SAN JOSE, Calif. — If this had been a storybook ending to an emotional week for San Jose State coach Dick Tomey, he'd be retiring in Hawai'i with bragging rights.

Of course this hasn't been that type of season for the former UH coach. And five days after he announced his plan to retire at age 71 and return to Hawai'i, his team suffered a 17-10 loss last night to the Warriors at Spartan Stadium and fell to 1-9.

"As I told our team, we've got two weeks left together," Tomey said. "We're going to do everything we can to give them a chance to celebrate before this is over. I'm just proud of their effort and their resiliency and the way they battled through a tough week."

This was Tomey's last shot to play UH, where he got his head coaching start in 1977.

Tomey went 63-46-3 in 10 seasons at Hawai'i. In 1981, UH went 9-2 and was ranked in the Associated Press Top 20 for the first time in school history. Under Tomey's watch, UH became a member of the WAC in 1979. Four years ago, Tomey was inducted into UH's Circle of Honor, which has 74 individual members and 10 teams.

"For the state of Hawai'i, he really ushered us into the Division I age," said UH athletic director Jim Donovan, who played for Tomey and served as a graduate assistant coach under him. "We easily averaged 42, 44 thousand (fans) a game. It was the place to be for everyone on a Saturday night. He really rallied the whole community around UH football.

"I think ever since he coached at Hawai'i, he very quickly adapted to Hawai'i's culture. He became an adopted son. Everyone knows him, loves him. ... He really put us on the map. He's got to be very proud."

After his announcement Monday, Tomey said he wouldn't talk about his decision again until after the season. He wanted it to be business as usual. And when one of his players before the game told him the team needed to win the game for him, he put a stop to such talk.

"I said, 'No, you need to win this for all of us together,' " Tomey said. " 'We need to play our butts off. But you guys have given me everything that anyone could ever want from a team.' And I love them for that."

Tomey took a stoic approach to one of the most emotional weeks of his coaching career. Nanci Kincaid saw a different side to her husband.

"I think he's an emotional man, period," she said after the game. "As he said in his press conference, he likes to feel the pain and the joy. So I think he felt the pain. ... I think at this point he feels good about his decision."

Last night, he had a final chance to coach against his former team. And yes, it was special.

"I have so many connections there," Tomey said. "People probably make too much of that, but it's all true. There's a lot of people on that sideline that are really good friends of mine, have been players and coaches that I've worked with and I love them dearly, as well."