In a dizzying span of seven days, the University of Hawai'i went from the revelry of playing in the Sugar Bowl to losing its most successful football coach, to firing its athletic director, to having its president apologize to its players and fans.

On the Monday morning of Jan. 7, 2008, June Jones, who was in the final year of his five-year contract at UH, accepted an offer to coach Southern Methodist University, leaving Hawai'i a stunned state.

Just days early, on Jan. 1, with legions of Hawai'i followers traveling to New Orleans to enjoy the moment, the Warriors played in their first Bowl Championship Series game in the Superdome, losing 41-10 to Georgia.

But the euphoria of a pinch-me-please season ended swiftly instead with a blow to the midsection — the leaving of Jones, who inherited an 0-12 team and a program on the brink in 1998 and turned it into a consistent winner that Jones envisioned and UH fans could only dream about.

Jones' contract had been allowed to lapse into its final year, even though Jones had offered to sign a new, unique five-year deal in March 2006 for less than his current annual salary of $800,016. Instead, athletic director Herman Frazier rejected Jones' proposal and the two would not discuss a contract proposal until two days after the 2008 Sugar Bowl.

"Any athletic director in his right mind would have had June under contract at this time last year, for recruiting purposes, if nothing else," prominent local business man and former UH tight end Kent Untermann said back then. "This is inexcusable."

With SMU offering a five-year deal worth between $1.85 million to $2 million, UH launched an 11th-hour charge, offering Jones $1.1 million, then $1.3 million, then $1.3 million with a $1 million annuity that would boost his per-year average to $1.5 million.

Jones, already in Dallas for face-to-face interviews, turned off his cell phones, kneeled in prayer in his hotel room and slept on it.

Five hours later, his mind was clear and decision made.

"I had peace about coming here (to Dallas)," he said then.

So ended the tenure of the winningest coach in UH history. Jones' nine-year record at UH was 76-41, including six bowl appearances.

"It was time to go," Jones said recently. "My gut feeling was I didn't think the university would pull the trigger on the things that needed to change, to keep going, unless I left. I think it's great the university has FieldTurf now and they've accomplished a lot of things. I'm not convinced those things would have happened if I stayed. My leaving brought attention, just like when we got a grass field when vonAppen left. They have more recruiting money. They have new offices. I was there nine years and nothing ever changed. I wasn't convinced those things would have happened."