Thursday, September 3, 1998
Like old times
for UH
Ex-'Bow coach Dick Tomey
can relate to Fred vonAppen's early
struggles at HawaiiSPECIAL: RAINBOW FOOTBALL PREVIEW
By Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinFred vonAppen strided purposefully across the Aloha Stadium turf that Dick Tomey helped plant more than two decades ago.
The University of Hawaii head coach wanted to discuss an article he read on the Internet yesterday morning.
The column, which originated from a Tucson, Ariz., newspaper, revisited frustrations vonAppen has talked about since arriving here in January of 1996. It also touched on similar situations Tomey and his staff experienced in Hawaii.
Game coverage
on the Internet tonightStories and photos from tonight's Arizona-Hawaii game will be posted here immediately after the game. Check back later! This was the perfect diversion for vonAppen. The third-year head coach has spent so many hours preparing for today's game with No. 24-ranked Arizona that he needed to think about something else.
He had placed all those problems on a back burner, preferring to throw a little something together for his players on the field. Not a bad choice.
But after reading how Tomey and Bob Wagner were articulating his rage, it was all vonAppen could do not to pull his 30-point plan from his back pocket.
"The same kind of problems have existed for 20 years," vonAppen said, shaking his head in amazement. "It makes you wonder if anything will ever get done here."
What's even more amazing is how much Tomey and Wagner accomplished in their back-to-back coaching campaigns that stretched across 19 years (1977-95).
Tomey took a program two years removed from its first nationally televised game, introduced it to the Western Athletic Conference in 1979, did a good enough job to be named the boss at Arizona in 1986 and is now the dean of coaches in the Pac-10.
VonAppen can only hope his fortunes will run as high, but he often wonders if it's in the cards. These days, the program has fallen under a dark star. It's a good afternoon when something catastrophic doesn't drop by to pay a visit.
"I think the first year was spent finding out what everything is all about," vonAppen said. "You come in with a lot of ideas, a lot of things you want to implement instantaneously, and it's just not possible.
"The thing you have to remember is, it's fine to compromise, but not fine to be compromised. If you're being compromised, you have to decide if you're willing to accept that and let the chips fall where they may. Or make a stand and say, 'That's not going to work.'
"We've made some measurable progress in a lot of areas, but the one we're most interested in now is winning games."
VonAppen has only five victories in the course of two seasons. Tomey, whose 63 wins here are the most of any UH coach in modern history, was 11-11 in his first two years.
One of his 11 losses was to Arizona in the 1977 finale. He also suffered through the humiliation of a 56-10 shellacking at Nebraska and the exhilaration of almost upsetting No. 2-ranked Southern California to close out 1978.
"I have fond memories of what we did here in Hawaii," Tomey said. "There were some difficult times, but you kind of look back on those as growing experiences."
VonAppen has certainly grown older and wiser in his nearly three years of learning the intricate political landscape of the islands.
He sees what this program could be, and doesn't understand why other people in the Rainbows' athletic department don't share a similar vision.
"I like the people here and the opportunity," vonAppen said. "I will either succeed or fail, which is what happens in this business.
"I'm not fearful of either one. We'll give it the best shot we've got and try to make this thing as competitive as we can make it.
"There are a lot of circumstances around us we can control and a lot that we can't. That's the way it is. This has been a marvelous experience and I'd like it to continue until I decide to enter the hammer throw in the senior Olympics."
Still, it's a long way from a big-time program such as Arizona's. The Wildcats signed a five-year, $7 million contract yesterday with Nike Inc., for uniforms, equipment and footwear for 15 of the school's 18 athletic teams.
The university will receive approximately $1.4 million in cash and merchandise each year of the deal, which also includes a contract that pays the Arizona coaches $435,000 in salary and $100,000 for student services.
The Hawaii football team has contracts with Nike and Starter, although not as extensive as Arizona's. VonAppen would like to strike similar deals, but for that to happen, the Rainbows must become a more attractive commodity.
"What Dick and Bob accomplished here was wonderful, but the landscape has changed somewhat since then," vonAppen said. "We've got to get this thing turned around and show prospective conferences on the mainland that we're a viable product.
"We can't afford to have only 20,000 people show up for the Arizona game. All those empty seats won't look good on television, especially for the opener.
"I believe we can make it work here, but it's going to take a total commitment from everyone involved. Dick and Bob built this thing up. We need to get back there to where it was, and then move forward."
University of Hawaii offensive lineman Andy Phillips was released from Queen's Medical Center after tests came back normal, team physician Andy Nichols said yesterday. UH's Phillips
Star-Bulletin staff
released from hospitalPhillips suffered an arrhythmia during Monday's team meetings.
"Fortunately, all of the test results were completely normal," Nichols said in a release. "We released him today, but he still needs to undergo a treadmill test (this morning.)."
Rainbows head coach Fred vonAppen said before yesterday's practice that it was good news. He said Phillips would be kept out of today's season opener because he was still on blood thinners.
"Hopefully, we can have him back for the next game, but ultimately, the only thing that counts is 'Big Red' is feeling better," vonAppen said.
Rainbow football
Records: Hawaii (0-0) vs. Arizona (0-0)
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
