Posted on: Friday, November 19, 2004

Fans turn up heat on UH football team

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

Fan frustration with the University of Hawai'i football team and head coach June Jones has reached a boiling point.

A week after its second lopsided loss on national TV — capping the worst season on the road in school history — the number and intensity of complaints are way up.

"The general feeling is a cross between frustration and sadness," said Bobby Curran, who fields lots of calls on his sports talk show on KKEA radio.

"I think the callers run the gamut," he said. "Some are very supportive of the program. Other callers say, they've had it, or they need a new coach, and they need to start all over again. Some are actually angry. I worry about the people who get really angry."

Angry fans sometimes single out Jones, who five years ago was so popular that T-shirts urged "June Jones for Governor."

This week, The Advertiser received more than the normal number of letters to the editor about the Warriors, with 12 to 15 letters ranging from criticism of the team's offense and defense to calling for Jones' ouster.

UH officials are not talking about firing Jones.

The Warriors have won four games and lost five this year. Three home games remain, but two are against marquee teams, Northwestern and Michigan State.

Warrior fan Stan Maebori of Kane'ohe said the two blowout losses telecast on ESPN and ESPN2 — 69-3 at Boise State and 70-14 at Fresno State, among the worst losses in school history — might turn off potential recruits.

"I thought they would have a better record and they would be playing better," said Maebori, 61. "The problem is the University of Hawai'i's reputation. To me, (the lopsided losses) hurt recruiting. Here are high school and junior college transfers being recruited by Hawai'i and they see how bad they play as a team and they say, 'Hey, I'd rather go someplace else.' "

Another fan, Joe Crocco, questioned whether the money invested in UH's football program was worth it.

"I'm disappointed," said Crocco, 57, of Pacific Heights. "We've been paying good money for the staff. There should be some returns. There was some, but there's a lot of disappointment."

In June 2003, Jones received a new five-year contract, quadrupling his salary to $800,016. The salary, half of which is said to be paid for by private donors, made Jones the highest-paid state employee.

Crocco said he's worried about the future of the program, which fuels the school's 19-sport, $18.5 million budget.

"The fans are the ones who are paying the entry fees, which generate the revenues so they can have all these events," Crocco said. "Without the fans, there's not much revenue coming in. If the fans don't support the team, there's no revenue. The program is going to die."

Last season, Hawai'i averaged 35,903 spectators for seven home games. This season, Hawai'i's turnstile average for five games is 33,283, the lowest in Jones' six seasons. But that likely will rise with upcoming home games against Northwestern (Nov. 27) and Michigan State (Dec. 4).

Asked if he was concerned about frustrated fans, Jones said: "They're not as frustrated as I am."

"The standards have been raised," Jones said. "They (the fans) expect us to win. I expect us to win. ... They learn to deal with it, just like we're dealing with it."

Jones said winning games would appease fans, and he acknowledged UH squandered two victories earlier this season.

"If we beat Florida Atlantic (in the season opener), and in the fourth quarter held our lead against Rice, you wouldn't be asking these questions," he said. "There would be no ship to be righted. So winning changes all that."

UH athletic director Herman Frazier yesterday said he supported Jones.

"He's going to continue coaching this team for the rest of this year. Our student athletes will continue to show up and play," Frazier said. "We just hope our fans will hang in there with us."

Curran said the emotions surrounding UH football reflect the community's attachment to the team.

"The good news is people really care about the football team here," Curran said. "They're passionate. They tie a feeling of their well-being into the performance of the football team. The bad news is when the team struggles — as it has recently — I think for some people they just get a terrible, sick feeling in their stomach. You can hear the pain and frustration in their voices."

UH student Stephen Legg, 35, said he was surprised at the team's inconsistent play this season — 4-1 at home and 0-4 on the road. But he said fans shouldn't dwell on the Fresno State loss.

"It was a week ago," Legg said. "They should get over it. It shouldn't dominate their lives to the extent that they're still calling in and writing letters."

Another UH student, Devon Petrossian, wondered how the Warriors will do in their final games, especially with so many injured players.

"I think they have a pretty tough schedule with Michigan State," Petrossian said. "I don't want to know what the score is going to be."

UH student Tamara Moniz, 18, believes the flood of criticism hurts the players.

"I think it kind of brings the team down with people saying, 'Why can't you guys win?' " Moniz said

Some fans blamed unrealistic expectations this year for the disappointment.

After three years of winning at least nine games in each season, Hawai'i was expected to finish third in Western Athletic Conference preseason polls.

The team returned a nearly intact offense that included quarterback Tim Chang, who two weeks ago broke the NCAA record for most career passing yards.

In a preseason online survey by The Advertiser, 70 percent of 576 respondents predicted UH would finish 9-3 or better.

Instead, Hawai'i lost its four road games by an average margin of 41 points — the worst ever for a season with more than one road game.

That won't be easy. Next season, Hawai'i plays Southern California, Michigan State and Wisconsin.