Basketball schedule adds to UH’s money woes

An airball at the box office for University of Hawaii men’s basketball this season has prompted pledges of a much-needed upgrade in scheduling and marketing going forward.

The focus on attracting more paying customers for the 2018-19 season comes after Rainbow Warriors ticket revenue hit a six-year low despite a winning (17-13) season.

The ’Bows took in $910,253 in ticket revenue — the bulk of it, $714,035, in season-ticket sales — less revenue than any season since 2011-12, according to UH figures. Ticket revenue was down $108,528 from 2016-17, a season in which UH finished 14-16, and $217,700 less than that earned in the Big West championship season of 2015-16.

UH does not keep gate receipts from the Diamond Head Classic, which is owned and operated by ESPN Events, but receives a flat $50,000 fee.

Along with drops by both football ($221,282) and Wahine volleyball ($94,430), the three traditionally biggest income producers were down a total of $424,240 from the previous year.

“Our goal is to get back (up), focus on our schedule, focus on our team and, frankly, do a better job of marketing,” athletic director David Matlin said of basketball.

On scheduling, Matlin said he and head coach Eran Ganot have come up with a set of scheduling “guidelines” designed to present a more attractive schedule.

“I think it (the schedule) was a factor” … in the dropoff, Matlin said. “But I don’t think it was the only factor. I think that, sometimes, we can overstate it. It is not the only factor. Part of it is the timing of wins and losses.”

Matlin pointed to the ’Bows’ five-game losing streak, which included home losses to bottom-of-the-conference teams UC Riverside and Cal State Northridge, as a momentum-killer at the box office.

UH had won five of six games and drawn its largest crowd of the season, 5,778 for Cal State Fullerton, heading into the slide.

UH’s overall strength of schedule was ranked 236th (among 351) teams by the NCAA. Its nonconference schedule was ranked 100th by ESPN.

But strength of schedule has been a sore point for years across several coaching tenures, with UH’s nonconference schedule ranked 179th or worse six of the past eight years.

The goal, Matlin said, is to play no more than one Division II opponent in a season (UH faced Adams State and UH Hilo this year) and limit the number of games against teams that have a Ratings Percentage Index of 250 or worse. (UH had five, three of them in the Big West.)

Matlin said he wants to see an upgraded Rainbow Classic. The early-season tournament has frequently included no-names such as Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Texas State and Montana State.

Another goal is to play one so-called road “guarantee” game for a large paycheck, or an exempt tournament in the pre-conference portion of the schedule. UH will make its first appearance in the John Wooden Legacy (Nov. 22-25) in Anaheim, Calif., in 2018-19.

Between the Wooden tournament and the Diamond Head Classic — both ESPN events — UH will have six games on ESPN, Matlin said.

In addition, Matlin said he expects all games to be contracted by July 15. In the past UH has gone into August or September, sometimes putting its season tickets on sale before the schedule was completed.

For this year, “We’ve still got some work to do,” Matlin said. Ticket prices will remain the same, Matlin said.

Ganot said he contacted several prospective opponents at the Final Four in San Antonio. “Some work also (got) done on future years as we start to get ahead of things,” Ganot said in a text message.

The box office will determine the success of those efforts.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.