Frazier mentioned in job talk at ASU
By Ferd Lewis and Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writers
University of Hawai'i athletic director Herman Frazier is being prominently mentioned as a candidate for the same position at his alma mater, Arizona State.
Gene Smith, who beat Frazier out for the ASU job in 2000, is leaving the school to take the athletic director's job at Ohio State.
Frazier
It was after being passed over for Smith that Frazier, a 1977 graduate of ASU, where he rose to senior associate athletic director, went to Alabama-Birmingham as AD. Frazier came to UH in 2002.
"I have no comment on speculation about any job," Frazier said last night. "I am the athletic director at the University of Hawaii. That's all I have to say."
The Arizona Republic mentioned Frazier as a possible candidate for the $289,406 position at ASU with one person calling him, "an obvious candidate." Frazier's salary at UH is $210,000.
Frazier, 50, was in Phoenix Monday and Tuesday for a Western Athletic Conference athletic directors meeting.
"He has supporters there and I'd suspect he'll be on their short list," said an industry figure who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the situation.
When Kevin White left ASU in 2000 for the Notre Dame job, legend has it that a group of coaches filled the school president's office lobbying on Frazier's behalf.
In looking for the school's fourth athletic director in 10 years, ASU may be looking for stability in the position. Frazier spent 23 years at ASU, where he was an Olympic medal-winning track star. One of his first hires at UH was another ex-ASU official, Tom Sadler, who is an associate AD at UH.
Tom Collins, who replaced Frazier as senior associate AD at ASU, is also expected to be a candidate.
"The three of them — Frazier, Sadler and Collins — were together there for 20 years," said a person who has known all three. "I'm sure they (Frazier and Collins) would covet the head job," the person said.
There also is also speculation that Boise State athletic director Gene Bleymaier may look into the position.
Bleymaier hired Dirk Koetter, the current ASU football coach, at Boise State.
Last year Frazier was interviewed for the AD job at the University of Washington but said he withdrew his name from consideration.
At UH, Frazier has wrestled with three consecutive years of budget deficits. He recently secured Board of Regents approval for a new round of premium seating charges and is negotiating a possible extension of UH television rights with KFVE.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044. Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.
