It is safe to say Hawaii Bowl and Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Exec Dir DARYL GARVIN is in full event mode this week. He oversees the college basketball Diamond Head tournament from Thursday-Sunday, and the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve between Middle Tennessee State and the Univ. of Hawaii. “We plan all year but everyone always says we only work four days a year," Garvin said. "It’s quite an undertaking, but a good thing to remember for both the basketball tournament and the bowl game is that for a lot of the kids coming here, this is going to be their one and only trip to Hawaii in their life. So we try to create some memories that last a lifetime for them.”
MAN ON THE RUN: I like to enjoy the sunrise Friday morning, then we have our NCAA pregame meeting for the Hawaii Bowl. We also have our halftime rehearsal early Friday afternoon out at Aloha Stadium. We have a lunch for both football teams where I’ll try to stop by before heading to the Stan Sheriff Center for four basketball games that night. I’m prepared for a long, long day. Saturday I get out to Aloha Stadium early. Luckily the Diamond Head takes that day off. We’ll have our VIP tailgate and we’ll have bands playing on the concourses and I’ll try to make my rounds. I’ll also have to make sure everything’s going well for the teams. Once the game actually kicks off hopefully I have a little time to sit down and watch a little bit of the first half before concerning myself with some of the on-field promotions, the halftime show and the postgame presentations.
ALOHA FROM HONOLULU: The first couple years of the Hawaii Bowl we played on Christmas Day, then it was moved to Christmas Eve. We’ve got a 3:00pm local kickoff (8:00pm ET) and hopefully the sun is shining. With both of these teams passing a lot it could be a nice 3-4 hour visual postcard from Hawaii.
OFF THE CLOCK: I moved to Hawaii in ’98 from DC. In my free time I try to enjoy everything that the state has to offer. But to be honest I’m a sports fan just like everybody else, so I’m lucky to have the job that I do. I’ve got a 15-year-old son, KEALOHA, so we watch a lot of sports together and he participates in a lot of sports as well. I’m always either shooting hoops with him or watching a basketball game or driving him to practice. I also try to hike. You never want to take Hawaii for granted. I’m a big nonfiction reader, including sports books. I like hopping on the Kindle when I’m on the airplane.
