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As the University of Hawaii navigates its sports future, it should consider the X factor.
The third incarnation of the XFL, which does not even kick off until next February, is yet another pro football league seeking to complement the National Football League. Others have tried with moderate to zero success.
There have been alternative football leagues that played in different segments of the calendar.
There are leagues that play indoors.
The World League of American Football, which was played in Europe, morphed into NFL Europe, and then into oblivion.
The World Football League, which did not last two full seasons, had a Hawaii franchise called the Hawaiians.
The 1980s USFL — which featured June Jones as the Denver Gold’s offensive coordinator and Donald Trump as the New Jersey Generals’ owner — disbanded after “winning” an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL but was awarded only $1 in damages. (Per federal precedent, the judgment was trebled to three bucks.) This year’s USFL — no relation to the three previous namesakes — plays all its games in Birmingham, with the playoffs in Canton, Ohio.
The 2020 XFL was shuttered after five weeks, as not even showman Vince McMahon could save the league from the pandemic’s financial roundhouse.
The new XFL, similar to some other pro leagues, has television deals in place and a tie-in with the NFL. But the difference is it also has Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — a movie star and iconic wrestler — as a co-owner and the face of the league.
Only Johnson could turn a tryout for a league that has yet to sign a single player into a widely attended media event and possible behind-the-scenes documentary. Saturday’s XFL Showcase was held at McKinley High, where Johnson’s football dreams were conjured on a field that once was covered with patches of grass and used for the annual Hawaii State Farm Fair. Johnson told players and reporters about his deep ties to Hawaii — his father and grandparents were local wrestling legends — and that maybe, possibly, if things work out down the proverbial road, expansion could lead to Honolulu. Sometimes improbable dreams come true. After all, Chick-fil-A is coming to Hawaii.
Whether the XFL sizzles or fizzles, the main thing is it has a specific plan. And that should serve as a model for UH athletics, which has found success — and stagnation — under audibled circumstances.
UH has a lucrative pay-per-view deal. And its football team has a charismatic and accommodating leader. Timmy Chang has boosted the Warriors in his 156 days as head coach at his alma mater. He c0mpleted the 2022 recruiting class; implemented schemes in the spring; secured 2023 commitments, including four this past weekend; spread the “Braddahhood” culture into the community; and assisted his wife, Sherry, in creating a women’s football clinic for the “Sistahhood.”
But the landscape has changed in the past 18 months. In December 2020, the Warriors were essentially evicted from their home of 45 years when Aloha Stadium shut down spectator-attended events because of structural and safety concerns. A marketing gap opened, with student-athletes now free to cash in on their names, images and likenesses. The 12-team Mountain West, of which UH is a football-only member, is scrapping the divisional formal, meaning the Warriors are competing against 11 other programs instead of the five schools in the Pacific time zone.
UH needs to follow the XFL’s path and publicize a plan. It begins with lawmakers cementing multi-year appropriations that will allow UH to set long-term budgets. And then UH needs to show how much it needs in donations to meet competitive needs, even if it calls for creating a fundraising-thermometer chart.
UH also has to show its plan for the Ching Complex, its temporary football home until a replacement for Aloha Stadium is built in Halawa. Financial constraints and chain-supply shortages led to Ching not expanding from 9,000 seats this year. But it would help recruiting and the fan base to preview what seating capacity will be in 2023 and beyond. An artist’s rendition would be helpful. It does not have to be an actual depiction – situations change, after all — but there needs to be an image of the dream.
UH still needs help — to balance budgets, to compete against programs with better facilities and NIL support, to deal with fickle lawmakers. Right now, UH’s athletic future is between The Rock and a hard place. A plan would be a start.
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