It's been over two months since the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa had a full-time athletics director.
On Nov. 19, 2024, it was publicly announced by UH that Craig Angelos was being removed as the school's AD, citing performance, in a move that polarized the school's fanbase.
Angelos served his last day on Dec. 1, with Lois Manin serving as the acting AD since Dec. 2.
David Lassner served his last day as UH's president on Dec. 31, a move that had been in the works since he announced his retirement in September 2023.
Enter Wendy Hensel, who was approved as the new UH president in a Board of Regents meeting last October. After officially beginning her tenure on Jan. 1, the pending permanent athletics director hire has been one of her most publicly anticipated moves.
Hensel stated in January's Board of Regents meeting that she's not in a rush to fill the position. She shared similar sentiments in an interview Friday with Aloha State Daily.
“(It is) much more important to get the right person in the position than to do it instantaneously, if you will,” she said. Hensel said the university has sought proposals from search firms, which are expected to come in “within the next few weeks,” then will hire a firm and announce the search committee.
In the days following the announcement of Angelos' removal, Manin publicly stated that she would not seek the full-time position. Prior to her role as acting AD, she was the de facto No. 2 in the department as the associate athletics director for internal operations, as well as chair of the Senior Women Administrators for the Big West Conference.
In her first official day as acting athletics director, Manin gave UH head football coach Timmy Chang a one-year contract extension through 2026. At the end of January, Manin extended women's head volleyball coach Robyn Ah Mow through 2027. Ah Mow, who took over in 2017, has not missed an NCAA Tournament.
Hensel's timeline for filling the position means it is highly unlikely for a new AD to be in place by the time the UH men's basketball season ends. The Rainbow Warriors, who have lost five of their last six contests, are currently 13-11 overall and 5-8 in Big West Conference play, with two of their wins coming against Life Pacific of the NAIA and another against Division II Hawaii Pacific.
Men's basketball head coach Eran Ganot, who guided the program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory in 2016, has not led UH back to the big dance since his debut season. Ganot has gone 169-113 at UH, but observers of the program believe things have gone stale since the team's tournament run nine years ago. At seventh place in the conference standings, the 'Bows are currently clinging to one of the last spots in the eight-team Big West Tournament, set to take place from March 12-15 in Henderson, Nevada.
Ganot's teams have finished .500 in conference play four times during his tenure, but never below. The 'Bows are currently three games below that mark with seven regular season games left.
Hawai‘i is set to join the Mountain West Conference as a full-time member in the summer of 2026, with an uptick in quality of conference competition looming as far as basketball is concerned. Of all 33 conferences, the Big West closed the 2023-2024 season with a Warren Nolan NET Rating of 16, while the Mountain West was No. 7.
Following the 2024-2025 season, Ganot will have one season remaining on his contract. In the world of college athletics, a head coach having one year left on a deal is viewed as decision time one way or another.
When asked about a timeline for filling the athletics director position, Hensel said late summer is “probably the most realistic.”
“But we’re going to do it in a way that, again, allows transparency and good decision making,” she told ASD. “It will take as long as it takes, but we certainly are moving it as quickly as we can.” Hensel said the university is looking for “excellence and knowledge of the changes in collegiate athletics that are taking place almost daily in terms of name, image and likeness, and revenue sharing. We need somebody who understands that world and can take us to the next stage of excellence as a DI program.”
Hawai‘i's new athletics director will also have to pick a replacement for head softball coach Bob Coolen, who will retire following the 2025 season after 34 seasons at the helm.
Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com and Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
