UH soliciting outside help for Jones' deal
| • | It's about dollars, and sense |
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
With football coach June Jones and the University of Hawai'i at an impasse in contract negotiations, UH has been seeking community assistance to help close the gap on their acknowledged "significant" differences.
Jones has two years left on a contract that pays a reported $320,000 plus incentives. Currently, UH is offering a five-year extension through the 2008 season. Leigh Steinberg, Jones' agent, has proposed a four-year package. Both say their salary figures would place Jones at near the $500,000 national average for Division IA head coaches.
Jones has denied that the deal he is seeking would put him among the top 10 nationally, which would be in excess of $1.2 million.
But after two months of on-again, off-again negotiations, both sides say there remains a "significant" gap between their proposals and counter proposals. The hangup is apparently over the amount of a key bonus provision and how it would work, prompting a breakdown in negotiations. Neither UH nor Jones would detail what the provision entails although it is believed to involve a loan or deferred payment.
Paul Costello, UH vice president for external affairs, said the school is committed to trying to keep Jones, "doing what it takes within the realization of where we are as a public university. There is a limit to what we can do. Once again, we're not the NFL and we can't compete against those kind of numbers."
Jones says he is happy at UH, believes there is a "fair" offer on the table and wants to stay. He has said there is "no timetable" on resolving the issues.
Meanwhile, UH said it has contacted several prominent boosters and business leaders in an effort to gauge how much they would be willing to contribute toward the contract extension.
Athletic director Hugh Yoshida acknowledged the effort but declined to say how promising it was, how much had been pledged or put a dollar amount on how far apart UH and Jones remain.
When Jones was hired in 1998, UH went into the community to raise money in an ambitious manner far beyond what it had done before. It followed the same blueprint in the package it eventually put together for new baseball coach Mike Trapasso last year.
Of Jones' current $320,000, outside sources contribute approximately $140,000. The money comes from contributions through Na Koa, the football booster club, as well as radio, television and merchandising deals.
The school is responsible for Jones' base salary, believed to be about $180,000.
