Officially, Keith Amemiya hasn't left the Hawaii High School Athletic Association yet.

The process of replacing the executive director, however, is well under way. If that wasn't clear enough before, his absence from yesterday's board meeting did the job.

With Amemiya gone after the first hour of the day-long session to be confirmed as an interim executive administrator and secretary of the Board of Regents at the University of Hawaii, administrators got a taste of an HHSAA “;A.A.”; — After Amemiya.

“;It'll be tough,”; Big Island Interscholastic Federation executive director Lyle Crozier said of finding a new chief. “;He did so much for the HHSAA. His fundraising was just in the nick of time. All of the schools are relying on the money he raised.”;

In wake of monumental budget cuts by the DOE, Amemiya spearheaded a campaign that began in July of 2009 and raised more than $1.3 million for high school athletics from the business sector and the general public.

Diane Nitta and Meredith Maeda of the HHSAA are facilitating the hiring process. The deadline for applicants was Dec. 29 and an independent screening committee is conducting interviews.

The committee will screen out the top candidates, who will then be interviewed by the HHSAA executive board.

“;We hope to have a new executive director on board in two weeks,”; Nitta said.

If following in the footsteps of Amemiya, who embarked on a fantastic voyage of achievements during his 11 years, seems difficult, there's reason for hope.

“;One comment by the screening committee is that they're impressed with the caliber of applicants,”; Nitta added.

Big Island savings

The adjustment from a classification-based schedule to a geographical-oriented slate has saved the BIIF a good chunk of money.

“;I think it's up to $10,000 that's been saved. Maybe more,”; BIIF president Robert Dircks said.

As for quality of competition, there's been a significant difference now that Division I and II programs are no longer segregated. In girls basketball, it's a bonus in the East Division for D-II Kamehameha-Hawaii, which plays solid D-I teams in Waiakea (ranked No. 5 in the Star-Bulletin Top 10), Hilo and Keaau.

In boys basketball, No. 7-ranked St. Joseph has a multitude of D-I foes now, including Hilo, Keaau and Waiakea.

For the West Division powers, though, the lack of competition is alarming. Defending state champion Konawaena won't play a Top-10 team until the playoffs, if Waiakea meets up with the Wildcats. Much of the West is in Division II.

“;In basketball, it favors the East side,”; Crozier said. “;The East schools are happy.”;

Even if budgets get squared away, even if there's a surplus one day, the BIIF is unlikely to change this format.

“;I think it's going to stay this way. There's only positive things that have come up,”; Dircks said. “;We have the country schools and the urban schools who don't play each other, and it gets interesting in the playoffs.”;

Crozier, a former longtime Konawaena athletic director, doesn't see change in the format, either.

“;The budget's not getting better,”; he said.

With bus rentals at sky-high prices — a trip from Konawaena to Hilo can reach $600 — staying regional fits.

Another byproduct of schedule changes due to budget cuts is the BIIF's switch to a state-tournament berth system that doesn't reward regular-season play. For years, the league gave regular-season winners an automatic state berth, the way it's done in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and Maui Interscholastic League.

“;We don't protect the regular-season champion anymore,”; Crozier noted.