GOV. Ben Cayetano proposed a bill for physician-assisted death a week after the University of Hawaii announced it will remain in a conference that's hooked up to life-support. Coincidence? I think not. The WAC will be the
death of UH athleticsBefore UH president Kenneth Mortimer departed for Monterey, Calif., to attend the Western Athletic Conference meetings, Cayetano backed the idea of joining the defectors should a belated invitation come Hawaii's way.
Like any right-thinking individual, he knew the Rainbows' future was far more secure in a league that included marquee program Brigham Young University than one with busted-broke San Jose State and Texas-El Paso.
Apparently, Mortimer didn't get the message.
Instead of putting his hat in his hand and thanking his lucky stars that the eight defectors were still considering Hawaii as a ninth member, he opted to remain in a league that's DOA.
The other night while watching Mortimer play spin doctor on TV, my wife said to me, "Do you know why you can't kill the WAC? Because it's already dead."
OF course, the eight remaining WAC wallflowers would beg to differ. They believe they can survive the recent defections of the league's eight better programs. To start with, they plan to keep the money the breakaway teams earned in the postseason parades.
There has even been talk of suing the defectors for potential losses in TV and bowl revenues, something that might earn the WAC a fistful of dollars in the short run, but won't make any difference down the road.
Describing a messy breakup, Bob Dylan once wrote, "But time will tell just who has fell and who's been left behind. When you go your way and I go mine."
In the long run, the eight defectors will have a much better survival rate than the eight left behind. The WAC can cry foul, threaten to sue and say life isn't fair. But in the end, the defectors will be a viable league and the WAC won't.
Why, you ask?
Well, if you're a television executive or an executive director of a bowl game, the new league features the WAC's flagship football and men's basketball programs -- BYU and Utah, respectively. The Cougars were ranked fifth nationally after winning the Cotton Bowl in January 1997. The Utes, who have reached the NCAA basketball tournament's Sweet 16 four times in the 1990s, advanced to this year's championship before falling to Kentucky.
Colorado State is a viable football powerhouse as well. The Rams won the 1997 Holiday Bowl and finished in the top 25. And don't forget New Mexico. Last year, the Lobos advanced to a bowl game and to the NCAA Tournament in basketball.
AS they say in the Mafia, this was strictly business. Nothing personal. But apparently, the WAC doesn't see it that way. Instead of spending valuable time figuring out how to make a far-spread league work, the scorned WAC is trying to get even.
It's only putting off the inevitable demise of a league that can't make it in its current form. Nobody in Texas really cares about SMU, TCU, Rice and UTEP playing Tulsa, Hawaii, Fresno State and San Jose State. Sports fans there are too savvy.
Unfortunately, Mortimer doesn't get it. He compared potential rivalries in Texas to his own desires of avenging losses to new opponents in squash games.
Need I say more?
Even if the WAC survived by becoming a new version of the old Southwest Conference, it's unlikely those schools will want cost-prohibitive Hawaii as a member.
Mortimer further complicated matters by turning his back on the eight breakaway schools, leaving the Rainbows with few options should the WAC eventually fall.
No wonder Cayetano proposed the euthanasia bill. By the time it passes, Dr. Jack Kevorkian can come to town and pull the plug on the UH athletic department.
Paul Arnett has been covering sports
for the Star-Bulletin since 1990.