The campfire game goes like this: Somebody starts a ghost story, then the next person adds to it, then the next, and the next and eventually … it ends, without fulfillment, like the final episode of “Lost.”
The six-week drama involving the University of Hawaii football team also came to an abrupt conclusion with head coach Todd Graham’s resignation last week. And while UH saved $1.2 million when Graham declined his buyout fee on the remaining three years of his five-year contract, and the disgruntled rid the coach they had wanted ridded, the end result was … what?
State senators who had wanted answers on how UH addresses mental-health issues never used the recent informational hearing to learn about the programs and help the school offers to all students, professors and employees dealing with depression and anxiety. The senators could have offered advice, praise, criticism, referrals or, even, money. Instead: Coach gone … problems gone?
And UH leaders were not able to leverage the situation. “Want a coaching change? Restore the $2.6 million allocation the athletic department used to receive.” When Glenn Wakai, the chair of the Senate’s Committee on Energy, Economic Development and Tourism, hypothesized whether the athletic director would can Graham if the buyout money were available, David Matlin should have asked: “How’s that new stadium project going?”
Instead, the Warriors’ top players are still gone, the recruiting window is narrowing, the third coaching search in six years is underway, a new Halawa stadium is a pipe-nightmare, and a Senate committee is hinting at yet another hearing. So, these things need to happen:
>> Hire a football coach with recent local ties.
Category A is June Jones, the program’s winningest Division I football coach, and Rich Miano, a popular former UH safety and coach who played 11 NFL seasons. Either would be a familiar face for a program that desperately needs an image makeover. On Monday, Jones was named a head coach for the Polynesian Bowl.
Category B is former UH center and associate head coach Brian Smith and Timmy Chang, a former record-setting quarterback at Saint Louis School and UH. Smith, who most recently called plays at Washington State, and Chang, currently the receivers coach at Colorado State, have experience in multiple offenses, most notably the run-and-shoot. Both fit Matlin’s previous strategy of hiring youthful coaches with UH ties — Eran Ganot (men’s basketball), Nick Rolovich (football), Robyn Ah Mow (women’s volleyball).
The new coach should receive a three-year contract. The theory used to be long-term deals — say, five-year contracts — would help with recruiting. But times have changed. With the transfer portal, recruits are not making long-term commitments. It is not uncommon for players to experience coaching changes. The same teacher through college? College football is not “Boy Meets World.” Head coaches Greg McMackin, Norm Chow and Nick Rolovich did not last past four UH seasons; Graham coached only two seasons.
>> Expand the Ching Complex.
The NCAA requires an average attendance of 15,000 fans per game once every two years for a team to maintain FBS status. It is not a pinky-swear rule, and exemptions are granted for the pandemic, as well as the transition period while a new stadium is being constructed. But the argument is watered when drivers can pass by Halawa and still see the old Aloha Stadium where the new one is supposed to be built. Ching seats 9,000, but expansion plans have been murky. The on-campus facility needs to double in size, at least.
>> Get a new marketing plan.
Let’s say there are X number of season-ticket subscribers and Y number of pay-per-view buyers. The goal should not be to get more pay-per-view buyers to attend UH games. It should be to expand the combined number of X and Y fans.
Television already has the edge. The shots are clear enough to see the players’ pores; friends and neighbors can gather; and the bathrooms cannot be tipped over. UH needs to improve the overall game experience for fans, beginning with bringing back tailgating and installing seatbacks for every section.
It also would be helpful if the business leaders would make donations to name, likeness, image programs. There is talk that next year, every BYU player would be eligible to receive more than $2,000 a month in NIL arrangements. That should provide a boost in recruiting and retention.
UH and its supporters need to act quickly. This situation needs a better ending.
