Yoshida, UH grew together
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist
Nearly nine years and not many more steps removed from where he was installed as the University of Hawai'i athletic director, Hugh Yoshida yesterday formally announced his retirement from the job.
Despite the proximity of venues, it has nevertheless been quite a remarkable journey for the man who will be the longest serving athletic director in the school's Division I-A history when he steps down at the end of December.
Poised and, at times, even glib, the ever-humble Yoshida on display yesterday was a far cry from the one who stepped tentatively into the considerable shadow cast by his late predecessor, Stan Sheriff, in 1993.
If Yoshida had fully comprehended what he was getting into at that time — and the bottle of scotch and container of aspirin a staff member presented him with would soon come in handy —you wonder if he would have even taken the job.
Yoshida got the position, in part, because the new administration of president Kenneth Mortimer wanted someone who knew his way around the capitol, where he would be required to lobby for the needs of the athletic program.
And Yoshida, in addition to the experience gained in athletics and politics through a quarter-century between the Department of Education and UH, was the son of Yoshiichi "Big Mice" Yoshida, a former territorial legislator.
But barely had Yoshida's name gone up on the AD's door than the state began its plunge into prolonged recession. State assistance to UH kept dropping and Bachman Hall reduced its support of athletics by half. Suddenly, it didn't matter who you knew in the capitol, there was no money to be had for sports.
Meanwhile, there were sports to be added under Title IX mandate and additional investments required to keep afloat the programs UH already offered, no easy tasks in austere times.
So, at age 51 Yoshida had to hurriedly recast not only his mission but his way of thinking. A man who had flourished in the bureaucracy had to jump out of the box.
Small wonder there was the messy dismissal of football coach Bob Wagner and the ill-advised hiring of his successor, errors that shook the program's foundation.
Yet, Yoshida would learn and make his mark a positive one. He managed to raise the number of sports from 16 to 19, nearly double the budget to $16 million and make major strides toward Title IX compliance. He brought in June Jones to raise the bar on the football program and Mike Trapasso on baseball. An academic center was built. Overall excellence was promoted.
"Hugh deserves a lot of credit for the advances Hawai'i has made under some challenging circumstances," said Rick Bay, San Diego State athletic director.
More than that, said Dick Tomey: "He will be a tough act to follow."
