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Wednesday, May 17, 2000
Murakami:
No pressure,
no regrets
UH baseball coach
By Al Chase
wants his last season
to be one of fun
Star-BulletinLes Murakami is looking at the 2001 University of Hawaii baseball season as a celebration.
"There will be no pressure on the kids next year," said the Rainbows' coach. "I think we'll have a lot of fun. We'll go out in a blaze."
A decision he had been thinking about for a year was finalized yesterday when Murakami, who turns 64 in June, announced at a news conference that next season would be his last.
"You can't do it forever,'' said Murakami, the UH coach since 1971. "When is the right time? I'm not going to do it on crutches.
"I've got so many loyal boosters and friends. At this stage, I think they are relieved. They are tired. They've been with me for 25 years and they need a break. I know my wife (Dorothy) is relieved."
Murakami asked UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida for one more season. He felt a transition period was important for scheduling and recruiting purposes.
"When I recruited this year, I could have gone the J.C. route, but I went high school because we need the foundation,'' said Murakami. "I think whoever comes in will appreciate that because we've got quality guys. For myself, I want this program to go up, beyond what we're trying to do. I don't want whoever comes in to lose. I want him to win.
"And I want to out with class, with no regrets."
Murakami will keep his current staff for 2001: full-time assistant Carl Furutani, part-time assistant Les Nakama and volunteer assistant Dave Murakami. Murakami said Furutani will not replace him as head coach.
"That won't happen," Murakami said yesterday. "Carl is very intelligent, has his master's and can do a lot of things.
"He has one daughter in high school and another about to go. I think his family needs a little more stability."
Furutani is comfortable with the fact the 2001 season - his 23rd - also will be his last. He said he hasn't given much thought to what he will do afterwards although it is expected he will be offered a job within the UH system.
"I've been with Les all these years. He's done a lot for me," Furutani said. "We've talked about it and we want to go out with our heads up and the values we have. We just want to finish it off and hand the program over in good shape.''
The next step for Yoshida is to start the process to find a replacement. State and federal laws require the position to be advertised.
It's standard to require candidates to have a college degree with a master's degree preferred. In some cases, work experience can be substituted for a degree, which could open the way for someone from the professional baseball ranks.
The salary range is $51,000-$75,000, but can be higher with Board of Regents approval, as is Murakami's case.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
