Jones request payment of $10,000 academic bonus

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

University of Hawai'i football coach June Jones is requesting payment of a $10,000 bonus for meeting an academic-performance clause, a school official confirmed yesterday.

Under terms of the contract he signed in January 1999, Jones receives $10,000 when the grade-point average for his first-year scholarship players is 2.7 or higher at the end of their first academic year.

Jones said last season's freshmen on football scholarship had a GPA of 2.71 for the academic year that ended two weeks ago.

"That's why I qualified for the bonus," he said.

Jones said he will give the bonus to his nine full-time assistant coaches.

In an e-mail earlier yesterday, Jim Manke, director of public affairs at UH-Manoa, wrote: "Coach Jones has not qualified for this bonus during the current contract period."

Jones, however, contended that he had met the standard and was told of the bonus by school officials during last month's 20-day training camp.

After learning of Jones' comments, Manke consulted with officials from the Academic Affairs' fiscal office, then released this revised statement: "The coach has submitted a request for payment of a bonus. The request is under review."

Jones defended his team's performance in the classroom, saying, "The academics (of the football program) are the highest in the history of the school. No (UH) football coach has had a GPA as high as ours."

He added: "Trust me, it's not me. It's the (academic) programs that have been set up in the athletic department. ... That's why the grades are up."

Under terms of his contract, once Jones earns the bonus, UH athletic director Herman Frazier may set another academic-performance criteria.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.