In the search for the next coach of the University of Hawai'i's men's volleyball team, the school is seeking someone who can make a difference not only with Xs and Os but dollar signs.

Facing a loss of $275,000 or more on the sport for the current fiscal year on a program that once turned nearly a $400,000 profit, athletic director Jim Donovan said, "I think volleyball needs to, at least, break even and, at some point, be a money maker for us again. We're a volleyball town; a volleyball state. People here know about volleyball and have a passion for it."

A UH spokesman said the school has received 25 applications for the position. Deadline for applications was April 28.

UH hasn't listed a profit for men's volleyball in the two previous fiscal years and ran $273,847 in the red for the last fiscal year, according to an auditor's report.

Per match attendance was 1,469 this season, up an average of 57 from the previous season. But ticket revenues declined by 33 percent from 2007, when UH averaged $16,222 per match. Some of the decline is attributable to UH dropping its ticket prices in 2009 in an attempt to lure more fans in a depressed economy.

Donovan is looking at men's volleyball to help the athletic department climb out of a $5.4 million net accumulated deficit acquired over the past five years.

For men's volleyball to succeed financially, Donovan said, "we have to compete for the (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) title and be going to the NCAAs. If we do, I think (the finances) will turn around quickly."

Donovan said he is also looking for community involvement and promotion from the successful candidate. "I think Dave (Shoji, the women's volleyball coach) has done a great job interacting with the community," Donovan said. "I think that's indicative in attendance for his matches and in the turnout for his camps."

For the men's position, Donovan said, UH wants someone, "to interact with the community. We'd like someone with a personality that draws people in. That's some of what we are looking for in a new coach."

Women's volleyball averaged 5,944 per match in 2008 and was expected to turn a profit of more than $100,000.

Former coach Mike Wilton, who rebuilt the volleyball program beginning in 1993, took the Warriors to a school record average match attendance of 7,930 in 1997. Wilton, the school's most successful men's coach, retired from UH last month.