Chow will be back next season

Norm Chow will remain as Rainbow Warriors football coach for the 2015 season.

University of Hawaii-Manoa Chancellor Robert Bley-Vroman and departing athletic director Ben Jay made the joint announcement during a news conference Tuesday at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The announcement was not required because Chow has two seasons remaining on a five-year contract that pays $550,000 annually. He is guaranteed $550,000 for 2015. The buy-out price is $200,000 for the fifth year.

"There’s been a lot of public rumors about Norm," Bley-Vroman said, "and we felt it would be best to make it clear what the situation is. The normal thing would be to continue the contract, anyway. Ordinarily, one wouldn’t even bother to make an announcement. But, frankly, from the email(s), from the discussions, the rumors, the press, we felt it was important to dispel those unfounded rumors, that there somehow was a plan to buy him out. There is no such plan. It’s important to be clear about that."

Chow met separately with Bley-Vroman and Jay last week. Bley-Vroman said there were no talks about a buyout.

"We haven’t discussed that possibility," Bley-Vroman said. "I haven’t discussed that possibility."

Jay acknowledged this year’s 4-9 record was "not successful."

"But it’s improvement," Jay added, referring to records of 3-9 in 2012 and 1-11 in 2013. "It’s improvement from where we’ve come from. We have to keep recruiting. We have to keep building the depth and, again, as you’ve seen in recent weeks, we’re having that kind of recruiting success, and it will continue."

Jay said intercollegiate sports is "about academics and athletics. It’s about doing the right things in the program. It’s about making sure our student-athletes are at their best both on the field and in the classroom. And Norm Chow has done that."

Jay said the Warriors improved their overall grade-point average, maintained an upward graduation rate and increased their APR score the past three years.

"I’ve been around a lot of great coaches, a lot of great football coaches in my career," said Jay, who came to UH from Ohio State. "I know good ones. I know great ones. And I tell you what, when I watch (Chow’s) interaction, when I watch him talking to players in his office, when I see him at practice speaking to kids on the sideline, and in games, I knew we had the right person. The thing that’s real important to me is that it’s team first, it’s about the student-athletes first. He’s always shown that to me. I’m quite proud of the effort."

Chow was unavailable for comment on Tuesday.