Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11

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Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11

Post by Scott »

Please post any questions for Mr. Donovan in this thread for the live chat that will start this morning. Thank you!
"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'."
- Yoda ('The Empire Strikes Back')

Mahalo,
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Re: Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11 *in 15 min*

Post by Scott »

Aloha Mr. Donovan, the 2009-2010 season for all of our sports look very promising, what's your take on it. Also are there any updates on the Wahine Basketball coach that you can share with us?
"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'."
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Re: Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11 *in 15 min*

Post by uhwarriors »

Now that the legislature is over, how has the athletic department fared? Which projects have been funded? Which one's were not?

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Re: Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11 *in 5 min*

Post by SunTzuWarrior »

How did the process change in scheduling future opponents for football change between the HF era and the JD era? Also is there a big difference between sports?
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Re: Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11 *LIVE NOW*

Post by Jim Donovan »

Good morning! Jim is in the house.....

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Re: Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11 *LIVE NOW*

Post by GARRISON »

What's some of your favorite sports movies? :D
Check out our latest short The WATCHGUARD

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Re: Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11 *LIVE NOW*

Post by wyokie »

Thanks for stopping by, Mr. Donovan.

My question is: what are your thoughts on scheduling more games against the Mountain West besides the ones UH has now with UNLV? I know UH has a series coming with BYU and you touched on Wyoming during the first chat ever on Sports Hawaii.

My question is more on New Mexico, Utah, Air Force, or San Diego State for example..

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Re: Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11 *in 15 min*

Post by Jim Donovan »

Scott wrote:Aloha Mr. Donovan, the 2009-2010 season for all of our sports look very promising, what's your take on it. Also are there any updates on the Wahine Basketball coach that you can share with us?
----------------------------------------------------

Scott -

All in all, we have had a decent year this past academic year... The football program making the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl after a 1-3 start was a great turnaround. Of course, the women's volleyball team getting to the elite 8 was outstanding -- and I expect this next year to be just as good. In addition, women's indoor and outdoor track is sending players to the NCAA post-season, women's diving was in the NCAA finals, our cheer team has received a couple of national awards this year, sailing is participating in their national finals, and most recently, women's water polo and men's tennis made it to the NCAA playoffs. We'll have to see how the baseball team does in the WAC playoffs before we know if they'll be in the NCAA post-season...

In regards to the women's basketball search, it's still in progress. Because of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concerns and State and University hiring policies, I just can't say much during the actual hiring process. I did get permission to state that there were 85 total applicants and I can tell you that the search committee has met to start reveiwing those applications. As soon as we're at a point where we can make an announcement or say something publicly about the process, we will. Sorry I can't disclose more -- you know I've tried very hard to be transparent in everything we do from budget to "self analysis" of our customer service levels, but on hiring and employee discipline issues, I just can't say anything publicly.

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Re: Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11 *LIVE NOW*

Post by blaase »

Hi Mr. Donovan my question is when do you think that the new Men's volleyball coach will be hired.
Also are the rumors about Charlie Wade applying true? Are any current D1 volleyball coaches applicants?
Last edited by blaase on Mon May 11, 2009 10:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11 *LIVE NOW*

Post by Kazz »

Aloha Mr. Donovan,

Thinking of what the "non-revenue" sports have accomplished towards the end of their respective seasons (Men's Tennis, Water Polo, Track and Field, Wahine Softball, etc..) what are the financial concerns with these programs with respect to the economy and the current state of the athletic budget?

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Kevin Kacatin
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Re: Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11 *LIVE NOW*

Post by wilderstreet »

Mr. Donovan, is holding the WAC baseball tournament a potential money maker or a break even type venture? Does the WAC subsidize it or do we pay for it all? It seems the costs for bring 6 teams over and housing them is very costly.

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Re: Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11 *LIVE NOW*

Post by Grandpa »

Hows the renovations at the stadium going and are we getting a new jumbotron?

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Re: Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11 *LIVE NOW*

Post by Kazz »

Mr. Donovan,

To be more specific with my previous question, recently the Wahine softball program has caught my attention. It is no news that over the 25 years they have been in existence at Manoa, there has been no admission to their games. Do you foresee this to be a problem in the future with futher funding the softball program? I believe there was at least one school that already "nixed out" their baseball and softball programs citing budget issues.

It would be a shame if some of our non-revenue sports would be eliminated due to economic issues considering the amount of success they all have achieved over the years on a national level.

Mahalo,
Kevin Kacatin
Pearl City, HI

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Re: Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11 *LIVE NOW*

Post by kalilix7 »

Mr Donovan,
I know that we are still reviewing possible replacements for the Wahine basketball team and The Kane Volleyball team head coaching positions, when do you expect to conclude the selection processes? It seems that the process has taken unusually long.

What are your expectations for next years Kane Basketball and Kane Baseball seasons (W/L or %)?
Last edited by kalilix7 on Mon May 11, 2009 10:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Chat with Jim Donovan 5/11 *in 15 min*

Post by Jim Donovan »

uhwarriors wrote:Now that the legislature is over, how has the athletic department fared? Which projects have been funded? Which one's were not?
----------------------------------------------------

uh warriors -

Well, as you may know this is a process that takes several steps over at least several months (sometimes even a couple years). That said, I think we received some tremendous support from the Legislature this year on our facilities issues.

About a year ago, the Clarence TC Ching Foundation made a commitment to donate $5 million to UH Athletics for the construction of the Clarence TC Ching Athletic Complex. The major condition to this donation was that the Athletic Department/University raise $5 million in matching funds -- and public funds from the Legislature was "allowable" to make the match.

It appears that this year's Legislature has appropriated $5 million to match the Clarence TC Ching Foundation gift. This is in large part due to the leadership in the House and Senate, and the men and women in those organizations that support UH Athletics. In fact, I've met with about 25 legislators since the start of the year and I can say that every single one of them is a true UH fan and wants to help when they can (but as you know this session was the most difficult fiscal situation the Legislature had faced since statehood, so anything they could do would be very appreciated).

In addition, it appears that the House and Senate have also appropriated $4.25 million to re-design and renovate our Nagatani Academic Center and the main women's locker room. Since the academic center was completed, we have added 3 additional sports programs so we just have too many student-athletes for the space that's currently allotted. As far as the main women's locker room is concerned, it has not had any repair, maintenance or renovation done to it since it was originally opened in 1981 -- and it was probably too small the day it was opened. We will have to raise $250,000 to match the $4.25 million the Legislature has appropriated -- so this total project cost would be $4.5 million.

Now we will have to work and get these construction funds released. The Executive Branch has been very supportive with several construction projects over the past year or two and I anticipate these funds will be released once we have one or two more State bond sales.

There are still more construction/renovation projects that need to be done and we'll be working with the Legislature, the Executive Branch and donors to make these become a reality.

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