Ben Jay, the University of Hawaii's athletic director has high hopes for all of his sports teams, and would love to see the school become one of the "Higher Resource Group", or a "have" in the widely divided haves/have nots in college athletics. Jay, who is in his second year as athletic director, fully admits that UH Manoa is lacking in resources and facilities compared to the countries elite athletic programs, and is turning the community, businesses and to the state for funds. Jay stated, "In football, we are not just recruiting against the Mountain West schools, we are competing against the West Coast schools, even for the top players in Hawaii," he said. "We need to update our facilities, renovate what we have in order to be competitive in the recruiting game.
One of his Jay's short term top projects is to create a dining room in the athletic complex for all student athletes. Jay mentioned, "I hosted our 4.0 (GPA) student-athletes at a dinner and, to a person, their big issue was no place to eat (in the athletic complex). They spend a lot of time down there with practice, at the academic center, in the training room, and there is no place for them to swipe their meal card and get a nutritious meal. When the student workout center moves to the new Campus Center, I can see turning that space into the student-athlete dining room."
As for long term projects, Jay added, "We have to start talking about a new (football) facility. We're not going to solve the issue with Aloha Stadium. (Manager) Scott Chan does a helluva job when operating within the system that was created, but he has to make money off the swap meet and off our (football program) assets to make his budget at a state-run facility. It's going to take a huge effort by all those who love University of Hawaii athletics, and I mean everyone, fans, businesses, the legislature and the university. We need everyone to pitch in if we do want to not just get to the next level but to stay competitive when we do."
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 1-27-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Principal Broker, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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