The University of Hawaii stumbled through the hiring of a new head football coach in an undignified public display that did not at all befit an institution of higher learning.

Yes, it happened in the sandbox that is college sports, where things unfold loudly in living color, and tend not to seem as dead serious as they would in, say, the law school. Except that in Hawaii, they are. Dead serious. And more resonant with this island community, eager to weigh in with myriad opinions.

The UH Rainbow Warriors are the closest we have to professional sports and thus magnified in our hearts and minds. It was fated that all eyes would be on the potential second coming of the most successful coach in UH history.

June Jones took the team from a zero-win season in 1998 to an all-win regular season in 2007 and the Sugar Bowl. Even after a decisive bowl loss, followed by Jones’ abrupt departure for a $2 million annual contract at Southern Methodist University, the man remains a legendary figure here. He was known for the way he could connect with players, boosters and team sponsors. Many fans thought he was the one with the juice not just to lead the team, but to secure the building of a new stadium, safeguarding the program’s Division I status.

Athletics Director David Matlin would have to be oblivious not to consider the optics of every step in this process. Yet when everything blew up, after Jones went public with his spin about being poorly treated during a 30-minute negotiation session Friday, it was a surprisingly hostile spokesman, Dan Meisenzahl, who took point the next day. Meisenzahl actually used the word “pilau” to describe Jones’ behavior, then cast aspersions on his character.

That did not go over well. Not just what was said, but the fact that the words came from a UH spokesman. If anything, it should have been Matlin, as the ranking leader in the room where it happened, to stand front and center and account for what unfolded.

As it was, those comments sat for three days, until Matlin held a news conference Tuesday. Wisely, he did not escalate the situation, but offered an apology to the Warrior world and to Jones for things uttered and misunderstandings wrought. He admitted he should have been more accessible once news broke that Jones was not getting the job, but he was tied up working on his “Plan B” — nailing things down with the actual new head coach, Tim Chang.

And Meisenzahl took the proverbial bullet for what was said Saturday: “If I could have a do-over I’m sure there were a lot of things I would have said and done differently.”

A conciliatory Matlin on Tuesday said he knows that Jones “bleeds green” and that he sincerely thought they might have come to a coaching agreement if they’d been able to keep talking. He also noted that Jones shook his hand and wished him well when he left, and there could still be a role for him with the team.

The he-said/he-said probably could go on, but let’s close this ugly chapter and turn to what matters: The tenure of new coach Chang and all the student athletes whose futures are tied to the validity of the UH program. Jones has wished Chang well, as do many fans, and the school clearly stands behind the former UH quarterback — who unfortunately is starting out at a disadvantage thanks to all these missteps, not of his doing. And that comes on top of inheriting a football team and recruiting prospects all in disarray.

We are past the point of debating who would be the better coach — Jones or Chang — and the team’s performance will determine that anyway. What is at stake here is the reputation and viability of the program in the short- and long-term, on a national level. With Aloha Stadium gone, UH’s future as a Division I program is not assured. If that status is what we want for our team, we need confidence that the so-called leaders at the top have the resilience, the know-how and the proper demeanor to secure the path.