovan said.
"If we sold out every night (of the Classic), we'd gross $425,000," he said.
The $100,000 doesn't seem like much when compared to the kind of money dealt with by the Dukes and UCLAs. But for UH, which suffers from mediocre attendance and incurs huge recruiting and travel expenses, any profit from the tournament is important.
UH has been forced to brainstorm how to keep basketball alive in case the exemptions are done away with. Last season Hawaii played only one nonconference road game, against UCLA. The exemption helps UH put on two four-team mini-tournaments, the United Airlines Tip-Off Tournament and the Nike Festival, in addition to the Rainbow Classic.
A future where one, some, or all of those tournaments are gone would force UH to hit the road.
"We don't pay the kind of guarantees (other tournaments do)," Yoshida said. "We're more cost-driven because of our financial considerations with travel; our guarantees are based on airfare, room and board and ground transportation."
Star power will be scarce
Yoshida said UH might try to set up home-and-home situations. Donovan said it might be possible to get teams making West Coast swings to come to Hawaii, exemption or not.
"We used to have Duke, Michigan. I don't think we'll see those," Donovan said. "Teams like St. Mary's and Long Beach State might be the future. Those teams draw 2,000 at home, so maybe they'll want to come to Hawaii and have everything paid for. I would bet that 225 teams that don't draw enough would consider coming if it is paid for."
At any rate, the star power for all Hawaii tournaments could easily disappear.
"No offense to McNeese State, but I think you'll get a lot of schools like that," Andy Katz of ESPN said. "The only kind of high-majors will be teams that don't draw well at home and struggle to schedule. Teams that don't have that problem, like Kansas, they won't be coming."
Television remains a major consideration for teams on the cusp -- whether they are looking into a single-game venture, a home-and-home, or tournament play.
For a school like Arizona State, which is somewhere between the elite and the mid-majors in basketball, it is a possibility to continue coming to Hawaii regardless of the exempt situation -- but probably only if TV is involved.
"(Coach) Rob (Evans) knows the value, not just dollar-wise, but TV and exposure," said Doug Tammaro, ASU basketball sports information director. But if you go to Maui and there's no good teams and ESPN pulls out, then you think about it."
Hopes on hold
It is wait-and-see time for the entire college basketball world -- and doubly-so for Hawaii, Chaminade, Brigham Young-Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii-Hilo.
"These are completely uncharted grounds," Chaminade athletic director and head coach Aaron Griess said. "Some people say quality teams will still come, and some probably will, but we'll have to see how things develop. This is still Hawaii, and I believe the tournament will still exist in some form.
"I think when they (the NCAA management council) do the research they'll find their initial reasoning unjustified."
Lee Frederick, president of Sports Tours International, which puts on HPU's Thanksgiving Classic, is less diplomatic.
"The NCAA is greedy. They want 100 percent of the money. They see us making money and they need to stop that," Frederick said. "The NCAA is arrogant and stupid. I gotta think when they came up with this, they had to anticipate the bad reaction. But they probably said 'damn the torpedoes, full-speed ahead.' "
The warning shots have been fired.
And tension has been created between UH and the Division II schools.
"The Hawaii exemption was ours and everyone jumped on it," Wallace said. "The Hawaii Visitor's Bureau gave Maui $170,000 and turned us down (on a bid to host) the WAC Tournament.
"I'm not so sure we have to go to the length of thinking the Rainbow Classic won't survive," Wallace added. "It's a possibility people would still want to come. It's a possibility."
It's one of many possibilities. And many of them not as positive -- for the Rainbow Classic, the Maui Invitational, the other tournaments and college basketball in general.
One reason Jaborri Thomas joined Chaminade's basketball team was the opportunity to slay a Goliath -- a chance to knock off one of the big boys of college basketball. Players come
Tournament Fields By Brandon Lee and Dave Reardon
to isle schools
to be ‘David’
Star-BulletinWith the NCAA ruling last week basically tabling legislation that could have put certified tournaments in serious jeopardy, he and other players still have that chance -- at least for now.
The Division II Silverswords host what many consider the premier preseason tournament in the nation, the Maui Invitational. "The Maui" annually attracts Division I's elite, including current national champion Duke and runner-up Arizona.
According to Thomas, who just completed his sophomore season, he was recruited by four low- to mid-major Division I programs. He chose Chaminade in large part because he knew he would have three years of "The Maui."
And then of course there was the Silverswords' fabled past as the most renowned David in the history of the sport. Two years before the start of its 18-year-old tournament, Chaminade scored perhaps the biggest upset in college basketball history with a win over No. 1 Virginia, and followed it in subsequent seasons with two wins over former national champion Louisville and one against Southern Methodist.
"It played a big role (in my decision to play for Chaminade)," Thomas said. "The Maui gives us exposure. People know who we are.
"And Chaminade has done it before (beat a top-caliber team). It would mean a lot to do it again, and I'm really looking forward to the chance again next year."
Hawaii's three other Division II schools also host holiday tournaments against Division I competition. Brigham Young-Hawaii has the Yahoo! Sports Invitational, Hawaii-Hilo the Big Island Invitational, and Hawaii Pacific its Thanksgiving Classic.
The coaches acknowledge the significance of these games for their players. They notice the different excitement these contests generate for all involved, even themselves.
"It's a lot of fun," BYUH coach Ken Wagner said. "I think (the players) have something to prove when they get out there, and I think they get excited to have the chance. That's the exciting thing in sports: on any given night, anything can happen."
HPU coach Tony Sellitto, however, is of the mindset that a loss is a loss, no matter who you're playing.
"The kids get into it (playing Division I teams), but I don't think you can substitute anything for winning," said Sellitto, who has taken the Sea Warriors to an NAIA championship. "I don't care if I beat Oakland or some other no-name team. It's better than losing to Stanford."
For BYUH, Hilo and Chaminade, wins have been rare in these tournaments. The Seasiders and Vulcans have won just once, over Citadel and Creighton, respectively (though Hilo beat Chaminade in the 1993 Big Island Invitational). The Silverswords' last win was in double-overtime over Stanford in 1992. HPU has yet to win a game in the three years of its tournament.
Many times, all four have simply been blown off the floor. But just the opportunity to compete and the chance, however slim, to pull off the upset, still matters a lot. Particularly for the players.
"At first it can be a little intimidating, but it's also extra exciting," said Hilo junior point guard Scott Prather. "(The Division I players) are a little bigger, a little faster than us -- these are guys that are going to make money."
Prather has gone head-to-head with likely NBA lottery pick Jamal Tinsley of Iowa State, an experience that initially had him "tripping-out." In his time with the Vulcans, the team has not scored a BII tournament victory, but has come close.
"I really want to get one," Prather said. "We've been so close so many times, it's kind of teasing us. (To win) would be big-time bragging rights for the rest of your life. Years down the road, you can always say that you did it, you beat that (Division I) team."
The Rainbow Classic, hosted by the University of Hawaii, has also given lightly recruited players a chance to shine against elite competition. With a big home crowd behind it, Hawaii has upset Cincinnati, Kansas and Pittsburgh over the years. And there were many narrow defeats against top-notch opponents.
"Beating Purdue and playing Illinois close, that was great, the source of my memories," said former UH guard David Hallums, a Pearl City High alumnus who began his college career at BYUH. "To be able to say I played on a team that took Kendall Gill and Nick Anderson and those guys to the limit is something special."
2001 Tournament Fields
HPU Thanksgiving Classic
Nov. 19-21 at Blaisdell Arena
Host: Hawaii Pacific University
Other entrants: Not determined
Maui Invitational
Nov. 19-21 at Lahaina Civic Center
Host: Chaminade
Other entrants: Ball State, Duke, Houston, Kansas, Seton Hall, South Carolina, UCLA
Big Island Invitational
Nov. 23-25 at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium
Host: Hawaii-Hilo
Other entrants: Not determined
Rainbow Classic
Dec. 19-22 at Stan Sheriff Center
Host: University of Hawaii-Manoa
Other entrants: Boston College, Georgia, Portland. (Contracts have been mailed to three other teams that have agreed to play.)
Yahoo! Sports Invitational
Dec. 20-22 at Cannon Activities Center
Host: Brigham Young-Hawaii
Other entrants: Columbia, Montana, Navy, New Mexico State, St. Bonaventure, Tulsa, Valparaiso.
Hawaii School Web Sites
