Feedback
From a reader who requests anonymity:
To me, your recent writing points to UH becoming a D-II school (e.g. UH can’t even do a little bending of the rules and get away with it, the travel costs associated with D-I schools limit many scheduling possibilities, and NCAA investigations could limit recruiting success).
In addition, the failure of the football team to recruit more than a few local blue chip players over the last several years shows that UH has made little progress in this area, and the declining attendance at most venues (which adds to the deficit) shows lessening local interest in some areas–even recognizing that wins in any sport has an effect on attendance, the UH athletic department can’t do much to remedy the situation.
Given the above factors and others unknown to me, it seems that UH is on a very slippery slope toward sliding into D-II with little or no choice in the matter–this possibility is known to be vehemently opposed by some in UH, the government, and the community, but it seems the handwriting is on the wall.
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In response to Monday’s column about UH basketball coming under NCAA scrutiny despite lack of postseason success. (This reader also requested anonymity.)
Hi Dave.U.H. must be real honest then.
I think it’s a cultural thing.In Hawaii,everybody like show aloha.What better way then to let the other guy win?
Notice how Hawaii is getting overrun with “foreigners” and the local culture is getting “watered down”,like U.H. teams.No more local pride like some good mainland teams that recruit players from their own areas.They get “local pride”.Most of our good local players take their local pride elsewhere.
Trepasso and Chow must go now,or maybe U.H. needs to go to a lower division.
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COMMENTS
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how about this: we are currently a DII program with DII players, coaches and facilities trying to play a DI schedule. to win at the DI level, we need to upgrade the above 3 factors – an it takes money. if the state, fans, alumni are unwilling to provide the money, there won’t be any improvement and the best for uh athletics is play a DII schedule. after all we are 3/4’s there.
I’ve said it before in some prior articles and blogs…
UH should request an exemption on the number of sports it has to field in men’s and women’s DI athletics to remain in DI in the key team sports. That number could be based on the cost savings realized by certain sports becoming either DII (PacWest) or more likely downgrading to club sports, versus the amount that UH has to pay travel subsidies for MWC and Big West schools, which I understand is unique to UH. How much cost savings if UH went club in golf, tennis, soccer, water polo, swimming and diving, track & field, cross country, sailing, etc.? Again, that major sticking point for UH being those unique travel subsidies in addition to all those cash draining non-revenue sports that other school bear the brunt of.
DR: How does Boise State do it? They are miles from anywhere like us, figuratively, so is the key to put all the eggs in one sport basket? For Boise it is football, and all the other teams are children of a lesser god and then some. Maybe that is the answer.