The University of Hawaii once cloned mice.
It also helped advance the Hawaiian language in a way that scholars could not do for Latin.
Yet, after all these years, its football team is still trying to map out consistency on the road.
In the previous 30 football seasons, the Rainbow Warriors were 47-107 in road games, a success rate of 30.5%.
The winningest head coach in the modern era, June Jones, was 20-21 on the road in nine seasons, despite going 3-0 in 1999 and 5-0 in 2007. Nick Rolovich (2016-19) and Greg McMackin (2008-11) were both 10-14 on the road in their four-season tenures as head coaches. Fred vonAppen (1996-98) was 0-11 in three seasons of road games.
The road, of course, poses several challenges. Ahead of the 2000 game against Fresno State, the Warriors practiced on the Bulldogs’ campus — next to a frat house. From the roof top, members of the Delta Sigma Phi roasted the Warriors, particularly kicker Eric Hannum. It was the last time Jones held a practice on an opposing team’s campus.
In preparation for San Jose State, the Warriors had to abbreviate a practice because the bus drivers could not find the high school field. It answered the question: Do you know the way to San Jose?
At Colorado State, the Warriors entered a visitors’ locker room that had walls that were painted pink, which some believed to be a passivity-inducing color. Then-UH head coach Bob Wagner ordered assistants to tape newspapers onto the walls. It was the first time Wagner approved of newspaper coverage.
McMackin tried several motivational tactics on the road. Feigning a rage, McMackin smashed a projector that already was broken. He also ordered a heavy 33-link chain that was supposed to represent the bonds of players on the three units. The Warriors lost, and the chain was abandoned in the parking lot. No update on what happened to the projector.
For a Friday practice ahead of a 2015 game against UNLV, interim head coach Chris Naeole had a Hawaiian flag raised on a pole at Sam Boyd Stadium. UNLV won 41-21, spoiling Naeole’s only road game as head coach.
The Warriors have used sleep specialists and hydration experts to find the best way to travel.
They also have tried different approaches. Ahead of last year’s game against Wyoming, the Warriors departed on Tuesday, stayed in Fort Collins, Colo., through Friday morning, then made the 66-minute bus ride to Laramie that afternoon. In 1996, the Warriors planned to depart Honolulu on Thursday evening and arrive in Laramie on Friday afternoon. But because of airline problems, the Warriors did not arrive at the Laramie Inn until early Saturday morning. Kickoff was at noon. Wyoming won 66-0 in what was dubbed “Rout 66.”
Under Norm Chow, the Warriors departed on Thursday mornings, stayed overnight in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and then traveled to the game site on Friday morning. But because of an incident at LAX that forced the closure of the airport in 2013, the Warriors did not arrive in Logan, Utah, until 2 a.m. Saturday for a game against Utah State that afternoon.
For a road game against Louisiana Tech, the Warriors practiced in Houston. Between back-to-back road games under McMackin, the Warriors stayed in Summerlin, Nev.
For this season, the Warriors believe they have found the right travel formula. Except for the return from San Diego next month, the Warriors will have charter flights for every road game.
In the past, the Warriors departed Honolulu on Wednesday for a trip to Texas. For Saturday’s game against Sam Houston in Huntsville, Texas, they will leave on Thursday, the team’s normal recovery day. The glitch is the team will have to remain on the plane during refueling in Oakland, extending time on board to a little more than nine hours. But with the goal of wheels up about two hours after the end of the game, the Warriors should be back home early Sunday. In theory, the itinerary saves time and a night’s hotel stay. Now it is the Warriors’ hope it will solve a 30-season problem.
