UH athletics pioneer Durham turns 90 this weekend

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer

Paul Durham, who helped lead University of Hawai'i athletics into the era of all-college schedules and Division I membership, will be honored for his contributions following his 90th birthday.

DURHAM

A year after beating the Rainbows at Honolulu Stadium as the Linfield College football coach and athletic director, Durham was hired in 1968 to take over a UH athletic program that Gov. John Burns had charged with becoming a full-fledged intercollegiate participant.

Durham took a school that had played a mix of college, local club and service teams prior to his arrival to the doorstep of Western Athletic Conference membership by the time he left seven years later. Until Durham's appointment it had been rare for the school to have a full-time athletic director. Most either coached other sports, taught classes or held outside positions.

"Paul started moving the school toward a real conference affiliation," said Hugh Yoshida, who played for Durham at Linfield and later served as UH athletic director himself. "He took over in the formative years and gave it a foundation for where it is today."

During Durham's tenure, the basketball team reached the NIT and NCAA tournaments and the football team became nationally ranked on the small-school level. He also hired Les Murakami to begin a baseball program.

But success whetted a community appetite for more in a hell-bent hurry and outside influences increasingly came to dominate the decision-making. Durham suffered a heart attack in 1974 and left the AD job in 1975 amid concerns about growing involvement by boosters that two years later led to NCAA probation.

Durham taught in UH's College of Education until his retirement in 1981. He was inducted into the school's Circle of Honor in 1997 and remains a regular fan at several UH sports. "I have a great interest in the program, a great love for the athletes and really enjoy going to the games," Durham said.

At Linfield, Durham had operated a growing pipeline that brought large numbers of Hawai'i players to the Oregon school. "There would be 20 of us on his team at a time," Yoshida said. "Paul was a straight-up guy you could always count on."

"The job I had was tough and it has gotten tougher over the years, but I think we've had a succession of great athletic directors who have done a terrific job building the program," Durham said.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.