Friends and family keep vigil

In the long day’s journey into the silent night, the friends, family, co-workers and fans of critically injured University of Hawai‘i football coach June Jones waited and prayed.

UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida updated reporters on Jones' condition at the Queen's Medical Center. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

"We’re not ready to let him go yet," said KFVE sportscaster Artie Wilson, one of Jones’ closest friends, his voice reduced to a rasp, his palms filled with tears. "He’ll bounce back. He has to. He’s not done with what he wants to accomplish on this earth."

A who’s who of Island life kept vigil — at The Queen’s Medical Center, where Jones underwent two surgeries following a car crash yesterday; at their work places; at their homes; in their thoughts.

"He’s a special person," said UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida, who hired Jones in December 1998.

For now, the football program and athletic department face an uncertain immediate future. Spring football practice was scheduled to begin next Thursday. Yoshida said no decision will be made on whether to postpone or cancel spring football for "another day or two."

"Our only concern is that he makes it through," Yoshida said. "Nothing else matters at this point."

Indeed, school officials had considered canceling last night’s men’s basketball game against Texas Christian in the Stan Sheriff Center.

Athletic department heads spent the day at Queen’s — "waiting and waiting and waiting," UH associate athletic director Jim Donovan said. "There will be more waiting."

Wilson said Jones’ immediate family — his wife, Diane, and their four children — "are holding up strong. They’re holding up the strength (Jones) has always showed. They’re as strong as they can be."

At the time of the accident, Jones was on his way to meet with Yoshida and Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson at Yoshida’s office on the Manoa campus. Jones had attended a morning meeting in Kane‘ohe and apparently took the H-3 Freeway into Honolulu before the accident.

"Our meeting (at Yoshida’s office) ended when we got the call," Benson said. "Like everyone else, there are a lot of prayers going out that he has a full recovery."

News of the accident spread across the country. In Utah, former UH quarterback Dan Robinson said the report "made me sick."

Then Robinson, echoing many, said, "June Jones is the Hawai‘i athletic program. That’s a fact. Everyone who works around him and works with him knows that."

In 1998, the UH athletic department incurred a $1.1 operating deficit, largely because of the financial shortfalls of an 0-12 football team. After Fred vonAppen was fired, the search for the next UH head coach led to a San Diego hotel in December 1998. There, in a meeting with Yoshida, Donovan and a four-man search committee, Jones tearfully expressed his love for the Islands.

Soon after, Jones, a former UH quarterback and assistant coach, spurned a more lucrative offer to remain as the San Diego Chargers’ head coach and agreed to sign with UH. He earns about $320,000 per season.

"He sent a strong message that Hawai‘i is a great place," Yoshida said. "At the time, the economy was down. But he let people know that this is a special place, that this is the land of aloha. It helped people feel good about the university and the state."

Shortly after he signed, Jones was introduced at a party at Washington Place that was attended by about 600 of the state’s movers and shakers. That night, the party’s host, Gov. Ben Cayetano, said, "I haven’t seen this many positive faces since my wedding."

The reception was just as strong at a party at College Hill, the home of UH president Kenneth Mortimer.

Still, there were a few players who were hesitant to immediately embrace Jones. But during the first team meeting, "he pulled everybody together," Robinson said.

"From the moment he came in, he’s been our leader," UH slotback Craig Stutzmann said. "He’s our heart and soul. He’s a father to everybody — players, coaches, staff."

Boosted by Jones’ run-and-shoot offense, the Warriors went 9-4 in 1999, winning a WAC co-championship and beating Oregon State in the O‘ahu Bowl.

That season was the first following the secession of eight schools from the WAC and, Benson said, the league was "looking for credibility."

"Hiring June, by itself, allowed for a sense of optimism," Benson said. "But what he did during the 1999 season was one of the pleasant surprises for, not just UH, but for the WAC. It came at a perfect time."

The Jones-led football program helped UH turn a nearly $500,000 profit for the last fiscal year.

What’s more, "June Jones changed the community’s psyche," said Walter Dods, chairman and chief operation officer of First Hawaiian Bank.

"We were in a prolonged recession," Dods said. "But he was so positive and optimistic. He turned the mind set of the community."

Yoshida said Jones spoke at more than 200 lunches, dinners, meetings and seminars last year. "He’s a people’s coach," Yoshida said. "I’m amazed at how people can quickly identify with him."

Last month, Dods said, Jones was a featured guest at a St. Louis School charity golf tournament. "It went on too long," said Dods, adding the tournament was on the same day as Jones’ wedding anniversary. "We thought he was going to get in trouble with his wife. We put (entertainer) Jimmy Borges on the cellular phone, and he sang, ‘Happy Anniversary,’ to June’s wife. She told (Jones), ‘OK, you can come home a little later.’"

Jones also is instrumental in marketing UH athletics. He helped UH secure a marketing agreement with internationally successful sports agent Leigh Steinberg, who plans to market UH nationally and in Asia.

In the past year, Jones has received several job offers, including some from the National Football League.

"He could make a whole lot more money somewhere else," Yoshida said. "He made some personal sacrifices to stay here. But once he made the decision (to sign with UH), he never looked back."

Said Wilson: "For June, it’s not about the money, it’s about the quality of life. He loves his players, the university and this state. He wants to make a difference and he’s made a difference. He still has some things to take care of. It’s not his time."

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