Arnold out — now what?
I’m sure by now everyone has heard the news that Hawaii basketball head coach Gib Arnold and assistant coach Brandyn Akana have been removed from their positions by the university.
Associate head coach Benjy Taylor is now the acting head coach, effective immediately. It’s unclear how long he will hold that position.
The team engaged in a closed-doors practice Tuesday evening. Players did not speak to the media going in or out. Taylor was the only coach present; first-year assistant Senque Carey has been out recruiting for most of the preseason.
“I still thought it was important for them to be in there and sweat a little bit, and get used to moving forward,” Taylor said afterward. “I’m sure tomorrow they’ll be some other frustrations and conversations with the kids, and I’m sure those might go on for a while. But as I told them, BYU-Hawaii could care less about what’s going out with us in the (closed-door) scrimmage on Saturday. HPU could care less about that next (in the exhibition next) Thursday. Certainly the teams coming in for the Rainbow (Classic), they could care less about anything that’s going on here. They want to get a win, and these kids want to win. We worked really hard for this program to get this particular team in place. We worked really hard to get this team in place. We’ll just have to see if we can get some things done.”
As of yet, UH has not specified why it has taken this action, or revealed what specific infractions the NCAA discovered that might have led the university to make these dismissals.
What was your reaction to the news today?
Brian: First, when heard. I thought , they must have CAUSE to fire Gib and let go of Akana. Now learning, second hand Gib learned, not face to face. Looking on TV news at Benjy’s reaction and players. ..devastating.. Without Cause, released.. You working for Star Advertiser, don’t know if you have mediator or Union member, you would question, if let go without Cause, you would want to Know REASON/S Why? Brian, I don’t think this is over, if Gib wants to pursue.. Would he mediate or litigate to retain HC job at least till end of this season. See how potentially great season turns out..Gib made mistakes, sure, however he and staff worked hard to get this team, probably his best together.
How come UH not wait for allegations come out first, or work with Gib, and explain what they MIGHT do, instead of saying, Without Cause, Goodbye.
If I were Gib.. might mediate or litigate..to retain coaching job.. Gib might be burned out by this.. However.. I wonder if Gib does, and he does, have a friend who is an attorney.. maybe can check, or with that private counsel, could he at least ASK UH and Jay, what was so wrong deserving of termination.. JUST BECAUSE.. I guess all of us, in world, we would be fired from our jobs, if JUST BECAUSE,,.. or Without Cause.. something is Pilau..
Rather expensive peace offering; however, if Ben Jay thinks that this will appease the NCAA then his naivete will cost UH dearly. His ignorance brought in the NCAA, without knowing the facts or the ramifications. Now, it’s his naivete in believing that firing the coach will cause the NCAA to “spare” UH. Apparently, the magnitude of damage to UH will be proportionate to his tenure. With UH’s financial crutch, it will be well into 2015 before a new coach is considered.
If you are going to run a dirty program, at least win some games and be successful like most dirty programs are and should be doing. UH, even clean, should blow away every conference opponent and win the conference every year undefeated. The Big West is embarrassingly and pathetically weak. Maybe now with a decent coach, or at least one who can cheat AND win too, they will have a shot of making the Final Four. I mean the final four of the conference tournament.
I’ll reserve judgment until more facts are released. But I have to say I don’t have much confidence that Ben Jay has handled this the right way, especially after hearing he didn’t even give Gib the benefit of a face-to-face explanation for the firing. It sounds like the UH administration is letting its lawyers tell them what to do… which is a recipe for having to spend more on lawyers.
At the risk of sounding naïve . . . sanctions were supposed to be doled out for whatever offense-that-does-not-affect-UNC-EVER-ever-ever-never-say-never-except-in-the-case-of-decades-long-UNC-stuffs. Instead, we get what? The “release” of the moderately successful Coach Gib? Notice the word “fire” doesn’t seem to be found in any of these recent reports.
Also observe:
• very strange with what coincided with this bombshell (two if you want to count by coaches) was none other than Riley Wallace’s interest in the head coach position (part II) probably even before GIb could call his loved ones and friends to let them know what happened. Riley’s immediate “interest” (tell a Grease if he has read that correctly) nearly rivals the immediate delineation of “down to the scintilla” information on Lee Harvey Oswald in newsprint ’round the world shortly after (“shortly after” being quite conservative) JFK’s timely demise. I’ll let the gallery judge the immediacy of the analogy.
• you think no program is banging on Gib’s agent’s door as we post? We all DID think he’d leave after that first year.
• does Jay have a spine, like a real Jay bird? Had my suspicions with this guy coming in. Then, when he, well, not caved in to the “Rainbow Warrior” label (yeah, how’s THAT working for the football team?), but cited
his crocodile tears-nessa li’l kid ostensibly pushing him toward his final decision, I knew this guy, instead, was going in the WRONG direction, which continues to this day. Maybe this wrong direction will lead him back to Ohio; and we can give him one last ohayooooo and sayonara.Is this supposed to have us look in the opposite direction of a Coach Chow’s knack for earning a losing record, Mr Jay?
Don’t count on it.
fired without cause? was not Arnold fired for the infractions of the basketball team? so how can it be without cause? something smells. there must have been some preliminary discussion between Arnold’s lawyer and BJ, an he gave in again – no cajones. if gib did something wrong and the NCAA uncovered it, then all the more there is cause. there “punahou” coaches are not too swift. one likes to break the rules just to win, the other cannot win no matter what. the punahou mafia should refrain from trying to influence the hiring of coaches at uh. the people they advocate are terrible.
Sheer idiocy by UH, including the AD. The NCAA now has most colleges scared silly, so they self-report everything, then self-sanction before you know what the violations are. Schools may be privy to the facts, but what are the violations.
No one in their right minds plea bargains by imposing sanctions before knowing what they are charged with. If penalty is too lax, trouble. If too stern, then you will look foolish. Guess they rather look foolish.
The NCAA is a corrupt, draconian organization with no sense of fairness. They certainly do not believe in due process, and they just bully you into submission with strong arm tactics. But, there is no one willing to call them on it.
The power 5 need to go their own way, and the rest need to form their own governing group. There used to be an AIAW, before they were subsumed by the NCAA. We need to get rid of these guys. Gee, who gets the money if they’re dissolved.
Think Gib will move on. UH obviously would not extend him in any event.
Relief of basketball duties with pay, retention of employee status through contract term (1/26/2015) and/or buyout of contract isn’t termination.
What good coaches in their right minds would even want the UH Baseball, Football or Men’s Basketball jobs, with all of the mishandling and political follies going on. It is getting worse. Wonder if BOR renews Ben Jay’s contract, what the heck is going on with UH Athletics and the powers that be..
Hey, how do you think the 200 plus or so young student athletes feel about this, the ones that Gib’s Give Back program, were going to have tickets to UH home game. Confused. Probably they too, go sheessh…What is going on? Brian, all sports programs,.. maybe 10-15 years ago, better, now,. downhill with Ben Jay and higher ups helping them to dissolve UH Athletics sooner than later.. unless they get things correct, This blindside of Gib.. low blow, sucker punch to gut. Pilau.
I can see terminating B. Akana from the basketball program as he was directly involved in the infraction(s) and I would have definitely suspended Arnold for the first semester or all of pre-season but to terminate Arnold is a bit of a stretch.
Jay should have reconsidered his penalties on Arnold and just suspend him but, if he said and the Chancellor said its for the good of the program, dept., and the school, then why the hell don’t they terminate Chow at the same time. Geezus, Chow has done more damage to the dept. with his incompetence than Arnold et. co.
Nothing more and nothing less.
I don’t know, UH upper, BOR and AD, they are becoming Dumb and Dumber..man you would think with all of their master’s degrees. Life lesson 101…get the facts, get it right, let person have their say… face up man to mouse(Ben Jay)… Now, UH Football who wants to attend.. I think UH MBB if team sticks together and really wants to make statement, can do well. You can see hand writing on the wall, UH in few years, under upper , BOR and AD will start to fall apart, if doing things bush league, non ethical, or professional, clueless.. it is becoming a JOKE.. of the country.. other universities, even in the BWC they are shocked their tweets and blogs.. maybe some penalties, however relieving a guy, just when he was about to have perhaps his BEST season, hit him in the groin. I tell you, this will come back to haunt Ben Jay, Athletic Dept, Upper and lower campus and BOR,,,, only in Hawaii at Manoa, great education, however not smart in handling athletics.. crazy, pupule.. auwe..
Brian…thanks for that long statement by Gib, just confirms what this forum is stating, UH AD and upper, BOR, they did not give Gib Due Process, just went ahead and did that Dumb and Dumber routine.. I wish Gib would go after them, litigate or mediate. I think he is just moving on. Hey, in regular world, aside from ncaa, you have more rights, and due process , a right for even the most blatant violent criminals.. Gib not even given Chance to face accuser. And cowardly BOR, upper, pres. Chancellor, and AD, man what a role model for UH students. stab a brother in the back.. UH athletics, right down the tube..and We get em.. Now what.. UH MBB wish they have great year… I feel for you Gib.. your passion.. never have you been charged with felony, crime, abuse i.e. Penn St., etc.. what the heck.. PILAU.. Ben Jay, pres. chancellor, and BOR, and the back stabbers.. sheets.. man..PILAU to the max..
this program will suffer some sanctions that the general public doesn’t really know about yet, I can guarantee you upper campus knew what is coming down .
And Gib is responsible ,he is the head coach ,he understands that. Now we have to rebuild what damages are about to come to fruition , hiring a new coach, no worry,there will be a Lot of applicants , good applicants , some in the same conference that have better game coaching ability than the recent regime.
Well, it WAS a firing, as Gib gave a statement (post-when a Grease said there is no mention of the word “fired,” yes, in early press releases) based on his firing. So a Grease stands corrected, and this little wrinkle apparently doesn’t apply. Let a Grease know if he is missing something, heluhelu.
Open note to Ben Jay: don’t EVER think that you are the same as the Asiatics and Polynesians and locals in this state just because you blend in better here than you did in O-ha-yuh.
You ain’t one of us, brah. You are just — as one or two posts above might have inferred, implied, or directly stated, — pilau.
#13. Are you kidding me? I would touch any coaching position at UH even if it paid $3 million. Not with this administration. They seem to think this will be enough to impose the NCAA as they have not proposed any other “sanctions.” If there is more coming, talk about doing things in stages. What are they trying to do? Propose Plan A and see if they get an informal reaction? Oh, not enough, then how about we add “X?”
Look at how UH has treated its coaches. Red Rocha, Bob Wagner, Riley Wallace, Dana Takahara-Dias, and now Gib Arnold. They announce this while Gib hasn’t been informed this was happening. Talk about stabbing someone in the back.
While he wasn’t technically “fired,” same result — relieved of duties,without cause, with full pay. So, no way to contest as they don’t need a reason — even if he did nothing. And, he has no right to an extension.
This is a “no class” university, with a total lack of any leadership. They have no idea of what it means to have class — even when you need to terminate a relationship. I am ashamed this is my university.
I hope when it is Ben Jay’s turn, they let him know after the press announcement by text message. Very personable, right?
jjay: If AD and admin didn’t know, no comment, and Gib did not know what coming down from ncaa, How do You Know? This lack of due process, it is almost comical, but sad… private counsel, make themselves available if that is the course for Coach.. think he has a good case.. Just My Opinion.
Transparency? No, jjay, Ben Jay, maybe guys above him, it is becoming a shipwreck of an athletic program… kill the premier Sport program, potentially for this year, or knock of the head and his assistant.. set them back..what good is that. and WHAT THE HECK ARE THE ALLEGATIONS… In court of law, or even in your own private company, HR.. this would not stand..thrown out and coach back in as HC… just My opinion.. Getting weirder by the day. Hope UH MBB finish strong and Coach fights back.. JMO.
#13. And did you see what Arnold said in his statement?
“I am aware of new NCAA legislation that all actions of assistants or administration fall upon the shoulders of the head coach, even if they have no knowledge of the situation. I strongly believe I deserved the right to address those allegations against my assistants or administration. I certainly don’t feel the NCAA changed this legislation so administrators can fire head coaches without cause.”
Gee, doesn’t it sound like UH fashioned their action to fit the new NCAA legislation that was not on the books when the events transpired, so they can see — “look what we’ve done. We’re nice guys.” Smells like a rat to me.
And, BTW, did you know the NCAA is now working on legislation to define what is “academic fraud” — after the fact, now that they know what UNC did? Think they’ll come up with a definition that will “soften” the sanctions on UNC? Stay tuned.
it’s obvious Arnold was thrown under the bus. by whom? Of course, Ben Jay pulled the trigger, but who ordered the hit?
Manoa athletics is mismanaged and incompetent. They are constantly in damage control mode for one screw up or another. It does not end with UHAD. That’s where it starts. The blame goes higher. They need to get it together.
BTW, nothing against Riley Wallace, but the program needs to move forward. Taking the easy path in football resulted in a cost conscious selection of Norm Chow. Now we are stuck unless we are willing to throw in more money for another buy out.
Ben Jay needs to earn his pay. Get a new basketball coach quickly and drop the shadow selection committee which amounts to nothing more than political hacks. Arnold built a program with talent. It got that right. It’s in Jay’s hands. If he screws the selection up, the blame rests squarely on him.
Big Question,will we ever know all the details ? Until then you must reserve judgement.
I feel that releasing Gib Arnold “without cause” puts him in a better position to seek new employment. I think UH did Gib a favor. Releasing Gib “for cause” would have compelled UH to release information that would have/might have been highly detrimental to Gib’s future coaching job opportunities. Remember, Ben Jay is the “loud speaker” for the University of Hawaii athletic program. I believe he did not come to this decision unilaterally, but was a path chosen after consultation with the lawyers specializing in NCAA violations and sanctions, UH President Lassner and other UH administrators. Their decision probably looked into all aspects, but in the end, they are compelled to look at the whole, rather than a single part. I believe it was a decision made for the University as a whole.
Not pono to not have a face to face meeting with Coach Arnold. It is very pilau and gutless. To the think the person who is being “fired” has to hear it from other sources first before getting a phone call from the administration. Another sad pitiful day for the UH administrative and Athletic Department.
Funny that Dana Takahara-Dias got mentioned here. Wasn’t she the one that got hired at UH because she was Gufi’s friend?
Remember, Gib had a lousy history before somehow* getting hired at UH. Actually, we know how: the “Punahou mafia” friends got him the job. Gib’s history: recruiting violations at USC, and dad was a big-time loser at UH too.
So, some people here are pretty clueless and don’t know why Gib didn’t even get the “courtesy” of a face-to-face meeting. I’ll give you a clue, since the obvious hasn’t jumped out to you yet:
Why does Gib deserve such courtesy? For too long, the old boys network has been meddling in UH business. Getting coaches hired at UH that had no qualifications. Finally, UH is hitting back, trying to break free from the stranglehold of the old shoguns who think they still can control power at UH.
This is shaping up to be a nice week. Goodbye Gib, goodbye Gufi Hannemann, goodbye the “good ol’ way of doing things in Hawaii” that stopped being good for the mass of people decades ago.
One person on this forum and others, say in kind way, the Without Cause, will allow coach to find another job, will be tough, I hope BWC coaches call him up, and maybe WCC, ST Mary’s Randy Bennett, since Gib can recruit, and they offer him assistant job, and primary recruiter, he being on West Coast he would like that. If hired by BWC, it would be hard to come to Hawaii to play.. See all the problems by The Rush To Judgement.. even that Legal team.. jumped the gun, WITH NO FACTS.. NO ALLEGATIONS.. if There Is A UH law professor or attorney that could chime in… I guess UH and NCAA are above protocol, and what should be done in Real World, according to the law, DUE PROCESS.
Pilau, this stinks, and decision.. Ben should have let Akana and Gib start season, and when letter of Allegation comes in, They have counsel and could defend themselves, lock UH in battle even legal system for years. and still be able to coach till resolved…. Fire coaches that win, although make mistakes, NOT FELONY, and support and keep, coach that wins 6 games in 2 3/4 years.. Dumb and Dumber.. We need a New AD.. for sure,..sadly after times of glory for Football,Baseball, MVB(in my mind they are still the National champs )and Basketball,… Now UH , AD and upper campus, chancellor taking the whole Athletics program down.. can be saved, They have to clean house, and do things proper..
Maybe it’s time athletics all ends in Manoa already.
SuperStar Advertiser….(You are getting blown away, comments wise.. we just talking about due process… wouldn’t you have grievance if you were not given..)
You are right, and very soon good bye UH president, goodbye BOR, goodbye Chancellor lower campus, And Goodbye Ben Jay…
Hey Star, keep Chow, Trap, who have had losing or still losing and dump Gib, without letting him know face to face.. maybe where you come from that is how it is done..That is not pono. Pilau.. to the max.
And if you want to clean house, the way you want, get rid of old boy network, …soon, because, Their is No Institutional control of UH Institution, running roughshod.. soon very soon, can be NO MORE ANY UH Athletics.. and I know a lot of the everday students, paying the high tuitions would be fine with that.
Hope your company, pono, if they are good, will meet you face to face, and let you know, work out deal, then move on.. Would have been really interesting, how would have played out, if Gib and Akana with their legal team battled UH and NCAA, I bet they would win some, lose some, however probably retain jobs.. UH Admin jump the gun..premature..
Fans, and general public not blind, the UH system, top to bottom, good research, grant school, good education and programs for Pacfic Rim studies degrees, however the Athletics and Admin. do not KNOW HOW to Run a Proper, Pono. Athletic program, they , I tell you tweets, blogs, forums, going viral, ?maybe, around the country, No grounds, buyout, no due process, at least let Gib be found guilty of serious, termination grounds, then let go. BWC coaches and Universities, they must be saying, boy UH is laughing stock, or most of the coaches, would say, I feel sorry for Gib and Akana , Hey let us strike back at UH, and Hire Them! CSUN, Irvine need two assistant coaches,…
stop with the Punahou mafia crap already. thats just a bunch of BS. Gib had nothing to do with the USC recruiting violations, so get your facts right. you can be a hater but don’t be a liar too.
this decision came down from upper campus, the board of regents. its not BJ’s doing. he’s just following orders. the way this was handled is shamefull. what a bunch of bureocratic cowards.
BEN JAY GOTTA GO!
HE IS NOT GOOD UH AND THE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT! He did not fire Arnold face to face (No guts), He told reporters that HAWAII is really tough to get good recruits because of Geography. Although true, he under mind our recruiting by GOOD recruits that are just looking at UH are now having second thoughts!
BJ and others must know something or got advice from that law firm that they hired for them to come to this decision. Best thing is to wait and see why this happened this including the team.
ha ha, AMEN to this! This so-called “Punahou mafia,” 1) sounds STUUUUUUPID; 2) doesn’t seem very effective in “implementing” people. Darn worse than the gang who couldn’t shoot straight.
Chicken Grease: Transparency, not true. Full disclosure, where? Fans, students, citizens, getting fed up. Not student athletes fault, even coaches, what accused of, Nobody knows. Why the secrecy. If they let be known June, that they were to terminate or part ways buy out with Gib, should have done then. Backwards. or okole backwards.. Not first class university athletic wise and administration, True, probably several former AD’s are puppets, controlled by upper campus , or BOR.. legislature, should look into Athletic, and higher up, the president, and the Chancellors, BOR.. something is very very wrong… Pilau. Auwe and the MBB team and fans, and families suffer.
Now FOTU out!!!!
This is just sad.
A responsible AD would fight back. Are you doing this, Ben Jay?
No matter how screwed up UHM administration may be (and I think we all agree they are and I think it all starts with the BOR), the student-athletes, these fine young men deserve our support! We need to let them know that this is NONE of their doing and the state of Hawaii stands with them and behind them as we face this uncertain time!
Don’t wait get a new head coach ASAP. It could be possible for the new coach to build a relationship with the players and we may be able to keep a couple. As we learned from the Bob Nash fiasco don’t start late so the new coach has an excuse for no recruits.