In the ornithological spectrum of University of Hawai'i athletic fans, Jennifer Shishido and her family are among the rarest of birds: Rainbow Wahine basketball season ticket holders.

It wasn't difficult to spot the Shishidos at the Wahine's home game against fellow Western Athletic Conference cellar-dweller New Mexico State last month. The three of them were spread out across an entire row behind one of the baskets.

With 10,300 seats in the Stan Sheriff Center to accommodate a turnstile crowd of 272 — a good night considering attendance has hovered just above 200 for most of the season — there was nary an obstructed view in the arena.

Shishido, 59, has followed the team for some 20 years. A strong supporter of Title IX, she likes the positive example Wahine players have set for her two daughters.

"We go because the players work hard and they're good students," she said.

The games are also an easy sell to her husband, Norman.

"He doesn't like crowds," she said.

To be sure, the scene at the Sheriff last week was a far cry from the heyday of the program, when thousands of fans flocked to the arena to watch former coach Vince Goo's squads compete in the Women's National Invitational Tournament.

On-court mediocrity and off-court controversy have taken a toll on the program's fan base, but the Wahine's declining attendance is hardly an isolated situation in the athletic department. According to university officials, attendance is down across the board in both men's and women's sports.

After a historic undefeated regular season and subsequent Sugar Bowl bid in 2007 — a community-galvanizing run that drew thousands of new fans to Aloha Stadium — the UH football program suffered a $1.2 million dropoff in ticket sales last season, generating a three-year low of $4.65 million in 2008.

The Rainbow Wahine volleyball program, the department's only other revenue-generating sport, saw its attendance drop from 41,325 in 2007 to 33,691 last year, resulting in a decline of $55,000.

FINANCIAL CHALLENGES

The athletic department generates about 85 percent of its $29.5 million operating budget. The balance comes from university general funds and is used for operation of lower campus facilities and scholarship support, according to UH.

The department reported a $300,000 surplus for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, but only because of the $4,385,555 it received for the Sugar Bowl. An auditor's report showed that the department still carries an accumulated net deficit of $5.4 million, compiled over the last five years.

The department is projecting an additional deficit of $3 million for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

The department's financial situation has prompted athletic director Jim Donovan to consider cutting one or more athletic programs to save money.

That grim admission punctuates a tumultuous 13 months since the high point of the football team's first BCS bowl appearance.

Within weeks of the game, head football coach June Jones departed for Southern Methodist, reportedly miffed at the lack of progress in his contract negotiations with then-athletic director Herman Frazier, who would in turn find himself forced out of the department a week later.

In the subsequent hirings of football coach Greg McMackin and Donovan, UH-Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw and other administrators emphasized the need to build on the momentum generated by the football team's success.

Doing so has proved difficult with the national economic downturn only complicating Donovan's challenge of addressing the department's rolling debt and the administrative missteps of his predecessor.

Donovan, who took over as AD last March, has enjoyed broad support in the community and from within his own department, in particular for his efforts to address the department's laundry list of long-deferred needs and to provide a clear accounting of the department's financial standing.

Yet, while many fans insist that 11 months is too short a span upon which to judge Donovan's effectiveness, those with a rooting interest in UH athletics have had plenty of time to reflect on the state of the department and what can be done to secure its future.

ACCOUNTABILITY ISSUES

For UH sociology professor David Johnson, the problem starts with poor leadership and a lack of accountability — in the department and across the university.

"It seems quite clear that the Herman Frazier hire was a disaster," he said. "But there are also a number of coaches who have not done very well and are not held accountable for poor performance.

"When (June Jones) was around, his teams would often do well on the field but there were a lot of problems in the classrooms," Johnson said. "I found that to be a silent sacrifice that people were willing to accept, but I was frustrated being in the classroom with players who clearly were not into it."

Johnson, who follows several UH sports, cited several other examples, from the department's botched handling of Sugar Bowl tickets ("They covered it up until the media cornered them on it, and then they responded only grudgingly," he said), to the ongoing drama surrounding Wahine basketball coach Jim Bolla, whose relationship with the department has been strained by last summer's flirtation with UNLV and accusations that he has verbally and physically abused players.

"Where's the accountability?" Johnson asked. "My impression is that there are some pretty glaring areas where there is little or no accountability, but it's not limited to the department. It's that way throughout the university.

"People in positions of responsibility, whether it's the AD or the chancellor, the president of the university, have to pay attention and hold people accountable," he said.

Johnson said the university's emphasis on athletics should also be a cause for concern.

"I am happy that UH tries to foster excellence in athletics," Johnson said. "But the vast majority of UH students do not participate in intercollegiate athletics, and some of them have excellent academic potential.

"If this university's core mission is the pursuit of academic excellence, then why is it willing to bleed big money year after year after year for a small handful of student-athletes while at the same time making no serious commitment to cultivating the potential of its best and brightest undergraduates?"

LOW STUDENT INTEREST

The designated Manoa Maniacs section at athletic events is intended to promote student involvement and build a sense of campus community.

At the UH-New Mexico state game, the section was occupied by a single Maniac — 22-year old biology major Tyler Law.

Law was there to support his best friend, a cheerleader, but he was also happy to cheer on the Wahine.

"I'm usually the only student-student in the section," he said, laughing.

Law said the drop in attendance for UH games could be due, in part, to a lack of "highlighted players."

He said there was interest in last year's men's basketball team because it was Bob Nash's first year as head coach and Nash's son, Bobby, was part of the team.

"This year, there's Bill Amis and ... who?" he said. "You see the rest of them and it's like, 'I wonder who that is?' "

Law said the football program will always draw fans because, in the absence of pro teams, the Warriors are the team Hawai'i fans follow with the most enduring interest.

"People might lose faith in them for a week or a day, but they'll be back in the stands the next year," he said.

Still, Law said, student interest and involvement will always be a challenge because UH is a commuter school.

"The local students live in Pearl City or 'Aiea or the North Shore," he said. "Locals who go to UH aren't going to want to go to the games if they're home already, and the Mainlanders who live here aren't really into this school's sports because they're into the big name schools."

Michael Little, 65, of Kaimuki, has been a diehard women's basketball and volleyball fan for 15 years. Despite the Wahine hoopsters troubles, he too continues to show up at the games.

"I come to support them because they play hard, although, it's obvious that they need a different coach," he said.

Like Johnson, Little said he sees a pattern of poor decisions that have lead to larger problems for the department.

"When there were problems with this team and Frazier gave Bolla a new contract, it was like he was saying he didn't care about women's basketball," Little said. "I think they needed to change athletic directors, and they did, but it takes time to solve the old problems — just like in Washington.

"I have a lot of hope," he said. "I think UH sports should be a big success because there are no professional teams competing here. They get more attention than college teams in L.A. who have to compete with all those pro teams."

LOYAL FANS

The scene was considerably more electric at nearby Les Murakami Stadium, where the UH baseball team made their season debut against UC Irvine.

Some 3,844 fans attended the Warriors' season opener, although many others gave up and left when delays at the ticket booth stretched on well into the game.

David Nip, 54, of Kaimuki, arrived at the start of the game but didn't get in until the fifth inning. Still, he was happy to once again share his love of baseball with his son, and to renew acquaintances with other longtime UH fans stationed behind the first-base line.

Nip was impressed with the turnout, but predicted that by midseason the upper decks would once again be empty.

Though troubled by the athletic departments' financial woes and by off-field incidents like football player JoPierre Davis' recent arrest for sexual assault and assault, Nip said he remains a loyal UH supporter.

Still, Nip, who owns a wholesale business, said he'd like to see the department demonstrate better business sense in promoting its programs.

Nip said the baseball team and other programs need to do more to generate sales and build and maintain interest in their sports by reaching out to younger fans.

"If you give free tickets to Little League teams, they'll bring their parents and that means more sales at the concessions," said Nip, proudly gesturing to his second $7 beer. "It's not the attendance, it's the concessions. UH needs to start thinking more like a business. That's the main thing."

And, if UH officials care to ask, Nip said he has plenty of suggestions for how to do that, from reserved parking for season-ticket holders, to more competitive scheduling, to separate booths for general admission tickets.

Like several others at the game, Nip said retaining fan loyalty means finding coaches and administrators who understand and appreciate Hawai'i.

"I'm old enough to understand that people come and go and there are always good and bad times," he said. "This is a small school and we don't have the money to hire the big-time coaches so try to hire the best coaches possible, hopefully local people who have a passion for Hawai'i.

"There are a lot of guys who come here who aren't local, but they become local," he said. "Stan Sheriff wasn't from here, but he became local. It's too early to judge (Donovan) but he's a Hawai'i guy, he has Hawai'i in his heart and he wants to be here. He's trying his best, and, remember, the deficit wasn't from him."

On the other side of the stadium, 22-year-old Orry Collazo of Kalihi cradled his 1-year-old son, Elijah, in his lap as he jeered the opposing pitcher.

"You ain't got squat, big boy!" he yelled. "Dirt ball! Dirt ball!"

A standout baseball player at Farrington High School, Collazo said the UH athletic department will have the loyalty and support of the community, regardless of its ups and downs, because it remains the link between the school and people like himself.

"Even if we don't go to school here, the sports keep us connected," he said. "That's why we support whoever is trying to help this school and this program. As long as their trying to help this school and Hawai'i become greater, I'm all for it."