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Wednesday, May 3, 2000
Vulcans ousted
by WAC
Athletic directors vote to
By Al Chase
end UH-Hilo's affiliation in
baseball after 2001season
Star-BulletinThe Western Athletic Conference athletic directors voted last weekend in Monterey, Calif., to end the University of Hawaii-Hilo's baseball affiliation with the league following the 2001 season.
The conference athletic directors admitted the Vulcans last year so the league would have six teams, the minimum necessary to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA baseball tournament.
"The coaches took a vote and only two coaches supported keeping Hilo in the conference," said University of Hawaii athletic director Hugh Yoshida, the only AD to vote for the Vulcans.
"The only coaches who voted for Hilo were us and Fresno State," said UH baseball coach Les Murakami.
"The considerations looked at were time away from school and the cost issue," Yoshida said. "They felt being here for eight to 10 days was too long and with Nevada (2001) and Louisiana Tech (2002) coming in, they wanted to shorten that window.
"The power rating also was a consideration."
"It kind of changes our recruiting a little bit," said UHH head coach Joey Estrella. "We'll look at other options. I think it's a positive for us to be in a conference.
"The vote does not surprise me. I had a feeling once Louisiana Tech came in it was going to be a problem. Already, with Nevada coming in, the conference office has a hard time putting a schedule together for next year."
"I'm not surprised, especially after going to Texas. They were complaining about the length of time and the cost. Hey, what about us (when we travel)," said Murakami.
"And, probably their one venture (this season) wasn't successful. They think they're going to win every time."
The Vulcans won two of the three WAC home games against Texas Christian, one from Rice and Fresno State and lost all three games to San Jose State.
The Vulcans (16-29, 6-18 WAC) host UH in 6 p.m. games Friday and Saturday at Wong Stadium and 1 p.m. Sunday at Simmons Field in Kona.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
