Athletics
Irvin shares his vision of the future for UHH
Sunday, November 1st, 2009
Connie and Dexter Irvin
by Kevin Jakahi
Tribune-Herald Sports Writer
Published: Friday, October 30, 2009 7:43 AM HST
Athletic director feels quick bond with the community
Editor's note: This is the first in a two-part series. Part two will run on Saturday.
Dexter Irvin is an easy guy to spot.
The first-year University of Hawaii at Hilo athletic director is usually shaking hands with someone at a game, or talking story, or trying his best to make a new friend.
Besides being approachable, he's pretty much an open book, and he let's you into his house with a back slap and a personal story, with a slice of home-spun humor.
"People ask me why I have six kids," he said recently at his UHH office, setting up a tongue-in-cheek punch line with a grain of truth. "It's because we couldn't afford seven."
The grandfather of 10, with wife Connie, is also self-deprecating.
"I'm an old, bald-headed, fat guy," he joked.
But best of all, he understands the meaning of aloha -- as valuable a skill set as balancing a budget in small-town Hilo. He even gets the terminology of pidgin.
"I have a greater understanding than most haoles," he said. "I grew up in a community like this in Kirkland, N.M. The native people were Southwesterners, Navajo Indians.
"They have the same passion and reverence for sports, life and culture as Hawaii people have. I'm trying to learn about things. Do I know everything? No. Can I learn more? Yes. What I want to do is the best for this institution and this island in the long-term. Those two can be symbiotic."
In a wide-ranging 90-minute interview, Irvin tackled several subjects, including priorities, bringing back the booster club, fund-raising, expectations, the move of basketball games to UHH Gym, sports on the chopping block and his big dream.
Priorities
"Priority No. 1 is organization," said Irvin, who instituted a dress code, requiring a collared shirt or UHH attire and shoes. "It was a dysfunctional organization with people doing other people's jobs.
"They were doing jobs that weren't part of their job description. They were trained to do something, but were doing something else."
For example, he pointed out that compliance personnel did things other than making sure student-athletes had eligibility for their particular sport.
"We've made it more efficient and we now have the concept of return and report," he said. "If you do a job, you report what you've done. People understand that you have responsibility and accountability."
Irvin said priority No. 2 is re-establishing ties with students and the community -- which Irvin is trying to reconnect with, especially with the long absence of the Vulcan Booster Club.
The dress code is part of new-look protocol, as well as under-the-radar duties such as answering the phone with proper decorum.
"Again, that's about being a professional," he said. "Answering the telephone, how you dress or returning phone calls. It's the same things you see at a bank or a business."
Priority No. 3 is fiscal responsibility for 13 sports on the NCAA Division II level, with Irvin holding the checkbook on a $3.5 million operating budget.
"That covers everything, including salaries," Irvin said. "To be great, we need another million a year to give our coaches and student-athletes the best chance to be successful.
"And it doesn't have to be all cash. It could be in-kind. (Donations like free advertising or beverage products.)"
Former UHH athletic director Bill Trumbo used to joke that all sports programs are swimming in red ink, except for a few five-star Division I schools but only those with big-time football, such as Ohio State, Florida or USC.
"When you budget and if you can make ends meet or come right below, you're fortunate," Irvin said.
Part of Irvin's plan is to take full advantage of the Hawaii exemption rule, which allows mainland teams, either in Division I or II, to play games in Hawaii and not have them count against their regular-season cap.
That's the main reason, the UHH baseball team, when it was in Division I, attracted brand-name schools like Arizona State, California, Florida State, Kansas, Oregon State, UCLA and Wichita State.
Irvin talked about giving bigger guarantees to mainland teams, rather than ponying up travel expenses for mainland trips -- with airfare, hotel and food costs draining the budget.
"We'd like to have more home games, because in the end we save money," he said. "But the thing about sports is the variables. You can plan for the cost of scholarships. But you can't plan for how much a hotel is or how much airfare is going to be."
Still, the men's basketball team -- the program's biggest cash cow -- has only 14 games at home and 12 on the road. Last year, there were 18 home games and nine road games.
Booster club
In 2002, the Vulcan Booster Club disbanded after 32 years of raising money for athletic scholarships and other programs.
Then-club president Harvey Tajiri said one reason for dissolving the club was an ongoing lack of support by the university system for UHH athletics.
Irvin is in the process of bringing it back under a new name, the Vulcan Athletic Club. The "hui" or supporters for each sport would fall under that umbrella.
"We've talked to most of the 'hui' and they're receptive," Irvin said. "You can still donate to individual sports and businesses are allowed to do the same.
"We want to make sure everybody gets something back, whether it's tickets, being part of the Hall of Fame or T-shirts. It's about sharing the aloha. That's what we really want to do."
Fundraising
In large part, Irvin was hired because of his fundraising capability. At his old school, Dixie State, his resume includes increasing fund-raising and in-kind contributions by over $500,000 annually.
Meanwhile, the state is in an economic downturn with furlough Fridays for school teachers and layoffs and foreclosures hitting people in all directions.
"It's been slow," Irvin said of his fundraising efforts. "Right now, we've got a finger in a dike.
"I'm meeting people and getting to know them. You can't knock on a door and just ask for money. You have to build a relationship first."
That said, his three-pronged Vulcan Athletic Club plan has boosters targeting individuals, corporate sponsorship seeking businesses and the high-end "legacy" division aiming at businesses, foundations and individuals for large gifts.
Aloha remembered
After rounding the bases on a variety of subjects, Irvin thought back to the welcoming reception held at UHH for him a couple of months ago. There was a flood of warmth sent his way.
It didn't make him think any differently. It only reinforced his decision to make Hilo his permanent home and last stop after a career that's taken him from New Mexico to Utah to Hawaii.
"I've never had a reception like that," he said. "There was so much energy and you just want to return the aloha to people. You can't help but being moved by that.
"I'm in this for the long haul. I'll be here as long as they want me."