If it seems like the University of Hawaii went through this process quite recently, it’s because it did.
UH president Wendy Hensel wasn’t here yet, so hopefully she is getting sound advice on how to hire an athletic director from those who were when Craig Angelos was chosen to replace David Matlin less than two years ago.
They can tell her a lot about what does not work best.
Manoa hired Angelos after much consternation over the process — first from prominent student-athlete alumni and later the Board of Regents.
The choice by now-retired university president David Lassner was approved by the regents on May 18, 2023, but not unanimously. And some regents said they approved the selection of Angelos with hesitance because it looked like it was made in secrecy.
Angelos’ name was the only one given to the regents, and the others provided to Lassner by a search advisory committee were not released to the public. All that was known was Angelos’ name was among three to five given to Lassner by the committee.
We are often told names are not released because it might put candidates in a bad spot with their employers, and it limits the applicant pool. I get that at a certain level and understand every situation is different. But think about it a little: In general, would you really want to hire someone who keeps secrets from their boss?
The situation was further complicated by Manoa not having its own chancellor. If UH Hilo hires an AD, the chancellor makes a choice approved by the UH president. When the president makes a hire above a certain pay level, the BOR has to approve it, and anything on the BOR agenda must be publicly posted for six days — these were six days that Angelos was known as Lassner’s choice, but he was told not to talk to media, and regents were told not to discuss him as a group before their scheduled meeting.
That was just the end game in 2023.
The circus started with the selection of the selectors. OK, these are typically called “search advisory” committees, and they technically don’t make the hire. But their recommendations often go a long way toward it (especially for a new president with little experience with Division I athletics, like Hensel).
When the committee to help Lassner choose Matlin’s successor was announced, an outcry ensued over its lack of diversity. More specifically, regarding ethnicity, there was no Black and very little Polynesian representation among its seven members. Regarding specific sports, people with expertise in the two that can bring in the most consistent revenue — football and men’s basketball — lacked representation on the committee.
Nearly 30 former UH student-athletes, all well known, including Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, signed a letter protesting the lack of racial diversity. The letter included a “demand that (the committee) be expanded to represent the Brown and Black athletes and give a voice to the alumni — that is also not fully represented.”
To its credit, UH acknowledged the under-representation and added Ashley Lelie to the committee. Lelie is a former UH football star who is Black; also, the former NFL player was enrolled at UH in 2023, working on a master’s degree.
This time around, they’re much closer to getting it right the first time.
Artie Wilson, a leader of the 2023 protest, is on the 10-member committee to help find the new AD. Wilson, who is Black, is a former Rainbows basketball and baseball player and now a successful Realtor who has made Honolulu his home since the 1970s. He also hosts a weekly radio show that focuses on UH sports, especially basketball.
Several committee members are of Hawaiian ethnicity, including Punahou athletic director Reydan “Tita” Ahuna and UH soccer coach Michele Nagamine. Ahuna starred on UH’s 1987 national championship volleyball team.
BOR chair Gabriel Lee is co-chair of this committee, which should help prevent the issues the regents had last time.
I am certain no one on this committee played or coached football at UH recently. That’s where this group will need help if it is going to ask relevant questions of potential athletic director hires about how they envision the College Football Playoff, the lack of a legit stadium, and other football-specific issues affecting UH. Some transfer portal and NIL issues are the same from sport-to-sport, but the sheer numbers related to football creates some unique challenges.
No doubt everyone on this committee is well connected. But the lack of a member from the current day or at least recent UH football realm is glaring.
UH has hired a national search firm, too. Hopefully, that helps, but one thing we’ve learned about those groups over many such situations is they don’t always get it about how Hawaii is unique.
One last thing, for now: The BOR has a student member. Shouldn’t this committee include a student-athlete, maybe even the student body president, too?
Well, it’s still a lot better than last time, and, yes, the larger committees are, the less efficient they tend to be.
It is nice to know someone at the university has a thinking cap on and asked Wilson to serve. Also, this sentence was at the end of the list of committee members announced last week:
“An ex officio advisory group of UH Manoa student-athletes and staff will also be named soon and will have the opportunity to meet with finalists to provide input on the selection.”
