Hawaii Beat
TCU chancellor Michael Ferrari resigned as chairman of the Western Athletic Conference council of presidents yesterday, but denied his decision signals the beginning of the end of TCU's stay in the beleaguered conference. WAC chairman resigns
Star-Bulletin wire services
as talks with C-USA go on"It doesn't signal anything other than good judgment," Ferrari said. "Now that we have begun conversations with the commissioner of Conference USA ... I thought it was appropriate for me to step down."
C-USA presidents voted Tuesday to authorize commissioner Mike Slive to explore expansion possibilities. A source said yesterday that C-USA officials initiated talks with TCU and SMU last Friday and hope to have a preliminary proposal by Tuesday or Wednesday.
BJ Itoman has been named the Hawaii winner of the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. NCAA honor to Itoman
State winners are selected for their athletic accomplishments, academic achievements and community involvement, with each area rated equally.
The National Woman of the Year will be announced at the awards dinner Oct. 24 in Indianapolis.
Itoman, the starting point guard for the Hawaii women's basketball team, graduated with a major in exercise science and a cumulative 3.8 grade point average.
She was an all-Western Athletic Conference selection three times and captained the 1998-99 Wahine team.
The Idaho winner is Brandy Mamizuka of Kahuku, a three-time all-Big West Conference volleyball player from Boise State University.
Irons, Robb surf ahead
Hawaii's Andy Irons and Kalani Robb won their first-round heats in the Billabong Pro professional surfing meet yesterday at Anglet, France.While Irons and Robb advanced to round 3, five other men and two women from Hawaii finished either second or third in their opening heats and were relegated to second-round elimination heats.
They were Shawn Sutton, Shane Dorian, Ross Williams, Sunny Garcia, Conan Hayes, Megan Abubo and Rochelle Ballard.