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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, February 18, 2006

UH budget takes big hit from baseball

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

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Even sellout crowds may not be enough to rescue the University of Hawai'i baseball team out of a deficit, head coach Mike Trapasso said.

Trapasso yesterday responded to an auditor's preliminary report released this week that showed the baseball team last year lost the most out of all the 19 UH sports — $984,365. In 2004, the team lost $670,423.

"It's all about the nature of the sport," Trapasso said. "Baseball doesn't make money in college. There might be two or three baseball programs that break even."

University of Hawai'i athletics director Herman Frazier told the Board of Regents this week that the department is poised to break even or turn a profit this fiscal year and end four consecutive years of deficits.

The department lost $92,785 in 2005, which was an improvement over previous years. The department lost $544,900 in 2004, $2,475,313 in 2003 and $1,910,000 in 2002.

Frazier yesterday did not respond to questions regarding the programs that lost money. Frazier told the regents this week that "while we have made tremendous strides we still have a ways to go. This is due primarily to the up and down nature of our business."

Trapasso said large travel and recruiting budgets awarded to UH baseball, and other expenses, have made it difficult for his program to break even.

In 2005, baseball spent $995,252 for coaching salaries, scholarships, subsidies paid to other universities, travel, equipment expense, facilities costs and other bills, the audit said. The program also spent $762,802 for support staff salaries, facilities maintenance and other administrative and support costs, according to the audit. Those expenses rank only behind football and, in part, men's basketball.

"I know a lot of times, baseball used to break even, or do better," Trapasso said. "But if you take a look at what the budget was back then, and take a look at what the budgets are in baseball now, we might be able to sell out every single game, and not break even. That's the nature of our sport."

Trapasso said the program does not spend money unwisely, and "my job is to make sure we adhere to our budget."

To become self-sustaining, Trapasso said the program would have to "raise ticket prices to a point where it becomes less of a value." Current prices range from $3 to $7 at Les Murakami Stadium.

"We are biased in our baseball program," Trapasso said. "We think baseball, by the number of games we play, and the low ticket prices, are a great value for our fans."

This past season, the baseball program averaged 1,567 fans in 36 home dates (the team played two doubleheaders) at 4,312-seat Les Murakami Stadium, and finished with a 28-27 overall record. This season, the program averages 1,279 fans through eight home games, and holds a 7-2 record.

Trapasso said a premier baseball program, such as LSU that averages 7,000 fans per game, may come close to self-sufficiency, but "it's not realistic for 95 percent of baseball programs in college to make money."

Trapasso said the baseball program has concentrated on fundraising — such as its Grand Slam Celebration — to cut the deficit.

"When it comes to the finances of the budget that I'm given, and if I don't adhere to it, we make sure we have the resources to fundraising efforts to make up for any overages that may occur," Trapasso said.

In 1999, UH officials acknowledged they considered cutting the baseball program, and even ran a calculator on whether the school would be better off financially with — or without — baseball, which had run a $986,000 deficit. Former UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida chose to stick with baseball, and then head coach Les Murakami.

Of the UH sports, football ($4,318,604), women's volleyball ($912,005), men's basketball ($748,468) and men's volleyball ($233,114) turned profits, according to the audit.

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com.