Athletics
Irvin dreaming big things for campus
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
Dexter Irvin
by Kevin Jakahi
Tribune-Herald Sports Writer
Published: Saturday, October 31, 2009 8:00 AM HST
Editor's note: This is the last in a two-part series.
Dexter Irvin describes himself as a better builder than a maintainer.
The first-year University of Hawaii at Hilo athletic director is one to dream big, even when reality suggests cupboards will likely remain bare for the foreseeable future in the state's economic downturn.
His big dream?
An on-campus multipurpose facility, like a mini-sized Stan Sheriff Center, which seats 10,031 in air-conditioning comfort and cost over $32 million to build in 2002.
There are probably a million steps for the Vulcans to have their own state-of-the-art facility, and one of the first in Irvin's mind is moving basketball games from antiquated Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium to UHH Gym.
He's looking to stir up the student body and prove a point with what he hopes are overflowing crowds: UHH needs a bigger home of its own.
"We've intentionally ignored the student body for a while," Irvin said. "We need to recapture that enthusiasm and really build a home-court advantage."
He quickly added that he's only planting a seed, not thinking about drawing up construction plans at this very minute and breaking ground in a year or two.
"That won't happen overnight by any stretch of the imagination," Irvin said.
Still, when that idea winds its way through the slow-turning wheels of the state Legislature, a detractor or two or a dozen may point out that UHH already has a 3,000-seat arena: the Civic.
Someone might argue that shuttle buses could drop off UHH students at the Civic and return them to their dorms, saving state money and spending it elsewhere, for example, on school teachers.
"I know there's a need for teachers and hospital beds, but we're hoping to send a message to Honolulu if we pack the place, then we need to build a sense of our own home-court advantage," Irvin said. "And we've got to have it on-campus. I think the economy will turn around. And I'm not saying the shuttle is a bad idea. But I think we need to provide balance for the community and the state.
"This is the only university of the seven I've been at where there's no student-athletic fee. That would be one reason for the on-campus facility. And it wouldn't be just for athletic use, but intramurals and recreation.
"I'd love to have a turf field for intramurals. Because where are students going to play? On our field. A turf field will cost $1 million. I know what it costs because I just did one (at Dixie State)."
The UHH grass soccer field is adjacent to the Vulcan softball stadium. The field is expected to be ready by next year.
At his old school, Irvin acknowledged that Dixie State's 5,000-seat football stadium rarely goes over 2,500 in attendance. And that's pretty much the case with Hawaii teams in the Pacific West Conference.
He's seen the facilities at Hawaii Pacific and Chaminade, which play basketball and volleyball at high school gyms. The HPU men play their basketball games at 8,000-seat Neal Blaisdell Arena, but often in front of only a few hundred fans.
Still, Irvin's determination helped Dixie State stand on its own two feet.
He was the women's basketball coach for the Red Storm from 2001 to '05. Apparently, that competitive nature carried over when he became an administrator, which may explain his success at the Utah school.
"The state paid for some salary, but we covered the rest," he said. "We took care of our operating expenses. We had corporate sponsors, attendance, student fees and football. We got guarantees for football."
In a wide-ranging interview, Irvin also talked about his expectations for student-athletes and coaches, the status of interim coaches for women's basketball, soccer and softball, UHH women's golf and men's tennis -- two sports on the chopping block -- and recruiting.
Expectations
"I expect our kids to go to class and act with class," Irvin said. "I expect them to graduate and finally I expect them to be exceptional in effort in everything they do.
"For our coaches, I expect them to make sure our kids do those things."
As far as benchmarks on the field, Irvin said he's not tallying up wins and losses. At least not yet.
"At some point we will, when we have resources," said Irvin, whose Dixie State teams won four junior college championships, including two in women's soccer (2000 and '03), men's basketball (2002), baseball (2004) and a runner-up finish in football (2003).
But Irvin emphasized any accomplishment on the field, as long as he's the UHH athletic director, will always take a backseat to success in the classroom.
"When I was young, my mother made me practice piano and I hated piano," he said. "But I'm glad I did it because I can play the piano.
"Ten years from now, a kid will thank us for making them do those things, going to class."
Interim coaches
Daphne Honma has been the UHH women's basketball coach the past three seasons on an interim basis.
The position will be posted nationwide in January and the school hopes to have a coach in place by April. Irvin will chair a selection committee.
"We're going to look at all avenues, for the benefit of her and of the institution," Irvin said. "But any incumbent at any position, whether it's politics, has an advantage."
Cam Camarena has been the men's soccer coach for two seasons. This season is his first as the women's coach.
Irvin said he would like two separate coaches, but finances may dictate otherwise.
Gwen Kagaoan is the interim softball coach, taking over for Callen Perreira, who resigned in June after 20 years to take an assistant position at College of Southern Nevada.
The UHH job will be posted in February and the school expects to have a permanent coach in May.
Chopping block
UHH men's tennis and women's golf are not sponsored by the PacWest, making their season-to-season survival dependent on their fundraising efforts.
The women's golf squad is currently in-season. The men's tennis team's 2009-10 schedule hasn't been posted yet.
In May, UHH tennis coach Kula Oda was named the West Region Coach of the Year, after the Vulcans fought BYU-Hawaii for 5 1/2 hours in the West Regional, losing the last match and a spot in the national championships.
Before the season, Oda and his players hustled to raise $25,000 to save their season, earning, at least, a nod of approval from Irvin.
"I'm impressed with him personally," Irvin said of Oda. "But we're not ready to make an announcement. I'd like to have men's volleyball. But it comes down to how much we can have.
"Same scenario for women's golf. It's pretty much tied together. I want the Hawaii kids to have an opportunity to play."
Recruiting
"My philosophy is we need to recruit the state of Hawaii first," Irvin said. "Does that mean we always sign them? No. But that should be our first focal point and then we radiate out, not vice-versa."
He also noted that in some sports, such as basketball, there are only walk-on candidates at best for UHH. He's aware that there are hardly ever any 6-foot-10 prep players walking around on the Big Island.
Still, if there's one recruiting message the former Dixie State coach has for his UHH employees, it's this: sell Hawaii hard.
"It's a good place to be," Irvin said. "First of all, it's Hawaii. And I don't think we sell that enough. It's also a valuable education and a good school and a great community."