When new University of Hawaii-Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple ordered a national search for an athletic director, he said it would be for "someone who can take us to the next level."
The decision was to seek candidates with impressive experience at the highest level regardless of local ties, and now, the chosen one looks impressive.
The new athletic director is Ben Jay, the senior associate athletic director for finance and operations at Ohio State, a Big 10 powerhouse and football dynasty.
On paper, his assets consist of extraordinary job experience, which, at this early stage, bodes well for the UH athletics program.
He will be going from managing a $131.8 million annual budget for 36 sports — including an undefeated football team fourth in the AP rankings — to one of about $30 million for 21 teams, including a football program completing a miserable transition season.
Jay will leave a program that had an $8.3 million surplus to one coping with a net deficit of more than $11 million.
Still, UH fumbled the ball Friday while the media were awaiting announcement of the hiring. Jay was in Hono-lulu last week until Wednesday; he had returned to Ohio when a Columbus Dispatch reporter saw him at a pep rally Friday in Columbus, and Jay confirmed he had accepted the position in Hawaii.
So much for the UH’s renewed pledge for more public transparency and disclosure, a process still anemic even after coming under fire in recent months by legislators and the public for its mishandling of university mistakes.
As permanent UH athletic director, Jay replaces Jim Donovan, who was reassigned in August to a high-paying, make-work position under Apple, in the shadow of the Stevie Wonder concert scam.
Rockne Freitas, the university’s acting athletic director, former All-Pro NFL lineman and longtime UH executive, publicly said he did not want the job permanently. He would have attracted enthusiastic support, including from football coach and Honolulu native Norm Chow.
Now, Chow and the other UH coaches will need to start building a strong rapport with Jay —and vice versa — if UH athletics has any hope of emerging from the red into black.
Jay was among more than 150 applicants to a UH search advisory committee. The Columbus native who has earned two degrees at Ohio State — a bachelor’s in accounting and a master’s in athletic administration — has said he is "a Buckeye for life."
He was associate commissioner for the Pac-10 for business and finance for more than 12 years. He has overseen the financial side of Ohio State’s athletic department since 2006, helping keep the Buckeyes in solid shape during an upgrade of the athletic facility sites and construction of a softball stadium. He has served on numerous NCAA business and finance committees.
Despite Jay’s solid professional credentials, it cannot be ignored that his current employer Ohio State is enduring a one-year bowl ban along with other penalties in response to allegations that eight football players sold memorabilia in exchange for cash and tattoos. The Buckeyes will miss out on serious money due to the NCAA-imposed bowl ban.
Jay told the Dispatch last week that the Hawaii job is "a chance to lead a top Division 1A program, a dream for anyone who aspires in this business. It’s a chance to go in and make a difference."
The hiring of such a qualified athletics finance leader is sorely needed at a university still recovering from disarray following the concert scam debacle.
UH may prove fortunate in being able to fill the position of athletic director during this period — if it can recover from its own fumbles.
