UAB’s Frazier Olympic track and field gold medalist Herman Frazier has cleared every hurdle. All that stands between him and the Hawaii athletics director position is final approval by the UH Board of Regents.
nearing finish line
Hawaii is expected to officially
Past directors
name him the new AD tomorrowBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comThat will likely happen in a private executive session of the board today, with a public announcement tomorrow.
Frazier, 46, was still the Alabama-Birmingham athletics director yesterday, but in name only.
"It's expected that he will resign (from UAB) in the next 24 hours and his name will be given to the (UH) Board of Regents," a source close to the situation said yesterday.
UH Vice President and spokesman Paul Costello said university President Evan Dobelle met with Frazier yesterday and Dobelle left convinced the school had its new athletics director.
"He had a very strong meeting with President Dobelle. A very excellent meeting," Costello said.
Costello later confirmed that Dobelle will recommend Frazier to the Board of Regents.
"He's the final candidate," Costello told the Associated Press. "The president will be making the recommendation to the board that they approve his choice."
People close to the UAB program were already talking about beginning their own search for a replacement yesterday.
And retiring UH athletics director Hugh Yoshida talked about welcoming his likely successor.
"I didn't get to see him today, I'm sure it was a very busy day for him," said Yoshida, whose contract ends in December. "I plan to be very supportive. We need to talk and see what his plans are, but one of the first things will be to get him out in the general public."
Frazier was unavailable for comment yesterday, but is expected to appear at a news conference tomorrow.
Yoshida said he met Frazier several years ago at the Fiesta Bowl, when Frazier was associate athletics director at Arizona State and a Fiesta Bowl executive (he's still a member of the game's committee).
"It was a social occasion. He seemed like a very nice person, an outgoing, friendly guy," Yoshida said.
Former Bowl Games Hawaii CEO Lenny Klompus has dealt with Frazier often.
"I know him very well. He's a really bright guy who really cares about people," Klompus said. "He's a consensus builder. He's an all-around excellent administrator who performs well in the trenches. When he negotiates he wants to make sure it works for all parties concerned."
Frazier's UH contract is expected to be for three years at around $180,000 per year. He is nearing the end of the second year of a three-year contract at UAB at $175,000 per year.
Two of the new UH athletics director's major responsibilities will be fund-raising and balancing the department's budget.
UAB athletics has a $7.6-million deficit and some trustees are calling for shutting down sports there if a significant fiscal improvement is not made by 2004. Although Frazier inherited the problem, critics say he was unable to solve it. UAB is also entangled in an $80 million lawsuit due to a sex scandal (that happened before Frazier's arrival in 2000) involving athletes and a 15-year-old student.
Prior to UAB, Frazier enjoyed a successful 23-year run as an administrator at the athletic department of his alma mater, Arizona State. From 1996 to 2000 he was senior associate athletics director for the Sun Devils.
Frazier won a gold medal as a member of the U.S.'s 4x400 relay team at the Montreal Olympics in 1976. He has been vice president of the U.S. Olympic Committee and is a member of two NCAA committees -- peer review and certification.
In other UH athletic department news, negotiations continue between the school and KHNL-KFVE for continued broadcast rights of UH sports events.
Also, the university's legal counsel is in negotiations concerning UH's annual option to renew a marketing agreement with Leigh Steinberg.
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UH-Manoa Athletics Directors
1921-38 Otto Klum 1938-40 None 1940-41 Eugene Gill 1941-42 Theodore Searle 1942-45 None 1945-46 None 1946-47 Dr. Francois d'Eliscu 1949-51 Thomas Kaulukukui 1951-52 Archie Kodros 1952-60 Henry Vasconcellos 1960-61 Dr. Frederick Haehnlen Jr. 1961-62 Dr. Edward Chui 1962-66 Young Suk Ko 1966-67 Phil Sarboe 1967-68 Robert Martin 1968-75 Paul Durham 1975-76 Dr. Edward Chui (acting) 1976-83 Ray Nagel 1983-93 Stan Sheriff 1993-2002 Hugh Yoshida
UH Athletics
