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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Like it or not, UH
still needs the WACIT was a beautiful day for football, the kind that makes you want to take in everything, and soak in the pregame marinade. I found myself on the railing, looking over it all from the upper walkway at Aloha Stadium, leaning into the breeze and watching the guys warm up. And there, Evan Dobelle found me.
There would be only about 35,000 people in the stands, and you could already tell there would be many empty seats. The scene was bittersweet.
I bemoaned the sad fact that Hawaii football didn't draw like it used to.
The prez said his theory was that the schedule was to blame. There just weren't enough teams coming to Aloha Stadium that the fans could get excited about.
I couldn't disagree then.
And I feel OK recounting his private observation now because I see that he's saying publicly that perhaps UH shouldn't be in the Western Athletic Conference. That Dobelle is quoted that he's been thinking about the Mountain West.
I've said this before: He has a point.
I've said this before: He can't say that.
Hawaii really shouldn't be saying things like that about its own conference. And it has been lately, in word and deed (and in this age of the Internet it gets back to the mainland).
Puzzling behavior from a school -- a mid-major in the middle of the Pacific -- that still very much needs the security and home base this conference provides.
Yes, the WAC needs UH. But UH still needs the WAC. Unless Dobelle already has an invitation from the Mountain West in his back pocket, Hawaii is in no position to alienate anyone.
There might be more than one school out there, while on those wonderful flights to and from Honolulu, also wondering how much sense this arrangement makes.
No doubt UH is one of the WAC's flagships and an ESPN favorite. It brings things to the table, including a brand new bowl game. But it is also an institution that was left behind by a group of schools that had a lot more history with it than these do.
If the conference dominoes fall into a chaotic free-for-all, following the collapse of the Big East, who knows what could happen?
UH athletics, as a whole, may be on a recent hot streak. Some might even say a golden age.
But this is no time to get cocky.
The MWC -- should it ever decide it does want UH -- now negotiates from a position of strength.
And the next WAC meeting is now slightly uncomfortable for the home team.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com