UH-Hilo athletic director Pat Guillen finally has a general answer for a question of the day that comes his way every day.
When are the Vulcans going to play?
Light — in the form of a substantive plan — can be seen at the end of UHH athletics’ long, darkened tunnel Thursday after the Pacific West Conference announced it’s set to end a 10-month coronavirus-induced blackout. Men’s and women’s basketball will get the ball rolling with pod play starting the third week of January, and the bevy of sports slated to follow could create a new form of March madness.
“We have a framework,” Guillen said. “I hate to say we’re definitely moving forward. Who knows what tomorrow holds?”
If the status quo holds, Kaniela Aiona will make his long-awaited debut as men’s basketball coach the week of Jan. 18 in Honolulu against either Hawaii Pacific or Chaminade.
“I’m really happy for the program and the current players, who had their season end in a weird way last season,” Aiona said. “This gives them some optimism and something to work toward. It’s really hard to execute a plan when you don’t have a end date.”
Guillen said schedules could be finalized for the three PacWest pods — Hawaii, Northern California and Southern California — after a pair of meetings next week, and plans call for women’s and men’s teams to retain the traditional doubleheader format, this time playing a team on consecutive days. UHH’s teams could ship off to Oahu for four games in five days, two apiece against Chaminade and HPU.
Of course, Guillen now will face another pressing question.
Will fans be allowed at Vulcans home games?
As it stands, no, though that could change. Guillen said under the latest scheduling structure the Vuls aren’t slated to host basketball games until mid-February.
He said the restart plan approved by the PacWest’s executive board provided “a sense of relief” for Vulcans athletics.
“I am most excited for our student-athletes who now have an opportunity to do what they love and have trained so hard for,” he said.
According to a UHH release, a condensed PacWest basketball season will run seven weeks through the first week of March, with men’s and women’s soccer picking up in early February, and women’s volleyball following suit in mid-March. A pair of traditional spring sports, softball and baseball, would begin in early March,
A Hawaii pod for baseball would be limited to UHH and HPU, but the Vulcans are looking to fill the void by scheduling games against UH-Manoa.
Details for the spring championship sports of golf and tennis and well as cross-country – which is normally held in the fall along with soccer and volleyball – still need to be nailed down, said Guillen, adding, “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
He noted the California Collegiate Athletic Association, a member of the West Region along with the PacWest, has canceled its basketball season.
“I think the PacWest is definitely a step ahead and is going forward in a safe and responsible,” Guillen said.
If federal, state and county guidelines allow for it, he said there is still a possibility the UHH basketball teams could play on the mainland this season.
Either way, Aiona — whose team has been working out together for about a month — said the Vuls will be ready.
“The majority of work has been noncontact and in small groups trying to get our players back in shape,” he said. As far as full-bore practices, “we’re ready to go now. It’s nice to know we have a date. We’ll install what (systems) we need to install.
“I can’t thank our administration enough for their support.”
Let’s get it started
Expected playing dates for PacWest sports:
Basketball: Seven weeks from the week of Jan. 18 through the first week of March.
Soccer: Beginning of February through early March.
Volleyball: Mid-March through late April.
Softball: Early March through the end of April.
Baseball: Early March through early May.
Golf, tennis, cross-country: Details to be announced
