Sidelines
Hawaii has WAC
coaches to thankTWENTY-THREE, 24 ... 25!
There it is. Twenty-five, Hawaii.
Right there in bold print. Under all those names, with all those football power schools.
This is big. The first time in 10 years big.
Yesterday, in his first day as a Top 25 coach, June Jones almost seemed to shrug it off.
Oh, did someone rank us? Yeah, that's nice.
Very composed, collected. Acting as if he'd been there before, even though he never has.
(I would have jumped up on the table and done a Yes! Yes! Yes! dance, like "Ace Ventura, Pet Detective.")
But Jones is cooler than that. He's not going to get carried away or lose sight of the rest of the season.
But let's say it -- this is a big deal.
Or better yet, let's have Pat Hill say it.
Yes, that Pat Hill.
"I'm just so glad to see that both Boise State and Hawaii are being rewarded for great seasons today," the Fresno State coach said yesterday, during the Western Athletic Conference coaches teleconference. "I think that speaks volumes for our conference.
"I'm very, very proud of those two programs," Hill said.
Pat Hill is very proud of these two programs. Pat Hill is Mr. WAC.
Luckily, Pat Hill votes in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 poll.
After playing Boise State this week, Louisiana Tech coach Jack Bicknell said, "they certainly deserve to move up as high as they can."
Bicknell is a voter, too.
So is Tulsa coach Keith Burns. And Nevada coach Chris Tormey. And Texas-El Paso coach Gary Nord.
In case you're counting, that makes it five WAC coaches voting in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
And for the first time since the Great Breakup, two WAC teams are in the Top 25.
A sure sign that the WAC has "certainly re-established itself as one of the premier football conferences in the country," commissioner Karl Benson said on the conference call.
I'm glad somebody is doing the Ace Ventura dance here.
"I would echo (Hill's) comments regarding the Boise State, Hawaii Top 25 rankings. Very good for the league," Benson said.
It's great for the league.
The WAC has been maligned, overlooked, abandoned, undercut. Forever broken by a secret meeting in the Denver airport.
Today, the WAC is smiling. Today, there are two teams playing some pretty good football and five coaches who have a voice.
Last week, Hill said that he'd voted Boise State No. 8 for two weeks running in order to give the Broncos as many points as possible.
NUMBER EIGHT!
I love it!
You have to appreciate a guy who isn't even trying to hide the fact that he's working the system.
Hey, that's the system. That's the way it works. And Pat Hill is no fool.
"I just want to talk about our conference," he said yesterday when asked to talk about his team's latest game.
"It's great to have two teams from our conference in the Top 25 in the country. I think that speaks volumes for our conference."
You can't argue with Hawaii's 8-2 record. Boise State is a tough, tough team.
Having half your conference voting in the poll doesn't hurt, either.
It's a big day for the WAC for more than one reason. The WAC has two teams in the Top 25. But more important, the WAC has some behind-the-scenes power. For once, the WAC is looking at the system from the inside-out.
For the first time in 10 years Hawaii's program is at a point where it deserves this. This is a big deal. Jones should enjoy it a little. Hawaii fans should high-five and celebrate and do a little dance.
And then they should all send a Christmas card to Mr. Pat Hill.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com