Jones says he'll sign new 5-year deal next week
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
University of Hawai'i football coach June Jones yesterday said he will sign his new five-year contract next week.
The expected signing will come nearly three months after the school's Board of Regents approved a recommendation from athletic director Herman Frazier to offer Jones a new contract that pays $800,016 annually.
The regents approved a skeletal version of the contract at the June meeting. They will review the contract tomorrow during a monthly meeting on Maui.
Jones agreed to become UH's head football coach in December 1998, succeeding Fred vonAppen, who won five games in the previous three seasons. Jones' original five-year contract, signed in January 1999 and worth $320,000 annually plus incentives, was set to expire in January 2004. Jones is being paid under the terms of that contract until he signs the new deal.
At a Honolulu Quarterback Club meeting last month, Jones said he would delay signing the new deal, in part, because he did not want terms of that contract or the 1999 deal to be made public. UH released the 1999 contract following a directive from the Office of Information Practices, and plans to release the new one after Jones signs it.
Jones yesterday said there are no remaining negotiating points and that, despite disclosure of his 1999 contract, he would sign the new one.
Ilaoa ponders options: Starting right slotback Nate Ilaoa, who is suffering from a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, will ponder his medical options the next few days before deciding if he will attempt to play in the Sept. 13 road game against Southern California. UH has a bye this weekend.
"Of course I want to play," Ilaoa said. "That's always me. But chancing it to mess up something else that could be fine right now probably isn't worth it. There's not a big reason to risk it right now."
Ilaoa said the right knee is "not too sore now." He can run straight ahead, but is hesitant to try cutting moves.
"I'll talk to some people before deciding what to do," he said. "There's a lot to think about."
Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.
