For an early read on the tenor of athletic director Jim Donovan's administration at the University of Hawai'i, keep an eye on the contracts of baseball coach Mike Trapasso and men's volleyball coach Mike Wilton.

Or, the current lack thereof.

Trapasso and Wilton, two of the more established coaches at UH, will each be heading into the final year of a multi-year contract July 1, barring an 11th-hour extension.

So far, we're told, nothing has been sent to the Board of Regents, though you would think that could change if the Rainbows, who have been hovering around .500, go on a run in the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament this week.

While Donovan has declined to discuss the contract situations of Trapasso and Wilton, saying all coaches' contracts "are personnel matters," their disposition figures to say a lot about the administration's thinking.

Indeed, Donovan came on board in March pledging to make UH more competitive on both a conference and national scale. He has said he will provide as much assistance as UH's battered budget allows, but will also hold coaches to a high standard, demanding they "do a good job for us both athletically and academically and work to be part of the overall athletic department team."

Contract extensions for women's volleyball coach Dave Shoji, softball coach Bob Coolen and women's track and cross country coach Carmyn James are in the works.

Trapasso, a two-time WAC coach of the year in his seventh season, was one of the coaches most impacted by the ouster of athletic director Herman Frazier. Rumor was Trapasso was close to a renewal of his five-year deal before Frazier was jettisoned.

To be sure, Donovan was one of Trapasso's earliest backers. He was on the screening committee that recommended Trapasso and negotiated the first contract. But since the breakthrough of an NCAA Regional in 2006, the 'Bows struggled in 2007 and have been rebuilding this season.

Wilton, meanwhile, was given a retroactive three-year deal. Now, he enters his 17th season as the school's winningest men's volleyball coach but is coming off back-to-back losing seasons, the first two of his career.

Donovan has said he would prefer not to subject coaches and programs to the limbo of a looming make-or-break year, but he's also vowed to make UH more competitive across the board. The handling of these two contracts will be some of the first indications of how he strikes that balance.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.