UH Regents want to ensure salaries don’t go out of bounds

Going on six seasons after he last coached a football game at the University of Hawaii, Greg McMackin is still a central figure in school policy.

Officially, it is listed “(Board of) Regents Policy 9.218” but, unofficially, it has become known as the “McMackin Rule.”

McMackin, who coached the Rainbow Warriors (2008-2011) until his banquet night ouster, still holds the record for the highest annual salary ($1.1 million) of any state employee.

The fact that McMackin, who had no Division I head coaching experience, landed the five-year, $5.5 million bonanza in the wake of June Jones’ 2008 departure and eventually received a $600,000 buyout of his final year of the deal, prompted regents to take more hands-on oversight of lucrative athletic contracts.

The depth of that oversight has become a renewed topic of discussion among regents and UH administrators. With an eye to the future, they want, by way of amendment, an unambiguous policy in place the next time they are confronted with a proposal to extend a coach’s contract or raise a salary above current ceilings.

One that needs to balance both timeliness and consensus if it is to be effective.

Though their names were not part of the discussion, football coach Nick Rolovich, who is contracted to make $450,000 this season, and men’s basketball coach Eran Ganot, whose contract calls for in excess of $300,000 a year, hold the two most lucrative coaches’ contracts at Manoa.

The “McMackin Rule” requires regents’ approval for “appointments and re-appointments for coaches exceeding three years in total duration … and salary adjustments for coaches exceeding the salary schedule by more than 25% and/or exceeding $500,000 annually.”

Until recently, “regents’ approval” has meant: “Upon recommendation of the chancellor and president, the chair and vice chair of the board or an alternate regent designated in place of a vice chair, approval …”

But some regents and UH officials have sought a clearer line established and wider participation by the board.

When McMackin was awarded his record-setting deal, UH had an outgoing president, a new chancellor, an interim athletic director following the firing of Herman Frazier and an urgency to replace Jones less than a month after the Sugar Bowl appearance.

Some regents said they feel the full 15-member board should be consulted when proposed terms exceed the current limits. Others said that approval by designated board representatives — the chair or a vice chair and head of the Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics or vice chair designate — would suffice. A proposed amendment could go up for a vote of the full board as soon as next month.

Regent Stanford Yuen noted the more streamlined process the better, saying “The thing is time is of the essence (in these situations).”

UH President David Lassner told the board UH could be rendered “extremely non-competitive” compared to competing peer institutions if the athletic director had to make an offer contingent upon approval of the full board that could, potentially, require, “two or three months, depending upon if it has to go through a committee on to a full board meeting which, depending upon the month of the year, might be quite far out.”

But regent Simeon Acoba said, “With due respect, we have more than just the hiring of a coach involved. We’re talking about spending a half of a million dollars for one position. I really don’t see the problem with communicating with the board. We’ve done it in the past without having to convene a whole board.”

Long after he coached his last game in a 29-25 stay at UH, McMackin is still a force at the school.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820