Posted on: Wednesday, June 5, 2002

UH might need to add men's sport

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer

The University of Hawai'i is among three schools that might be required to add a men's sport by 2004 to preserve Western Athletic Conference membership and Division I-A status in the NCAA.

That possibility, which could have significant financial and gender-equity implications for UH, emerged at the WAC Board of Directors meetings yesterday in Half Moon Bay, Calif., where school presidents reviewed the impact of upcoming NCAA legislation.

Under NCAA guidelines to take effect in 2004, a conference cannot be classified as Division I-A unless at least eight members meet all Division I-A standards. In addition, the WAC expects all its members to be I-A-compliant by the deadline.

To be counted as one of the eight, a school would have to participate in a conference schedule in at least six men's and eight women's conference-sponsored sports.

WAC commissioner Karl Benson said UH, Nevada and San Jose State do not now meet the men's minimum and Louisiana Tech is a sport short on the women's side.

Deane Neubauer, interim Manoa chancellor who represented UH at the meetings, said the presidents have asked the conference athletic directors to develop a strategic plan to address the situation.

UH has only five men's sports (baseball, basketball, football, golf and tennis) that meet the requirement. Men's volleyball (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) and swimming/diving (National Independent Conference) are not WAC-sponsored sports.

The WAC sponsors men's competition in eight sports: baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, indoor track, outdoor track and tennis.

UH officials estimate it would cost at least $175,000 for the bare bones addition of another sport such as cross country. UH President Evan Dobelle has for some time advocated adding men's soccer as a way to increase the school's visibility and recruiting in Asia. Women's soccer costs UH nearly $400,000 to operate and is projected to lose $391,480 this fiscal year.

What's more, any gain in men's sports or scholarships would have to at least be matched on the women's side where UH is still short of gender-equity compliance.

The good news, Benson said, "is that we do have some time to figure it all out. There is not a sense of emergency."