Before the University of Hawai‘i Warrior football team left for New Orleans to play in the Sugar Bowl, dozens of people gathered at Vidinha Stadium to show the team Kaua‘i believed in them. Now that the university and its athletic
Before the University of Hawai‘i Warrior football team left for New Orleans to play in the Sugar Bowl, dozens of people gathered at Vidinha Stadium to show the team Kaua‘i believed in them.
Now that the university and its athletic program have experienced setback after setback just barely into the new year, the departure of June Jones, the Sugar Bowl loss, season-ticket holder and long-time fan of Hawai‘i, Peter Raynoof Lihu‘e, may have lost faith.
Rayno, of Lihu‘e, said he has been a fan of Hawai‘i since the 1960s, back when the games were played in the old Honolulu Stadium.
“I’m a lifetime UH fan,” he said. “But about coach Jones leaving, I was stunned to hear about it. I had to hear about it from my coworker and I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t happy about that.”
Days within the Warriors’ Jan. 1 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs, Jones called a team meeting and told the players he was thinking of leaving the program.
Rumors circulated that Jones would be applying for the open head coaching position at Southern Methodist University in Texas.
Jones left that weekend to interview and found himself on national television again.
At a press conference, Jones donned an SMU hat and held up a jersey making the move to SMU official.
“Where’s the ‘ohana?” Rayno said. “He always talked about ‘‘ohana’ and he just up and left.”
To make matters worse, earlier this week the university fired its athletic director Herman Frazier and started its search for a new head coach.
The names of assistant coaches Cal Lee and Greg McMackin were said to be leading candidates. Norm Chow, offensive quarterback for the Tennessee Titans, has also been named a candidate.
Rayno, who made the trip to the Sugar Bowl, said he was unsure if he will remain a season-ticket holder for the next season.
“If they get McMackin is the new head coach, then I will probably buy season tickets again,” he said.
For Warrior wide out Jett Jasper, of Lihu‘e, the announcement of coach Jones’ leaving was almost heart breaking.
“When I saw coach Jones put on that SMU hat and hold up that jersey I felt like I was about to cry,” he said.
But the Warriors not only lost their coach, much of their high-powered offense is either gone or doesn’t plan to return.
Record-breaking quarterback Colt Brennan and wide out Jason Rivers graduated, and slot backs Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullins decided they were going to forego their senior years to try their luck in the NFL draft.
While Jasper would’ve liked for them to return to the team, he thinks the team will still be able to a successful team.
“Davone and Ryan really thought about it. They talked to their families about it before making the decision and best of luck to them,” Jasper said. “But the receivers behind them as just as good as them, and it’s too early to say just how successful we’ll be next year. But we’ll still be good.”
The most devastating though, was the loss of former scout team wide receiver Mitch Farney. Farney died on Tuesday after collapsing while playing basketball.
“(Out of everything) the biggest thing was that I lost my good friend Mitch Farney,” Jasper said. “When you play the same position, you become close friends with them. We were really close. I talked to all my teammates and what we’re going to do is call his parents when the grieving period is over and tell them what a great guy he was.”
Warrior defensive tackle Vaughn Meatoga of Kalaheo thinks the team will be fine despite everything that’s happened so far. Meatoga himself has had his own share of hardships this year.
The redshirt freshman was in his first year in the program and just as the team prepared to go to the Sugar Bowl, Meatoga’s mother lost her battle with cancer and died.
Meatoga did not make the trip to New Orleans, but got much support from his teammates who sported Meatoga’s jersey number (95) on their helmets above the Sugar Bowl logo.
He acknowledged that many have complained about the university’s athletic facilities, including Jones, but said he didn’t make the commitment to the team for the facilities.
“I know the facilities are bad. It’s better than high school, but compared to the other schools at our level, they’re bad,” he said.
As for Jones’ decision to leave, Meatoga said he’s neither mad nor disappointed.
“I think it’s up to him, he’s a grown man. You can’t keep someone here if he doesn’t want to be here,” he said.
Meatoga isn’t worried about the program either.
“Coach Jones knows a lot about football so we have to lose in that way, but I’m not really worried about it. We have a lot of good coaches coming back and a lot of good players coming back,” he said.
Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw said in a release that the head coaching position has been posted and that the administration is “expediting the consideration of applicants for the position,” the future of the athletics program is “bright” and has asked for continued support.
Signing day is next month. The university is hoping to have everything in place by then.
• Lanaly Cabalo, sports editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or lcabalo@kauaipubco.com.
