UH Letter to Jones -- Final Negotiations

[Pony^]

Dear June,

We want to assure you that the ability to address your concerns quickly can be accomplished at this time - the "Manoa Moment" is real and it is now. The community, from the business sector to the government to the Board of Regents and most importantly to all the citizens of our State, has never been more supportive, thanks to the remarkable success of this year's Warriors, and your leadership for the past 9 years.

The Chancellor, President and AD are committed to making change happen that fulfills your vision. We understand and respect your frustration over the years of the slowness, and even absence of change, but this truly is a new time for UH Manoa.

Let us give you some examples of our commitments:

1. Your office renovations are already supported by AKA and will be done quickly via the UH Foundation approach, similar to the approach used by Jay Shidler at the business school, to accomplish a quality project rapidly. Your success and this different approach offer a great window of opportunity that hasn't existed in the past but does now.

2. The overall facilities situation is now more addressable than ever in that the legislature and the community are supporting our efforts. Moreover, facilities repairs are the top priority for the chancellor. This would include, of course, renovation of the football locker room. The AD has already been instructed to initiate replacement of the turf on Cooke field so it can move forward this summer. The legislature is most likely at this moment to remove barriers that have challenged the university, including the football program, in the past.

3. Generating new resources - efforts are currently underway to manage Aloha Stadium in a different way to generate new resources for the Athletics Department.

A different approach is on the table with regard to the licensing opportunities that can definitely be more fully realized for the benefit of athletics.

4. Your team has been a success because of you and your coaches -- so we are committed to reviewing the salaries of your team to ensure they are competitive as well.

5. Recruiting – additional resources will permit a major expansion of the recruiting budget.

6. Your vision of the Asian connection and its potential to leverage us into greater regional and national prominence is exciting to the chancellor and she wants to work with you on developing that approach. With the expertise and connections at UH Manoa, this is a natural and valuable extension for our campus.

7. Streamlining processes is a passion you share with the chancellor. This is again a time this agenda can be moved forward. One idea she has is an Athletic Board with alumni, faculty, staff and supporters in one body that focuses on the financial, academic, staff issues and considers new approaches so that issues can move forward more quickly and be considered by more minds.

We appreciate the professionalism with which you and Leigh Steinberg have conducted these discussions, and we sincerely believe that by remaining in Hawai'i and fulfilling your vision you will have the opportunity to transform the lives of thousands of student-athletes and create a Paterno-esque legacy known across the nation and around the world.

We realize this decision is a momentous one, and stand ready to elaborate and clarify this commitment, either by phone, email or when you return to Honolulu.

With best wishes and Aloha,

David McClain, President, University of Hawai'i System

Virginia Hinshaw, Chancellor, University of Hawai'i at Manoa

Herman Frazier, Director of Athletics, UH Manoa


http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/artic ... 85413.html

[Pony_Fan]

too little too late. That is pretty weak, especially without specifics.

[Ponyx2]

Really no specifics other than new turf, renovated offices and locker room. Typical beaurocrat "trust us" language.

[mustang91]

Wow, that seems very vague. No wonder he woke up the next morning "feeling at peace" with his decision. Not very persuasive letter from such higher ups.

[Garret]

Really no specifics other than new turf, renovated offices and locker room. Typical beaurocrat "trust us" language.

The interesting thing is that UH is going to clear $2 to $3 mil after expenses (before expenses they are getting about $4.5 mil) from the Sugar Bowl payout...and all that was really promised is renovating his office and fixing Cooke field.

One thing SMU fans may not know...Cooke Field (mentioned in the letter) has been CONDEMMED for over 2 years. For them to say that they have told the AD to fix it is pretty weak, as the AD was supposedly going to fix it for years now. You wouldn't want to see the stuff that was oozing out from that surface...and the players had to practice on it?

[Stallion]

Bowl of oatmeal-instead of a plate with a thick cut Steak. This guy ought to be fired too.

[Pony^]

Priority seething
When guests are expected, the first thing you do is clean up.
UH officials did not, meaning: 1) They're uncaring hosts. 2) They're trying to make a point.
In either scenario, four state lawmakers finally saw what the past football coach and Heisman-finalist quarterback were griping about for the past 18 months.
The condition of the athletic facilities should not be a surprise.
Colt Brennan pointed them out during the 2006 season, then went national with his comments last spring. June Jones repeatedly spoke of the problems during his nine years as UH head coach.
But Brennan's claims were disputed in a point-by-point counter-point by athletic department officials. That irked Brennan so much he did his senior thesis on the deteriorating conditions. He recorded evidence on video during the 2007 season as proof, he said, in case UH wanted to argue against his claims again.
Even when ESPN2 commentors spoke about the conditions during the UH-Boise State telecast, UH officials insisted that everything was fine and dandy.
And that, as we all knew, wasn't the case.
The thing is, athletic department officials were not to blame for the deteriorating conditions. Things get old, things break down. Hey, I'm old. I broke down. I should be condemned.
And the athletic department did not have enough money for repairs or quality maintenance.
Again, not the AD's fault.
But not reporting the problem is the athletic department's fault. Not e-mailing corcerns (or whatever it is AD officials do in front of their computers all day) was the big mistake.
When athletic department officials were called before lawmakers last spring, it was revealed that only two of their projects even made the priority list.
But lawmakers opened the way, saying if you tell us your prolems, we'll help.
Nobody said anything.
And that's why Jones is gone, there's an AD search, and Brennan received a good grade on his thesis.
Athletic department officials did not commit the crime. But, as we've learned from Law & Order marathons, their inaction — depraved indifference — makes them just as guilty.
Worst of all, the athletic department squandered an opportunity that no other department in the UH system received. There are no booster clubs or legislative promises for chemistry, English, Hawaiian, art, engineering, etc.

http://blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com/war ... s#comments

[Canadian Mustang]

6. Your vision of the Asian connection and its potential to leverage us into greater regional and national prominence is exciting to the chancellor and she wants to work with you on developing that approach. With the expertise and connections at UH Manoa, this is a natural and valuable extension for our campus.

- If his idea was to make UH Asia's team, not unlike the Mariners and Rockets have done, it is pretty visionary for NCAA Football....

[planoponyfan]

Geez. We really had nothing to worry about. Jones was kind to say he was considering their offer, but this is so vague and weak that it constitutes no offer at all. It's like "we'll talk about addressing the issues you've raised if you'll just come back, but we can't promise that we'll do anything." There was no firm commitment in that letter.

I'm sure this line really didn't help:
4. Your team has been a success because of you and your coaches -- so we are committed to reviewing the salaries of your team to ensure they are competitive as well.

Reviewing? How about "we are prepared to give raises of 25% to all of your assistant coaches" or something to that effect.

Maybe Jones departure will get these folks to wake up and come up with a real plan for UH with real money in it.

[jkflamebo]

i am so glad we have june jones as our coach. it's a totally different feel for smu football now, and we haven't played a game yet. i cannt [deleted] wait

[SMUtrojanFAN]

This is typical Hawaiian mind-set. It is a laid back, no worries, think-about-it-tomorrow attitude that plagues the islands and continues to be an obvious detriment.

Case in point, when my uncle was building his house on Kauai, his contractor and workers just decided not to show up to work for a week...because they didn't feel like working.

You can blame the AD or the University, but it's a problem that runs much deeper than them.

[couch 'em]

I wonder how JJ lasted there as long as he did. Anyone know if he threatened to leave in previous years?

[Get_Some_Ponies]

How do you say Pony Up in Chinese? Think we can be Team Asia?

[couch 'em]

I don't know about chinese, but we need to be exploiting the giant mexican population in dallas with our awesome soccer team. They're here, we might as well make money off them.

[me@smu]

THat is a good question...how do we sell the soccer team to the latin american community?