UH athletics
weigh options
amid uncertainty

Hawaii will be in the WAC
this year but after that there
are many possibilities

Part 1: Conference of confusion

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

There are those who believe that the University of Hawaii athletic department is standing on a precipice, just waiting for someone to push it over the collegiate cliff.

Not only are the Rainbows facing an unprecedented million-dollar deficit this fiscal year, they also are in a league that is struggling to survive the major-college wars.

There is strong talk that the nation's top 60 football programs could spin off into five, 12-team conferences that would leave the remaining 52 Division I teams on the outside, looking in.

If that happened tomorrow, Hawaii almost certainly would not be on the RSVP list, leaving the football program in a perilous state.

If the worst-case scenario played out and the Western Athletic Conference split or was dismantled, what would Hawaii's options be for not only the major sports, but also the nonrevenue producers?

During the past year, Rainbow athletic director Hugh Yoshida has pondered that possibility more days than he can remember.

"There are two conferences on the West Coast -- the Big West and the Pac-10," Yoshida said. "But right now, the Pac-10 really isn't an option.

"If the WAC disappeared, then we'd have to look at trying to be independent in football and look at other conferences that we'd want to be associated with."

It's likely the women's programs would try to return to the Big West Conference. That would be a good fit for the men's basketball and baseball teams, too. The problem is that it would be a major step down in football.

Keeping in touch

The Big West and WAC commissioners have kept in contact the past year. Naturally, the Big West is nervous some of its football schools would take flight to the WAC should expansion occur. Big West officials remain open to Hawaii joining their league. They were sad to see the women's programs leave for the WAC in 1996.

There's even a possibility of Hawaii joining the Mountain West Conference, but that would require Hawaii paying some kind of travel subsidy.

"There are so many scenarios and you would have to see what the contingencies were if any of those scenarios happens," said UH president Kenneth Mortimer, who will take part in crucial WAC meetings next week in California.

"There was some talk that TCU and SMU were actively meeting with Conference USA. That rumor was partially accurate in that the athletic directors were seeking information. But that talk always goes on.

"I think we'll have enough notice if Conference USA decides to expand, but right now, TCU and SMU aren't on the table. So I'm hopeful we'll come out of our meetings ... and everybody will say, 'Come on, let's go.' "

WAC commissioner Karl Benson said he hopes Hawaii remains a viable member of the WAC. But he also believes all eight schools should be prepared if there are any major shifts among the top conferences nationwide.

"I think schools like Hawaii need to keep their options open," Benson said. "The WAC will remain as it is for at least one more year, but after that, who knows? There are a lot of things on the collegiate landscape that could affect some of our member institutions."

Rainbows missed

Although the Mountain West Conference is not interested in expanding at this time, should it ever decide to add a team or two, it's possible Hawaii could be on that short list with Fresno State. Some of the Mountain West members are interested in Hawaii, others are not.

But if Brigham Young believed that the Rainbows belonged in the Mountain West, it's likely that would be an option Hawaii could entertain.

"I hated to see Hawaii dropped off our schedule," BYU head coach LaVell Edwards said. "I would hope that something could be worked out in the near future where Hawaii could still be on our schedule. We just have too much history with their program just to let it go."

Utah men's basketball coach Rick Majerus believes Hawaii and Fresno State will eventually be in the new league. But at this point, that's just talk.

What's good for Hawaii

"You go back and look what happened when Arizona and Arizona State joined the Pac-10, we got into the WAC," Mortimer said. "We've been trying to figure out if there was a major conference realignment, what would be in the best interest of Hawaii.

"We even tried to see how it would play out if we became an independent. But it creates scheduling problems in the middle of the season when schools only want to play conference games.

"If the WAC were to break up, I don't know what would happen. Maybe we could go back to the Big West, but at this point, I don't think the WAC is going to break up and I believe firmly that we're a viable member of this league."

Years ago, Hawaii's ultimate goal was to become a member of the Pac-10. And while that may have been a possibility earlier this decade, the Rainbows aren't competitive enough in football to be considered now.

The two most mentioned candidates in possible Pac-10 expansion are Texas and Colorado.

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Truce sought with
Mountain West programs

UH's president wants the men's
basketball and football teams to
play some former WAC rivals

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

The Mountain West Conference isn't the Evil Empire after all.

University of Hawaii President Kenneth Mortimer plans to normalize relations with certain programs of the breakaway eight.

Nevada-Las Vegas is the first school UH officials plan to approach about scheduling in football and men's basketball. San Diego State is another possibility.

"I said to the media and everybody at the time of the split that we're going to pursue the interests of the University of Hawaii," Mortimer said. "The interest of the University of Hawaii is certainly not giving schools in Utah an opportunity to recruit here by playing those schools.

"My guess is that sometime in the future we will normalize our relations with Las Vegas because of the Hawaii connection. And I can't imagine us having a hard-and-fast that we're not going to ever play those guys again.

"I think it will normalize itself very soon. Normalize means you do what you think is best for your institution."

UNLV athletic director Charles Cavagnaro said he was hopeful the Rainbows and Rebels could keep their rivalry alive.

"But that's really up to Hawaii," Cavagnaro said. "We are open to playing them because of the ties between our two cities. Over the last year, we've tried to talk to officials in Hawaii's athletic department, but they haven't been too receptive to the idea so far.

"I feel Hawaii has a lot to offer us in several sports, including football, basketball and volleyball. Hopefully, we can get past this rancor and get them back on our schedule. It makes too much sense for everybody."

Keeping ties with San Diego State also makes sense, especially considering the baseball rivalry. The Rainbows have played the Aztecs 141 times. Hawaii-Hilo is second all time with 96 meetings.

"We'd like to keep a relationship with Hawaii," San Diego State athletic director Rick Bay said. "Hopefully, our differences can be worked out in the future."

The Air Force Academy is scheduled to play Hawaii here in 2000 in football. Head coach Fisher DeBerry expects the Rainbows to honor that signed contract.

"We're going to be there and are very much looking forward to it," DeBerry said.

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12-0 season punctuates
Tulane’s turnaround

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

Tulane University left here in 1993 with a future as uncertain as Hawaii's is now.

The Green Wave's 56-17 loss to the Rainbows highlighted another nonwinning season in football, a streak that dated back to 1981.

Former head coach Buddy Teevens' attempts to turn around the perennial loser ended in 1996, the same year Tulane shed its independent clothing to become a member of Conference USA. New athletic director Sandy Barbour was looking for someone to right the ship and she decided Auburn offensive coordinator Tommy Bowden was her man.

"We were trying to fulfill our mission of achieving success on many different fronts," Barbour said, who was hired just three months before making Bowden her head football coach. "We wanted to put our best foot forward in our new conference and we felt Coach Bowden would do the job."

UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida had an opportunity to interview Bowden in 1995, but decided not to add him to his short list and eventually hired Fred vonAppen.

While Hawaii suffered through a miserable 0-12 campaign last season, Bowden led Tulane to a stellar 12-0 mark that was capped off with a Liberty Bowl victory over Brigham Young University.

"We were disappointed to see Tommy leave and go to Clemson," Barbour said. "But he came in and did a wonderful job to put Tulane on the national map.

"When I took this job, I wanted to see Tulane enter the 21st century as a viable program on many different levels. When your football team is strong, it helps you achieve some of those goals."

The Green Wave's Top 10 finish last year in football will not only open doors for Tulane, but for Conference USA as well.

"Most of the people around the country saw this league as mainly a basketball conference," new Tulane head coach Chris Scelfo said. "But we're out to change that and show we play some pretty mean football in this conference, too."

Tulane is already reaping the benefits of last year's 12-0 campaign. The Green Wave's opener with conference rival Southern Mississippi was moved from Sept. 4 to Sept. 6 to accommodate a national broadcast by Fox Sports.

"This is the kind of national attention an undefeated season can bring," Barbour said.