The coach of the third winningest Division I baseball program over the past three years has been denied permission to interview for the University of Hawai‘i coaching job.
Oral Roberts will not allow UH to interview Golden Eagles’ head coach Sunny Golloway, The Tulsa (Okla.) World reported today. Oral Roberts athletic director Mike Carter and UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida spoke on Tuesday, according to The World.
On Tuesday, Golloway told The Advertiser he did not apply for the UH job and wasn’t approached by UH. However, sources said Golloway was "nominated" as a candidate. Nominations were a provision in the search process.
Carter declined comment to The Advertiser.
"This was a courtesy call," Yoshida said last night. "Mike Carter has every right to deny us the courtesy for an interview. It’s the normal protocol we’ve always followed. It’s too bad (Golloway’s) employer won’t let him look at some options."
Carter was critical of UH’s handling of the job search in The World. "It’s the worst-time deal I have ever seen in my life," he told the paper. "The major consensus of the ADs I’ve talked to is that it’s a deal where you don’t grant consent. Now, I don’t know whether that prohibits somebody from doing something or not."
There are more than 70 applicants for the UH coaching job, which will become vacant at the end of the 2001 season. Les Murakami announced in May that this would be his 31st and last season. On Nov. 2, he suffered a stroke. He is in rehabilitation now. Assistant Carl Furutani is serving as interim head coach. Yoshida said earlier that a successor might not be named until after the season.
Golloway, who lived in Hawai‘i for about seven years during his youth, is entering his sixth season as head coach at the Mid-Continent Conference school. He led the Golden Eagles to the last three NCAA tournaments. He was the conference’s Coach of the Year in 1998, 1999 and 2000. His career coaching record at Oral Roberts is 198-104.
Golloway has established himself as one of the nation’s best. Oral Roberts is 130-50 the past three seasons, making it the third-winningest program in Division I during that span behind Stanford and Florida State.
The World said Golloway is in the final year of a three-year contract with the Tulsa, Okla.-based school. The paper also said that Mississippi offered Golloway a job four years ago and that Nebraska made inquiries three years ago. Georgia inquired last year. Golloway’s contract, which includes the use of a car, is believed to be worth about $70,000, the paper said.
The seriousness of Golloway’s situation has become sensitive at Oral Roberts. The Advertiser’s request from the sports information office regarding Golloway’s biographical background from the Oral Roberts baseball media guide was denied by the school’s athletic director. Information from a media guide is available for publication by the media.
"We’ve been banned by the AD" from faxing information on Golloway, said Lacy Orpin, assistant sports information director at Oral Roberts.
Carter said yesterday information on Golloway could not be released because he has yet to hear from Yoshida "with respect to the availability of our coach," which contradicts The World’s report that they spoke Tuesday.
Asked if he spoke with Golloway regarding the UH job, Carter said "I won’t comment on that."
Before taking the job at Oral Roberts, Golloway was an assistant at Oklahoma from 1992 to 1995. He also was head coach of the Peninsula Oilers of the summer Alaska League in 1993 and 1994.
Sources who attended the American Baseball Coaches Association convention in Nashville, Tenn., over the weekend said Golloway’s name was mentioned in regard to the UH job. Another name surfacing was Louisiana State assistant Turtle Thomas. He has not returned calls from The Advertiser. Thomas was ranked second in Baseball America magazine’s top 10 list of assistants nationally who are the best candidates to take head coaching positions with major programs.
Other applicants for the UH job not mentioned in yesterday’s paper are University of San Francisco coach Nino Giarratano and Lewis-Clark State coach Ed Cheff. Both coaches have players from Hawai‘i on their rosters.
