Answer: What did Craig Angelos do in his first month as the University of Hawaii’s athletic director?

“I joke with people that I feel I’m on “Jeopardy!” because everything I say is in the form of a question,” Angelos said. “And that’s been helpful. I can sit and listen to the answer to my questions.”

As successor to David Matlin, who retired as AD exactly a month ago, Angelos has sought input on resolving the challenges of improving UH’s financial situation, navigating an evolving landscape in college athletics, and figuring ways to improve the fan experience at football games at the Ching Complex.

Angelos has met with dozens of business leaders and several UH regents. He spoke with state Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, who has been a vocal critic of UH’s leadership. Dela Cruz is chair of the powerful Senate Ways and Means Committee. Angelos met with Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, and is on Gov. Josh Green’s calendar this month. He also has had extensive meetings with former UH head football coach June Jones; football analyst Rich Miano, a former UH safety and coach who played 11 NFL seasons; and prominent alumnus Artie Wilson.

During each meeting, Angelos writes suggestions and concerns in a 3-inch-by-5-inch pad.

“There’s so much going on, so many people saying things, if you just sit and listen, you’re only going to retain a little bit,” said Angelos, who keeps the notepad in his shirt pocket and then transfers the notes to a master document. “When you go to class, they say after an hour, you retain 10% of it. That’s why I take notes. If you want to retain it, you’ve got to write it down somewhere and codify it. … If I’m sitting at home watching TV, it’s like, ‘Ih, I’ve got to do this or that’s a great idea,’ I fill (the notebook) up and then I get another one. It fits in my pocket, so you can take it anywhere.”

Last Thursday, he audited an Aloha Stadium Authority meeting. He was able to view the Halawa facility that was self-condemned for spectator-attended events in December 2020. “It made me sad to look at that stadium that was an icon not just for the state but nationally and internationally,” Angelos said, likening it to the Miami Orange Bowl, which was shuttered in 2008. But while the University of Miami had nearby alternative sites for its football games, Angelos said, UH does not have an “NFL field down the street. There was nothing down the street. (Previous UH officials) had to (retrofit Ching), which I think was a Herculean effort on everybody’s part.”

With Ching as the Warriors’ football home for at least the next five seasons — an Aloha Stadium replacement, at the most optimistic projection, will not be available until 2028 — school officials have worked on improving the on-campus stadium.

Aloha Stadium’s video scoreboard was reassembled and installed at Ching last month. (The past two seasons, radio announcers and several fans complained they could not see the video scoreboard that was placed in the corner at Ching.)

Angelos said seating expansion — from 9,300 to 15,300 — will be completed by Aug. 1. “Eight weeks from this weekend, we start our (football) season at Vanderbilt,” Angelos said. “In nine weeks, we have our first home game. And the stadium is still in a state of flux nine weeks out.”

Angelos said season-ticket holders are eligible to purchase seats in sections with chair backs. “That’s an incentive,” Angelos said. “If you’re not a season-ticket holder, you can bring in cushions (with no chair backs) to sit on.”

Angelos is seeking to add premium seats. There are 15 luxury booths, each accommodating 20-25 people. But three booths are reserved for the visiting team, UH leaders and sponsors. UH plans to sell field-level seats behind the end zone as well as develop a “suite level” area.

“Everyone values access,” Angelos said. “Even if it’s not a great seat, if they’re down low on the court or on the field, seeing people come and go, they like that. We’re seeing how we can monetize the stadium, and maximize it when it comes to revenue.”

When he was with Miami, Hurricanes officials, opposing team’s leaders and sponsors gathered for a reception the night before a game. He said he would like to serve as host for a similar event ahead of UH football games. “Donors would love it,” Angelos said.

Pregame plans include expanding the Kids Zone activities at Les Murakami Stadium. UH also is working on adding off-site parking, such as using Kapiolani Community College and shuttling fans to and from Ching. Angelos is exploring the possibility of fans being allowed to tailgate at the off-site parking areas.

“I think in-game experience will be huge for us here,” Angelos said. “Because we have a small crowd, we’re going to have a really good in-game experience,.”

Last year, UH set aside 900 tickets for students, 400 for the visiting team and 500 for the Warriors’ players and coaches. UH reported selling about 6,000 season tickets last year. This year, season tickets are at about 75% of last year’s sales.

Work on converting the grass practice areas into a soccer field and track will begin at end of the August. The project, which will include leveling the two-tier grass area, is targeted for August 2024 completion.

Angelos said Matlin made arrangements to replace the artificial surface at Les Murakami Stadium ahead of the 2024 baseball season.

Angelos also is exploring whether to adjust future football scheduling. With a 12-game regular season at previous schools, the strategy was to be no worse than 2-2 heading into league play. “With four nonconference games,” Angelos said of previous schools’ schedules, “you try to schedule an A game (nationally ranked opponent), two B games and a C game, so you’re coming out of there at least 2-2, and hopefully 3-1 and maybe 4-0. But you’re not coming out of there with a losing record.”

Because of the so-called Hawaii exemption, UH is allowed to play up 13 regular-season games, meaning it would need to win seven to be assured a postseason bowl. (Twice, the unavailability of bowl-eligible teams — .500 record or better — enabled the Warriors to qualify with 6-7 records.) This season, three of UH’s five nonconference games are against Power Five teams — at Vanderbilt, vs. Stanford and at Oregon.

“Those are really tough games,” Angelos said. “Hopefully you can win three out of those five, and maybe all five. But the three Power Five ones are pretty steep. You always want to go .500 or above into your conference schedule — that way you have to go .500 in your conference to get a bowl. Here, if you play all 13, and you end up going 2-3 (in nonleague games), then you have to go 5-3 in your conference to be 7-6.”

Angelos said there have been discussions about UH playing a 12-game schedule. More likely, UH will schedule just one game a year against a Power Five team that will pay a large appearance fee. Because of the limited seating at Ching, UH would not be able to sell significantly more tickets if it were to host a big-name school. UH is set to play host to UCLA and Oregon next year.

“You’re not going to be able to take advantage of their notoriety at the gate because hopefully we’ll be at our (season-ticket) limits at the gate,” Angelos said.