The often-told analogy involves a now-former Hawaii basketball coach’s halftime speech.
Believing the opponent expected UH to change tactics, the coach decided not to make any moves. To which a wise-acre player said: “You mean our plan is to do nothing?”
UH ended up winning, reinforcing the thought that sometimes the best plans are no plans.
It appears the status quo is the way to go involving three UH-related situations:
1. Ching Complex
UH’s on-campus football facility has been criticized for its scrunched seating, dearth of permanent bathrooms, and no-tailgating policy, among several complaints.
And when newcomers say, “Well, almost every Division I stadium has some form of bleacher seating,” that lacks the institutional knowledge that fans had individual seats for 45 years at Aloha Stadium. It would be like charging people for WiFi if they had not paid for it previously. Genies never want to go back into the bottle.
But for Saturday’s football game against Colorado State, a visiting reporter and CSU administrator offered a different perspective. CSU has one of the best football facilities in the Mountain West, with clubs for boosters and school leaders, stadium-like seating in meeting rooms, spacious locker rooms, and a sports-performance center. And, yet, the two visitors marveled at Ching’s intimate setting. They liked the view, particularly Diamond Head as a backdrop; close parking and Karen Keawehawaii’s extended version of “Hawaii Pono‘i.”
No tailgating is a problem. But would it be a better game-experience to eat in a five-level parking structure?
The Ching Complex offers food trucks as an eclectic alternative and the convenience of permanent restrooms next to the beer stand. And if there are exciting finishes — such as the final minute of the UH-CSU game Saturday and state’s Open Division championship a night earlier — few will be sitting on the metal bleachers, anyway.
While waiting for Aloha Stadium’s replacement to be built, there might not be any more changes needed for Ching.
2. Football future
With conference realignments the past year, there was was growing concern about UH’s football future, particularly as a football-only member of the Mountain West.
But MWC commissioner Gloria Nevarez eased concerns when she enforced the buyout clause for teams wishing to depart the 12-team league. The pricey buyout kept San Diego State from bolting. As it turned out, it saved the Aztecs from potentially leaving to a depleting Pac-12.
When all the lawsuits and appeals are settled, it appears the two remaining Pac-12 schools — Oregon State and Washington State — will form a two-year alliance with the Mountain West. It won’t be a merger, for now, but it will reduce each MWC team’s conference schedule from eight games to seven, with the eighth game to be filled as a nonconference matchup with OSU or WSU.
There also is an implied promise all MWC teams would be included in any future merger. The hope is UH will remain in good standing while standing still.
3. Personnel
Former UH head coaches Fred vonAppen and Norm Chow were sharp-eyed shoppers who changed the menu too often. They brought in talented players but had a different offensive coordinator in each year of their three-year tenures. (During Chow’s run, one OC did not last through the offseason.)
Stability is important in a team’s culture, relationships and work environment. Injuries and a challenging schedule impacted the first half of Timmy Chang’s second season as head coach. But it appears the Rainbow Warriors figured it out in winning three of the final four games. It would be nice if they could retain that stability of synergy.
