If the Hula Bowl is ever going to be played in Hawaii again, there are some pretty major hoops to be jumped through.
My bet is it ain’t gonna happen. Not in two years, not in 20 years.
And that would be good. Let it rest in peace. The Hula Bowl is history, and that’s where it belongs — where we can cherish how it lived in its glory years as the nation’s premier college football all-star game.
It would be nice if we could forget its lingering, ugly death. But it’s important to remember that the father of Jennifer Logan, who says she is reviving the Hula Bowl in Raleigh, N.C., next year, is Nick Logan. He was the last and, by far, worst owner of the Hula Bowl.
Reports last week that what used to be a major event on the Hawaii sports calendar but dormant since 2008 would be born again next year — in North Carolina — were bizarre enough.
The kicker of alternating each year with Hawaii hosting was met not just with skepticism, but cynical laughter.
That’s because Nick Logan was a joke here — a bad one. He left a trail of debt after the last Hula Bowl was played in 2008; it included being taken to court by a local company he’d hired for advertising and marketing. And the game that had previously showcased All-Americans and Heisman Trophy winners (in the game and previous winners on the sidelines) had devolved into little more than a free-agent job fair.
Among the ruined relationships included those with NFL scouts. You can’t have a college all-star game without scouts. Logan tried to charge them admission.
Logan still owes Mark Salmans, who was co-owner with Kenny Hansmire, and sold him the game, “$50,000 plus interest, $120,000 total,” Hansmire said.
Logan was constantly in arrears with Aloha Stadium.
There was also a history of unhappy business clients before the Hula Bowl. Just Google “Nick Logan” “Cornerstone Bancard” and it’s all there.
Most importantly, when Jennifer Logan, the new owner — at least in name — says the Hula Bowl will be played here in the islands again she is either ignorant of or intentionally leaving out an important fact: Lenny and Marcia Klompus still own the rights to the Hula Bowl name in Hawaii and have no plans to reboot the event here.
“We sold the game in 2002,” Lenny Klompus said Tuesday. “That was our last game. We haven’t done anything with it for 141⁄2 years. We have no plans to resurrect the game and if we did it would be (only) in Hawaii.”
When her brother, Noah Logan, talks about the Mosi Tatupu Award, it is also in ignorance of reality.
Linnea Garcia-Tatupu, who was Mosi’s wife, and Lenny Klompus have resurrected the award that was given to college football’s top special teams player in Tatupu’s honor and in conjunction with the Hula Bowl. But it won’t be linked with any Hula Bowl in North Carolina.
“Because of the confusion that seems to be surrounding this we’re not associating the Hula Bowl with Mosi’s name,” Garcia-Tatupu said.
As Klompus said, there is no Hula Bowl with which to be associated.
“The Tatupu Award will stand on its own with a group of Hawaii leaders and Mrs. Garcia-Tatupu,” Klompus said.
Hansmire said Nick Logan is likely free and clear of financial debts accrued from the last years of the Hula Bowl in Hawaii.
“Logan waited and stayed quiet until the timeline of seven years,” Hansmire said. “Now no one can legally go after him on any debt. He ruined the (Hula Bowl) name.”
Apparently not in a state that has lost the NBA All-Star Game and other events for political reasons.
North Carolina, proceed with extreme caution. It would probably be best for all concerned if you just left the Hula Bowl name alone and where it belongs — in the past and in Hawaii.
But if you really think for some strange reason this is a good deal, make sure you get your money up front.
Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.