A little more than a month ago, the prospect of another letter from the NCAA regarding the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex would have sent shivers through the University of Hawaii administration from Hawaii Hall to the quarry.
Today, UH officials await one, hopefully.
"They (the NCAA) said they were satisfied that we had met the (minimum) conditions and would be sending us a letter to that (end)," athletic director Ben Jay said Monday.
Never mind that the $13.39 million — and rising — facility won’t be fully completed until perhaps sometime late in April, UH said. The key elements that will get the NCAA off UH’s back — locker rooms and coaches’ offices — apparently just squeezed in under the Jan. 28 deadline to meet gender-equity issues, thanks to a temporary occupancy permit.
After too many previously unmet deadlines, we probably shouldn’t be surprised that UH said the NCAA asked for more than the school’s word; it also requested photographic proof that female athletes and their coaches were, indeed, moving into the facility.
But while there is relief that UH will not face NCAA sanctions that could have included prohibiting its teams from postseason play in all sports, the school should do more than sigh in relief.
There needs to be a determined pledge that UH never finds itself in this position again and takes solid steps to that end.
UH needs to take a long look at not only how it awards contracts for facilities projects but, as UH Regents have been told about in a series of projects across the system, how it can put real teeth in them to make sure they are delivered on time and on budget.
Moreover, the school must have a better mechanism for staying on top of the progress — or lack thereof — for each project.
The regent-ordered audit of the Ching Complex project and the long-delayed Campus Center, when they come, should provide plenty of food for thought.
The Ching Complex is named for the late developer and UH fan whose foundation pledged $5 million in 2008 to provide an overdue home for women’s track and field, cross country and soccer, among other sports.
It is to be shared with intramurals, the campus ROTC and community groups.
It was celebrated as the largest gift ever received by UH athletics and a hoped-for symbol of what private money and public funds could do in tandem to benefit UH.
But since then, it has been saddled with a more dubious distinction, known for various delays and hangups. It was dedicated in 2009 and, to tell you how long ago that was, Greg McMackin and Bob Nash attended the ceremonies. It was initially pegged to open in 2011. Then, October 2013, then Dec. 31, 2013 …
Meanwhile, a shot put away stands Les Murakami Stadium, which just celebrated 30 seasons, having gone from groundbreaking to opening in less than a year.
When the NCAA letter comes, UH should resolve that it will be the last time it needs a threat from the NCAA to bring results.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820
