In the end, it came down to the checkbook pledges of two men who didn’t play the sport to finally bring the public school OIA and private school ILH together on a milestone high school football alliance after 48 seasons of discord.
In a unanimous vote, the ILH Tuesday agreed to a proposal by the OIA on a breakthrough two-year pilot program of three-tiered alliance beginning this fall.
The ILH’s assent did not come until two local businessmen, Duane Kurisu and Keith Amemiya, in a remarkable show of community support that could become a blueprint for future initiatives in sports and education, agreed to help “guarantee” the ILH would not take a financial step backward in granting the OIA a majority share of the gate revenues from interleague play.
Granting the OIA’s demand of favorable financial terms was a key condition in the deal and approval by the ILH was the last hurdle to the private schools’ agreement.
ILH board chair Tate Brown of ‘Iolani declined to comment directly on the pledges, but in an email said he was “… pleased that community leaders and organizations see the tremendous value of this endeavor and continue to support and sponsor Hawaii high school athletics making it financially possible for our student-athletes to compete at their best.”
New income and the pledges by Kurisu and Amemiya in addition to other donors they recruit will be used to make up any shortfall from what the ILH took in last season.
Participants declined to disclose what the ILH earned in 2017.
When teams from the two leagues meet at Aloha Stadium or ILH sites, gate revenues (after expenses) are expected to be apportioned along the lines of the composition of 22 OIA teams and seven from the ILH. Revenue from games played at OIA sites will remain exclusively that of the OIA.
Revenue from games involving only OIA teams will stay with the OIA while the ILH will keep revenue from ILH-only contests.
Reuniting the ILH and OIA after their acrimonious 1970 breakup has been a two-decade personal quest for Amemiya, who served as executive secretary of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association for 11 years until 2010. Amemiya, who ran track at Punahou, is currently senior vice president at Island Holdings.
Previously, Amemiya spearheaded the hugely successful Save Our Sports initiative raising $1.5 million in 2008-2010 when the state cut back on funding for public school sports. He and wife Bonny also led and contributed to a drive that helped match NFL funds for renovation of the Roosevelt High athletic complex.
Kurisu is the founder and chairman of the aio Group and also serves on the board of directors of Oahu Publications Inc., parent company of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
A swimmer at Hilo High who founded the Hawaii Winter Baseball League, Kurisu owns KKEA-AM 1420 radio and is a part-owner of the San Francisco Giants. He has been a major benefactor in other areas including erecting homes near Sand Island for 150 homeless families and helping organize the “Aloha for Japan” fundraising effort in Hawaii that raised more than $1 million for victims of the 2011 Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
“For me, this is all about education first,” Kurisu said in an email response to questions. “With this football alliance, we are hopeful that it will encourage collaboration and the sharing of resources between public and private schools. Just as important, I think, is looking at commonalities rather than differences in building strong and resilient communities as core to Hawaii seeing itself as being second to none.”
Brown said in an email, “The ILH is excited about the agreement reached with the OIA regarding interleague football. There were many factors that went into our decision. First and foremost, this is a win for all student-athletes in the state. The historic move will bring our football teams more opportunities to play and do so on a level that brings communities together while helping our athletes compete in a safer environment.”
All it took to end nearly a half-century of acrimony and bring high school football into the 21st century was some innovation and the steadfastness of community benefactors to see it through.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
