Frazier era under way at UH

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer

Herman Frazier, wearing a 1998 Nagano Olympics ring, had two stacks of papers waiting for him when he arrived. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Frazier, who yesterday arrived on campus to take over for the retiring Hugh Yoshida, said he will be a regular visitor to teams' practices and games immediately.

He said this month he plans to attend early meetings of the Warrior football and Rainbow Wahine volleyball teams. "My idea is I want the athletes to know who I am so if we do run into a situation where there is a problem it won't be the first time they meet me," Frazier said.

He said he will also occasionally attend practices to better get to know the players and coaches. In addition, Frazier pointed to a new television and VCR in his office which he says he will use to view tapes of their games and matches.

Frazier said he will attend all the UH football games this year, including the Aug. 31 opener with Eastern Illinois for which he will hurry back from a Mexico City meeting to select the site for the 2007 Pan American Games.

Frazier said that while he might not "be able to answer every single letter I receive (from fans), depending upon the volume of calls, I will have somebody return them. I think that is important."

Frazier said he also plans to continue to speak to elementary and intermediate schools as he did in Arizona and Alabama. "I try to do five or six a year," Frazier said.

In other news, Frazier said he talked to Jim Carns, executive director of the U.S. Track Coaches Association, last week about the possibility of bringing a marquee intercollegiate meet to Cooke Field for as early as the 2003 track and field season.

Frazier said he envisions something on the order of UH and some prominent Mainland schools such as Southern Cal and UCLA plus some invited world-class individual entries. He said he hoped sponsors could be found to defray the cost of the meet.

Carmyn James, Rainbow Wahine track coach, said she would welcome the opportunity to showcase the new track with such a meet.

Cooke Field is currently undergoing a $1.7 million renovation to replace the nine-year-old surface. The new four-color rainbow-hued track, featuring the Mondo surface used at the Olympic stadiums in Atlanta and Sydney, is scheduled for completion by Sept. 17.