Matlin sees AD job as daunting, humbling

A popular pastime for media members and University of Hawaii staffers in moments surrounding David Matlin’s overflow press conference Wednesday was playing count the athletic directors.

As in: How many ADs have you worked with at UH?

Rainbow Wahine volleyball coach Dave Shoji said Matlin makes No. 8 for him in 40 years. But so transitory in recent seasons has the position become that even relative newcomers with less than a decade in Manoa can count three or four.

A study published in SportsBusiness Journal last year noted 48 percent of Division I ADs nationwide have fewer than five years on the job. In recent years, as financial strains have exacerbated the situation, UH’s turnover has grown from a once-modest rate.

If the new AD elect — Matlin officially takes over April 27 — was under any illusions about the job he is stepping into, two of his predecessors and mentors, Hugh Yoshida and Jim Donovan, have sought to set him straight.

"They told me they’re concerned for my health," said the 50-year old Matlin.

Once upon a time in less austere and tumultuous days, UH athletic directors could leave their office in the afternoon for a game of tennis or round of golf and their tenure would last a decade or more. Now, as Matlin acknowledged, "you have to hit the ground running … and keep on running. Your time is whatever it is, you have to make the most of it."

Between the challenge of steering UH finances closer to a balanced bottom line, the issues that come with an NCAA investigation, a men’s basketball coach to hire, the struggles of the football team, facilities concerns and impending cost of attendance changes, many of them underlined by geography, Matlin has his work cut out for him.

"I just know that if (Hawaii) is not the toughest job in college sports it is awfully close," Ohio State AD Gene Smith told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser after Ben Jay’s December resignation announcement.

If Jay was taken aback by the depth of the challenge he inherited soon after arriving from Columbus, Ohio, in 2013, Matlin professes to know better, having spent almost six years at UH (1993-99) and having been around the program for 13 years more through his work with the Hawaii Bowl and Diamond Head Classic.

Once upon a time Matlin said he tried to imagine himself as the UH AD — but that lasted about a week.

"I was 28 years old and coming from Houston when I saw Hugh getting all the lei (at his introductory press conference)," Matlin said. "I thought about the AD job for a second and I said, ‘hey, that’s gonna be me someday.’"

A week later, Matlin said, "I realized what a foolish thing that was. And after that it was never really an ambition or a dream."

Which is undoubtedly part of why Matlin took his time weighing the decision to apply and didn’t file an application until late.

When the job opened up and "people would ask me about it, I said, ‘no, I’m not interested,’" Matlin said. "And that was being very candid."

In time, however, he said he warmed up to the challenge and the possibilities. With wife Dana’s blessing, he applied.

"In my mind, the challenges that UH faces are also great opportunities," Matlin said. "The burden of leading this great organization is both daunting and humbling."

When somebody asked a veteran staffer Wednesday how often UH holds press conferences to announce a new AD, the response was, "every couple of years now."

That is one of several trends at UH that Matlin says he is determined to alter.