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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Budget shortfall
raises some questionsPERHAPS I am not the most qualified to comment on the University of Hawaii's $480,472 athletic budget deficit for the past year or its revenue stream falling well short of projections or the fiscal woes of various UH sports. After all, it's only been a couple of years now that I have been properly trained to actually write down the number, amount and purpose after writing a check, like a normal person.
My No. 1 strategy for a balanced budget throughout the years had been NEVER SPEND ANY MONEY ON ANYTHING, EVER.
But you can't do that in a Division I athletic program, especially in the middle of the ocean.
So there will be no answers here. But let's look at a few questions.
>> Does Dave Shoji's inquiry about a June Jones-like private school tuition reimbursement perk sound a little more reasonable?
I would say that's a big "yes."
So Shoji is bringing home the bacon here, with a net profit of $479,632. That's eye-opening. We all knew Rainbow Wahine volleyball made money, but we had no idea it was UH's No. 1 moneymaker.
And this is a guy who does it quietly, humbly, while producing one of the nation's elite teams year after year. He is not one to toot his own horn (toot! toot!), but based on these numbers, he certainly could.
Give the man a perk or two.
>> A couple of the "nonrevenue" sports actually produced some revenue, with a few interesting numbers. Like, how did Wahine water polo bring in exactly $185?
Did they have a bake sale? Is this from some water polo "sugar daddy"?
>> Did the Bracket Buster break the budget?
>> Will baseball be a cash cow again?
The good old days of profitability may be over, but I look forward to the day when I don't have my own row at Les Murakami Stadium. It should happen. People want to go back to the ballpark. People remember what it was like.
Until then, I'll happily stay out of the press box and write my stories in the stands.
>> How do you justify paying $800,000 for a coach when the program itself only clears $265,541?
Oops. Must have gone crazy for a second there. I forgot that Jones' value isn't limited to his team's performance on the field or even what he brings to the university itself. The mantra is that his mere presence is "good for the entire state of Hawaii." Like broccoli.
He's not just a coach, he's a multivitamin.
>> How many of those various "little" sports are paid for by the various "big" ones?
Obviously not enough of them.
>> This was the kind of mess Herman Frazier was hired to fix. So when does all this stop being a "pre-existing condition" and become his responsibility?
Ready ... now!
He's got a big job ahead of him. Let's see what he can do.
>> Have you noticed all those sports that lose money, bringing in only a few thousand dollars, or a few hundred, or nothing at all? And UH still supports them and fields those teams?
Yes. And it's a good thing. An important thing. It's what college sports are all about.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com
