The University of Hawaii-Manoa athletics department finds itself at a crossroads.
UH must decide whether it wants a competitive program at the NCAA Division I level, which will require a much larger commitment of money and other resources than the program currently receives.
To his credit, the new athletic director, Ben Jay, doesn’t pretend that UH will remain competitive by behaving as it usually does — timidly, with piecemeal, halfhearted responses that may keep the program limping along but avoid addressing the big issues.
Instead, Jay proposed outsized goals in a news conference on Thursday. He wants to increase the annual athletics budget to $40 million in five years; initiate a $60 million fundraising campaign; launch $40 million in capital improvements; become a top-50 NCAA program; and as if that were not enough, reach the 90th percentile in NCAA academic progress rate and graduation success rate.
The last goal is the most important one. But Jay argues that all of the above, incorporated in an effective strategic plan, will be required to correct what he bluntly called "a program in decline."
He makes a good case. The gap between rich and poor athletics programs is growing. Those without resources and a commitment to attract good athletes, field competitive teams and attract a sturdy fan base, could see their programs wither away.
A USA Today report last year noted that only 22 of the 227 public schools in NCAA Division I made money in 2011. And those schools nearly quadrupled their income since 2005. The remaining schools recorded deficits that were 67 percent higher than in 2005.
Furthermore, the biggest conferences — Pac 12, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Southeastern and Atlantic Coast — are rumored to be contemplating a new division or breaking away from the NCAA altogether, taking the bulk of their television revenues and audience with them, leaving smaller schools to compete for scraps.
Jay doesn’t want UH to be left behind. But he faces a battle of hearts and minds, as well as wallets.
UH only recently cleared a $13 million accumulated net deficit from its books, and Jay understandably doesn’t want to go down that road again. But he obviously can’t depend on the state general fund; as it is, the state’s coffers are strapped. More than ever, his goals will require more help from outside the university.
He illustrated that point on Thursday, when he lauded the sponsorship of Hawaii Pacific Health, which will provide comprehensive medical services for UH’s 470 athletes. Also, Outrigger Hotels and Resorts will increase the value of its sponsorship to more than $150,000. These are good beginnings, if modest ones. Jay will need to aim much higher in raising money through sponsorships and other sources, such as facilities rentals, if he hopes to get close to his ambitious goals.
Jay plans to present 150 to 160 key stakeholders with a detailed proposal to implement the basic goals he outlined. It had better be a persuasive one, because boosters will be faced with a stark choice: Pony up or risk abandoning UH’s commitment to provide student-athletes with a top-tier program.
It’s a commitment that UH and Gov. John A. Burns made in the 1960s after Burns, weary of the poor performance of UH’s football team, reportedly told then-president Thomas Hamilton to "either field a team or forget it."
