Relax: 6 weeks more likely than 6 months for Jay
People are in a panic because they think the athletic director who was pushed into resigning and dares to say publicly how hard a job it is is staying at the University of Hawaii until June.
Some crazy things happen at UH, but I seriously doubt that will. Ben Jay is outta here as quickly as he can find another job.
Now, some of you are blind in your contempt for this guy and/or think he’s so incompetent that he won’t find new employment anywhere. But just because he couldn’t do a job that appears to be close to impossible doesn’t mean he can’t succeed elsewhere. He has lots of friends elsewhere and has succeeded at many other jobs. He might not be an athletic director of a Division I program again, but he will find something, probably by March at the latest if I were to guess.
Jay is working on a paper that he will leave with the next AD and others who will be tasked with trying to pull the department out of the financial abyss it has fallen into the past decade or more.
As for his candidness in today’s interview with Ferd Lewis, Jay once again said things people don’t want to hear. I find the candidness refreshing; I’d rather hear truth than more helpings of the incredible amount of BS that comes out of UH. But apparently a lot of folks can’t handle the truth.
well for me DR… b-4 he came here we all know thew truth of the mess up there…why take the job..if all you do is ‘spew’ out negative out of ur mouth…
please tell me for the time he was here…what was the most significant goal he ever accomplished ?
Nice said, Dave. Yes, we need a few good men!!!!! Or should I say, a few good coaches that can win consistently. Shoji is the only program that is consistently winning. Coolen did that for a time, but the last 2 years have been down. But, softball doesn’t make money and doesn’t charge admission. They should a couple of bucks at least. A winning football team will greatly improve the gate and interest and thus revenue. Same for the basketball team that wins and plays an exciting brand of basketball. I hear this year’s team is a lot more exciting than last year. What’s your take? Men’s volleyball could turn a profit, IF, we had a guy like Yuval Katz again. Some new recruits by Charlie Wade sounds interesting right now. Baseball, what can you say, Trapasso and Co. can’t get over the hump. Pitching and pitching depth is a problem as well as lack of consistent good hitting. There is little or no power in the lineup also. Bottom line, football coach, 1 more year I guess. Another losing record then aloha. Basketball coach, start looking right now. Mens Volleyball, give Wade a little rope, but this year must reach MPSF playoffs at the minimum. Baseball, another losing record this coming season and I say Aloha too! Losing is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. That’s why I refused to go to games when the product is not exciting and they are not winning. Call me a bad fan, but I say I’m about 60% of the people think just like me. 10% are loyal and go to their favorite sport regularly. The other 30% don’t care about UH or sports anyway so don’t go to games anyway.
Dave, you wrote what I was thinking.
At least BJ is telling it like it is. You are right Dave, he won’t have trouble finding a job. Now only if the other guy will quit dragging his behind and go find a new AD ASAP.
Yes, I believe Ben Jay tried very hard to make things better in the athletic department, but as someone mentioned previously, it seemed he was a square peg…..you know the rest. Nice guy..sincere…hard working…smart…dedicated…but did he ever wear green on his sleeve? Was he ever comfortable wearing an aloha shirt…and not the tourist kind?
Hope you right Dave and he’s gone sooner. By the end I just felt sorry for the guy. But in the meantime, think they gotta take the microphone away from him. No more speeches, no more interviews, no more representing us.
And UH is still adhering to the Fib Arnold School of Public Relations. Apple was horrible at lying and and this new dude seems worse. Pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining. Do they really think anyone buys this stuff?
yep, he is incompetent like you.
DR, I don’t often agree with you, but on this op, yes.
#2. Winning consistently does not mean every year, as Shoji does. BB will take a few steps back until we know what the NCAA’s allegations are, and what additional sanctions may be. Men’s VB may bounce back — looks like they are on the right path, but I don’t think we will see the same attendance as we did when Yuval and Co. were here. They were special. Remember when Noelani School auction off two autographed volleyballs before the NCAA finals, and the both sold for over $1000.
I think women’s softball will bounce back. Coolen has reloaded the bats, but needs to find an ace. Might be Brittany Hitchcock if she stays healthy. Keep an eye of Rachel Lack, Lindsey Willmon, and Heather Morales this year, and Jennifer Iseri comes in next year and may be a very special player.
Trapasso’s problem is losing his top recruits to the MLB draft. He needs to get lucky one year to turn the corner.
I google everyone I consider offering a job to. Although I am rooting mightily for Jay to be offered a job so he can get the heck outta Hawaii for all our sakes, I wouldn’t hire him after reading about the things that he says; it’s not good to badmouth your current employer. It’s just bad taste. So Dave, don’t be so critical of the readers who are being critical of Jay, they have valid reasons to criticize Jay for his comments. And if you really want to hear “truth,” you ain’t gonna find it coming from Ben Jay.
Well there indeed is value to being honest about your expereince. But my guess is that people are fatigued with BJ repeatedly making public statements about the athletic dept that he later qualifies and spins and backtracks on. So this current “honesty” feels like more of the same. More like someone who is ill suited to interact with the public and the press. That doesn’t mean he is not competent or won’t find a suitable position well matched to his skill set. But it seems to me that when you commit yourself to taking an important position it is “on you” to know what you are getting into. Why not just have called Jim Donovan and asked him to share his experiences and the challenges a new AD was likely to face? So honesty is good but it can also be delivered in a less than skillful way that doesn’t really help. Like telling your girlfriend she looks fat tonight as a helpful way to motivate an exercise program. It might be honest but my guess is that you are sleeping on the couch tonight.
Yes, I think he acknowledges that he should have researched it more, or come in with a better grasp of what was realistic to accomplish and what not … have a better idea of who would be pulling strings.
#7. Yes and no. Jay likely did not do enough, or the correct, due diligence. Wonder what the other candidates did, too. If they did what Jay did not, then what Jay revealed at the AD Convention was not news to the attendees, and did not reveal any “skeletons” in UH’s closet. At the same time, was did UH disclose to any candidates, including Jay, about the hurdles they would face? Granted there is no law requiring full disclosure (e.g. as in real estate sales), but was UH forthcoming to candidates about what their broken model was like and the tasks at hand that the AD had to solve — other than we aren’t fulfilling the Upper Campus impossible-to-fulfill directive to be “self-supporting”? But, UH does not think there is a “broken model.”
And, not sure what Jim Donovan would have said, even if asked. Like references that may be listed by someone of their job resume, most won’t say anything negative if asked.