DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM Herman Frazier, Hawaii's new athletic director, is already feeling comfortable in his new post, getting plenty of support from the upper administration. Yesterday was his first day on the job.

Frazier’s here for more
than a cup of coffee

But a possible candidacy for president
of the USOC may jeopardize a long-term stay

---

By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com

It didn't take Herman Frazier long to feel at home as Hawaii athletic director, the post he assumed yesterday morning with a cup of coffee and an overflowing work bag.

"I felt comfortable as soon as I accepted the job," said Frazier, who was hired in June. "The upper administration here is very supportive. Now what has to happen is me sitting down with the coaches and administration and having them be comfortable with me."

But how long will the former Alabama at Birmingham AD remain in his new job? The gold medalist in the 1976 4x400 relay is a U.S. Olympic Committee vice president, and could be a candidate for president as early as 2004.

Can he serve Hawaii and his country simultaneously?

Frazier, who has a three-year contract at $210,000 per with UH, told reporters if that situation arises he will have to discuss it with UH president Evan Dobelle.

One of the reasons Frazier was hired is his international connections, and it will be a fact of life that UH's new athletic director will sometimes be out of town on business that doesn't directly affect UH -- but could bring benefits to the school nonetheless.

He said he might have to attend two mainland meetings later this month regarding the 2007 Pan Am Games and the 2012 Olympics.

"But I will not miss a football game," he vows.

Frazier made it clear his priority is UH. His first major concern will be balancing and then expanding the $15 million budget for the coming year after a $1.5 million deficit for the one just completed.

When outgoing associate AD Jim Donovan greeted him this morning, Frazier joked with him, asking if he had a dollar to spare.

Frazier said he will enjoy the fact that UH is by far the most popular athletic program in the state, but he also knows that means a high level of scrutiny as well.

That's not how it was in Birmingham.

"They're so pro Alabama and Auburn, UAB is just an afterthought," Frazier said. "This is the only game in town, but it's more pressure."

As it is with any new resident -- even one who has visited here often, like Frazier has -- there will be an adjustment period to one of the quirkiest places in the world. For example, Frazier's fiancée, Caroline Beal, is fretting over the state's animal quarantine system.

"She wants me to get a pardon for the cat," Frazier quipped.

Frazier plans to be visible on campus and in the community.

"I want the athletes to know who I am and I'll be going to a lot of practices and games," he said.

His first public appearance will be Sunday at Murphy's Bar & Grill in a fund-raiser with other local celebrities. He also plans to visit local elementary schools and junior highs.

"That's the only time I take my (Olympic) medals out with me," Frazier said.

He said he plans to be accountable, and not just on the balance sheets.

"I'll answer every single letter I receive," he said. "Depending on the volume of calls, I will return them, or someone on staff will."

In other UH sports news:

>> Frazier said he will discuss the possibility of adding men's cross country with outgoing AD Hugh Yoshida and assistant AD Marilyn Moniz-Kaho'ohano in the next week or two. UH will be required by the NCAA to add another men's sport within the next few years.

>> Frazier said he will not have one associate or assistant AD who will be second in command, but rather, two or three "No. 2s" who will be equal in rank, he said.

"I haven't put my organization chart together yet, but when I do, you will see that the senior women's administrator will be very high on my chart," Frazier said.

>> Football wide receiver Frank Rivers "has decided not to play," according to a source close to the team.

Receivers coach Ron Lee said "the door is still open" for the redshirt freshman to be on the team this year, though he acknowledged he has heard Rivers is probably leaving.

"That's what I heard, but I haven't talked to him recently," Lee said. "He's supposed to report by the first day of school (Aug. 26). I don't know his situation."

Rivers was not available for comment yesterday.

"He was struggling picking up the system and then he pulled a hamstring in the spring," Lee said. "Our receivers are getting more and more competitive, so you have to be ready to play."

Rivers, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound St. Louis School graduate, is the older brother of St. Louis senior Jason Rivers. Jason Rivers is the state's top wide receiver prospect.

>> Several former Warriors who are now free agents in NFL camps have met with varying levels of success.

Defensive back Rob Grant didn't get much of a chance with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was cut after less than one week of camp.

"I felt like I was doing as well as the others who were there," said Grant, who was on campus yesterday looking into taking classes this semester.

Another safety from last year's team, Nate Jackson, is faring better in the Tennessee Titans' camp.

"So far I feel I'm doing OK," Jackson said. "I'm getting my share of reps."

Quarterback Nick Rolovich knows he has an uphill climb with the Denver Broncos.

"I'm lucky if I get in there once or twice (a day)," he said. "I sort of feel like I'm a freshman in high school again."

... In 1973, coach Dave Holmes directed UH to a 9-2 record. It included one of the program's biggest victories ever, 10-7 at Washington to start the season. But at the end of the campaign Holmes was forced out by alumni despite a 46-17-1 mark in his six seasons. He finished with the highest winning percentages at Hawaii and Eastern Washington, and was inducted into UH's Circle of Honor in 1989. Holmes died in 1999 of a heart attack at age 75 while on a fishing trip in Idaho.