Last week, after a four-month search, the Board of Regents approved Craig Angelos as the next University of Hawaii athletic director.
That was the easy part. The regents, like a grand jury, will argue and argue, but the ayes will always have it if the evidence is fairly reasonable. And Angelos appears to be a solid choice with a strong background in fundraising.
Here’s what needs to happen next:
>> Find a local guide.
In the summer of 2005, quarterback Colt Brennan was a newcomer from SoCal. For the initial player-run football practice — and then for every ensuing workout — Brennan brought the footballs, cones and water cooler. He let the the incumbent quarterbacks take the first reps. Eventually, the biggest, baddest man on the team — offensive lineman Samson Satele — offered a handshake and friendship. Satele’s father, who attended every practice, made Brennan a hanai son. Offensive tackle Tala Esera introduced Brennan to the North Shore’s laid-back lifestyle.
Brennan grew to respect the ‘aina. He learned Samoan, which was helpful in calling plays. He made friends with members of Natural Vibration. He used father Terry’s credit card to buy pizzas for team meetings. A year ahead of the record-setting seasons, Brennan was becoming an island son.
Angelos, by all accounts, is sharp, friendly and a quick learner. But like all mainland transplants who become supervisors, he could use some guidance on the ways of the 808. (During Fred vonAppen’s tenure as football coach, one of his assistants wondered why it was easier to recruit prospects of Hawaiian ancestry than those with Samoan backgrounds. It was pointed out that, well, Hawaiians are from Hawaii …)
It never hurts to remind folks that Spam is good, you wear slippahs and not flip-flops, and cars are always reversed into parking stalls.
>> Embrace the fans
Hawaii loves its own. Marcus, Tua, Kolten, Little League teams, even Isiah Kiner-Falefa — all are embraced by Hawaii residents.
Few can find Fairfax, Va., on a map. Some don’t know Virginia and West Virginia are not the same state. Yet more than 2,000 volleyball fans made their way to George Mason’s campus for the NCAA final four.
“American Idol” knows Hawaii has the fastest — and most persistent — texters.
Develop a program and charismatic players, and the fans — and their digital wallets — will follow. Corporations are corporations, but the heart of a program is every-person supporters.
Angelos needs to wade into the public pool. Buy a Krispy Kreme box at the intersection from the club volleyball team. Chop it up with the custodial staff. Like Carl from “The Breakfast Club,” custodians are 1) the nicest people, and 2) know everything. Talk story with the customers in line at Andy’s Sandwiches & Smoothies.
The thing is, money is tight in Hawaii. But fans will do what they can to support their teams — if they get to know you. So get to know them. Buy that Tropical Dream smoothie.
>> When he was Florida Atlantic’s athletic director more than a decade ago, Angelos worked with businesses that wanted to form public-private partnerships and with a friendly state legislature that was supportive, even offering incentives to build facilities. Here? Not so much. But Angelos has spoken of the need for alignment and cooperation that would serve the needs of many. A fresh voice might be able to help discussions.
>> As the story goes, in the early 1970s, then athletic director Paul Durham looked out his office window in astonishment and saw a grading crew leveling a vacant area in what was known as the UH quarry. Les Murakami, the baseball coach with ties to the Legislature, was building the original version of Rainbow Stadium, a baseball facility with metal bleachers and a shed that his wife would operate as a concession stand. The stadium was functional and a great play area for Murakami’s kids and a young Scott Robbs, the son of the play-by-play announcer. Several years later, Gov. George Ariyoshi approved the quick construction of what is now Les Murakami Stadium.
The point is UH had a limited history of building a comfortable facility until a better one comes along. Angelos does not need to walk around with a tape measure, but he does have experience in building an on-campus stadium at Florida Atlantic. Until Aloha Stadium’s replacement is built — the completion date is now “infinity” — Angelos can use his expertise to create improvement plans for home football games at the Ching Complex.
