UH president leaving with sense of pride
By Ferd Lewis
and Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writers
The boxes were packed, ready to be sent to his new address in Bellingham, Wash.
Advertiser library photo • Sept. 4, 1999
Workmen were renovating his old office for his successor and, for one of the few times in years, the publicly semi-formal Kenneth Mortimer appeared to be at ease.
Outgoing UH president Kenneth Mortimer, left, says one of his proudest moments was watching the football team go from worst to first in the WAC under coach June Jones, right.
Wearing a white polo shirt and green Tommy Hilfiger pants instead of his trademark suit and tie, Mortimer graciously thanked guests for their well wishes as he prepared to leave the University of Hawai'i presidency he has held since 1993.
Mortimer, whose tenure often drew criticism and praise, settled into a swivel chair in a make-shift office earlier this week and spoke of his role in the athletic arena, recalling his successes, regrets, two chairmainships of the Western Athletic Conference's Presidents Council and, finally, amazement as his wife transformed into one of the state's most passionate volleyball fans.
As his presidency ends today and he prepares to leave tomorrow for Seattle, here are his parting thoughts on UH athletics:
Q. On what UH's goal should be:
A. To be among the top programs in the WAC and to position the university for whatever comes down the road in intercollegiate athletics. Hawai'i needs to position itself so whatever happens, it is in a strong position. The way to do that is to be competitive in the league where you are now performing. I think we're getting more competitive all the time.
Q. On the Pac-10 as a down-the-road option:
A. I don't think that scenario is going to happen. I don't think it is realistic. I think it is our natural connection, but I don't think it is going to happen for a while. Never say never. Their machinations have been with Colorado and Texas, and that got shut out because of the Oregon and Washington schools, so it is hard to say.
Q. On the option of becoming an independent:
A. Could we survive as an independent? Sure, but it would be more difficult. I don't think it is in our interests to do it. If it were to (happen), it would be only in the major sports if we were able to strike some independent deal with ESPN to play (football) Saturday nights at 6 so (the games) could be broadcast on (the Mainland). We could play 9-10 home games. Then it would work for football, but not work for other things.
Q. On why UH won't leave Division I:
A. I don't conceive of anybody trying to take Hawai'i out of Division I intercollegiate athletics. I don't think there's any support for going small college. It is just not in the cards. The people in Hawai'i wouldn't stand for it.
Q. Biggest regrets:
A. The Bob Wagner situation (in which Wagner was invited to a news conference to announce his firing as head football coach). I don't regret the decision to let Bob go. I regret the way in which we handled it. I thought it was clumsily done — and I was part of it, so I'm not criticizing anybody else. It was not a class act, and I look back on it with regret. I regret the way we treated Bob that day.
Q. On how UH should have responded to the WAC breakup:
A. What we, Hawai'i, should have done was file an injunction immediately. The down side is that we would have been cast as pariahs in intercollegiate athletics. The disappointment I had about that whole thing was more personal than organizational. A bunch of guys I thought were fairly straight forward did that to us. It taught me in the TCU and SMU environment (when both schools tried to secede) that everybody was going to do what they believed their institution requires.
Q. The low points of his tenure:
A. That would have to be the shock of the defecting eight (schools that left the Western Athletic Conference). And everybody suffered through that 0-12 year (in football in 1998). It was something nobody anticipated nor did we anticipate being first (in 1999).
Q. His proudest moments:
A. I watch (the athletic department's) fiscal health and academic soundness. Beyond that, it is up to the athletic director. As a fan, however, going from worst to first (in football in 1999) is one of the highlights of my time. Men's basketball, turning around from a program that wasn't academically sound to one that is, is something that I take some pride in. I take great pride in Vince Goo's (women's basketball) program because the kids do so well and, of course, Dave Shoji's (women's volleyball) program. People like that are a source of pride to the university, so they would be the highlights.
The thing I enjoyed most of all was watching my wife (Lorraine) get excited (about volleyball). We watched some volleyball before we came here but, mostly, we were couch potatoes. Even at Penn State, where I was a vice president, we only went to football games occasionally. But my wife became quite a volleyball fan here. I still don't know how substitutions are made in volleyball but she understands all that stuff.
