[ DIVISION II SPORTS ]
HPU names Ahuna Beginning next school year, Tita Ahuna will have the opportunity to help Hawaii Pacific University with much more than winning national volleyball championships.
senior administrator
The Sea Warrior volleyball coach
will be the second-ranking official
in the HPU athletic departmentBy Brandon Lee
blee@starbulletin.comThough an official announcement from the school's administration is not expected until next week, Ahuna told the Star-Bulletin she signed on Monday to be HPU's first senior woman administrator, effective Aug. 1. The promotion will make her the highest ranking female in the athletic department.
For the last six years, Ahuna has served as head women's volleyball coach, during which she built a 130-34 record and led the Sea Warriors to two of the last four Division II national championships. She will continue to head the volleyball program in conjunction with her new role as senior woman administrator (SWA).
"I'm extremely excited to get started," Ahuna, 36, said. "Just being at the university full time, I'll have more time to devote to my program, and to other athletes as well. It's a full-time commitment that I'm looking forward to."
Ahuna graduated with a degree in education from the University of Hawaii in 1987 after an All-American playing career that included winning the Division I national championship that year. She has worked as a special education instructor at Kalakaua Middle School for the past 11 years and also served as vice principal this year.
Ahuna will leave Kalakaua at the close of this school year to become the No. 2 person in HPU's athletic department, under Russell Dung. As reported by the Star-Bulletin on Thursday, Dung is stepping up from his current assistant athletic director position to replace retiring Tony Sellitto as interim athletic director July 1. According to Dung, who also replaced Sellitto as head basketball coach, the title of assistant athletic director will cease to exist once Ahuna is officially on board.
As SWA, Ahuna will be responsible for NCAA regulation and compliance issues. While one of her chief tasks will be to ensure representation of female athletes' interests at the campus, conference and national levels, Ahuna will administer to all of HPU's athletic programs.
"I kind of know a lot about the NCAA already," Ahuna said. "But because I was a part-time (payroll status) coach, I didn't know everything. Now, I can become more versed in NCAA issues. It will not only help my program, but other programs as well."
After becoming the first Division II coach ever to go through a season undefeated (28-0) and being named AVCA Coach of the Year two seasons ago, Ahuna said she was stretched thin last year.
In trying to balance her responsibilities at Kalakaua and HPU, while at the same time pursuing a master's degree in middle-level education at UH (which she expects to receive this summer), she wasn't able to give the attention she would have liked to last year's 19-5 Sea Warriors. Among other things, she said that time constraints and fatigue did not allow her to focus on recruiting as much as she would have liked.
In her new dual role, Ahuna no longer envisions similar problems. Though her first responsibility at HPU will be as SWA, she also eagerly anticipates what being with the Sea Warriors full-time will mean for her volleyball program, even beyond recruiting.
"Before, I could only recruit on weekends or late at night," she said. "I'm first an SWA, but it also gives me more flexibility for my volleyball program.
"It will sure help recruiting, and I don't have to worry about leaving another job to make sure my volleyball program is going good, like when we go on road trips. But also just to be on campus and available for my players and other athletes; I know it will be beneficial."
Ahuna believes HPU already has coaches that are capable of running their teams well and winning championships. But as SWA, she is excited at the possibility of having at least an indirect hand in the success of all involved with Sea Warrior athletics, and she plans to make herself available to anyone at the school who may need her help.
"Maybe my knowledge can help other teams," Ahuna said. "I can be a resource for others."
HPU Sports