Thursday, January 24, 2002
Hawaii's bid to host the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation volleyball playoffs, regardless of the Warriors' conference finish, was rejected last week. UH bid for MPSF playoffs
not strong enoughBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comThe three-person MPSF administrative committee concluded that the proposal wasn't strong enough to proceed.
"The timing just wasn't appropriate," MPSF executive director Al Beaird said. "The economy over there was such that the timing wasn't right.
"Hawaii submitted a proposal and it was not as strong as we expected it to be. (Hosting the playoffs) was contingent on it being a solid proposal. My administrative committee just wasn't comfortable with what was being presented. There is not really much more to it than that. They looked at it, they considered it. It wasn't something they really wanted to go forward with. I don't want to really go into specifics."
Instead, the current tournament format will be used. The top eight finishers in the conference will be seeded in a single-elimination playoff. The winner of the tournament receives the automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
The Warriors could still host the semifinals and the championship if they are the highest remaining seed after the first round.
The MPSF's decision was a disappointment to Hawaii coach Mike Wilton and athletic director Hugh Yoshida.
Wilton said that he was only the messenger and did not have a hand in creating the proposal.
"I'm disappointed, we're going back to the drawing board," Yoshida said. "A concern was that the number of teams are so limited ... the sport is struggling to survive. TV would help to promote the program, that was the request and to get exposure from the sport."
At the coaches meeting last May, concerns about the viability of men's volleyball as a sport prompted a proposal by other coaches in the league to have the conference tournament in Hawaii.
After initially receiving unanimous support from the coaches, one conference coach, who wasn't at the meeting, stated that Hawaii would have an unfair competitive advantage should it serve as host.
The proposal was then sent to the MPSF, which responded that if the university could deliver regional television coverage, Hawaii could host the tournament.
After CNN/SI agreed to televise two quarterfinal matches, both semifinals and the championship even if the Warriors lost in the first round, it appeared as though Hawaii was set to host.
In the proposed format, all 12 teams would be seeded into the tournament with the top four earning byes, while teams 5-12 compete in play-in matches. As host, Hawaii would have automatically received a berth into the quarterfinals.
Yoshida said that the university agreed to cover $3,000 in travel expenses ($21,000 total for the seven teams) and the $35,000 satellite feed. And UH guaranteed the MPSF that it would sell 3,000 tickets at $35 apiece. If anything was made over and beyond the proposal, 75 percent would go to the MPSF and 25 percent to Hawaii.
"How good we are would be a question," Yoshida said. "It's always a roll of the dice.
"There was a concern I had that if we didn't meet the guarantee, we would be responsible for the difference."
The Warriors have led the nation in attendance the last seven seasons. They averaged 5,169 in 16 home matches last year.
UH Athletics