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THE WTF IS HE THINKING....
Hawaii endures, despite Brennan's complaints
By Dennis Dodd
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Hawaii's Heisman campaign for Colt Brennan is coming. In fact, it can't come soon enough. Right after the school is through refuting their quarterback's contentions that the facilities stink, campus parking police are bullies and scholarship checks don't cover the cost of living. This is how an NCAA-record 58 touchdown passes and national acclaim turn into accusations and a bit of national shame:
"When we were on the road (last season) and saw what Alabama had, you have no idea how intimidating that is," Brennan said, "when we come from not even having soap in our showers."
The quarterback made national news last week complaining to the Honolulu Advertiser about the lack of soap. That was for starters. He said shampoo bottles were recycled as soap dispensers, locker-room theft was a problem and that coach June Jones himself might not even be aware.
"He's never been to another college setting," Brennan told CBS SportsLine.com. "I don't think he has seen really what I've seen. I don't think he understands how bad it really was."
It was the kind of stuff that led briefs sections in newspapers and replaced potty talk on FM morning talk for a day. Brennan then went a lot further when contacted by CBS SportsLine.com. His voice carries because 1) He's a Heisman candidate and should have been a finalist last year; 2) Hawaii gave him a home after an incident with a female student cost him seven days in jail at Colorado and 3) He stayed for his senior year when he could have gone into the NFL Draft.
"When I came back," he said, "I wanted to do something special."
That depends on how you define special. Brennan's reputation might be rehabbed. His mouth is not. Reporters love him because he can't stop talking. It's the same reason AD Herman Frazier issued a point-by-point statement addressing Brennan's claims.
"Ever since I got here I noticed a huge dropoff in money and resources," the quarterback said. "It's just, they have no money. They were way over budget ..."Everybody is kind of in the same boat. The fans feel a little cheated. The players feel a little cheated, and the faculty feels a little bit cheated."
The soap? Replaced at least three times in the past year because of vandalism, according to Frazier. New dispensers were being installed the day after Brennan spoke out. A mechanical contractor reportedly offered to pay for a year's supply of soap. The Honolulu Quarterback Club started a soap drive.
Wait a minute, vandalism? Michigan or USC or Rutgers don't have a problem with locker rooms being trashed.
"I'm not going to throw our kids under the bus," said Frazier, who seemed to be indicating it might have been an inside job.
Frazier also said a computer facility for football players had been closed indefinitely because of vandalism and "improper computer usage." It is available, but by appointment only.
Facilities? A capital improvement project was started two years ago.
Parking?
"Colt, my man, I love you, but every student has to pay for parking," Frazier said.
Remember when UCLA's Cade McNown didn't? He was charged in 1999 with a misdemeanor after possessing handicap parking passes used to park free on campus.
All this, Colt, is part of being a scholarship athlete. Nobody said it was fair. All those helmets and jerseys you sign? You don't see any of the income. That $630 scholly check you received last year? Sure, it was $20 short of covering your monthly rent. That's why there is a group in California suing the NCAA over the true cost of attendance, which in Hawaii is a heck of a lot more than Manhattan, Kan.
The "vindictive" parking guards? Those of us who went to college have our own stories. Brennan said that Hawaii alums in the NFL don't give back to the school because, "when you leave here you feel so cheated and exploited."
Maybe, but there are millions of us out there who would have given our left arm to spend four years in Honolulu. We feel for what might have set you off, Colt. You said your car was broken into at your off-campus apartment -- on consecutive days. They got your wallet and golf clubs. Before that, you claimed to be a victim of identity theft.
"The only way that was possible is people went through my trash," Brennan said. "He's not giving me any money. That stirred my irritation level."
The kid knows that ultimately this is a recruiting issue. His comments might prevent the school from being able to land another Colt Brennan.
"In a heartbeat I'd still pick Hawaii," he said. "It's amazing Coach Jones is able to get the talent when the facilities look the way they do."
Oh boy.
That's not to say money isn't a problem at Hawaii, and pretty much everywhere in the WAC. Frazier told CBS SportsLine.com that his football budget is basically equal to that of Boise State's -- approximately $3.5 million. He also said the program finished in the black, which is huge considering air fuel costs alone from Hawaii to the mainland.
The problem right now is that Hawaii is too good. Few BCS conference teams want to play the Warriors after an 11-win season fueled by a high-powered offense. A trip to Hawaii is no longer considered a leisurely, automatic W. Since 2000, Hawaii has won non-conference games against Northwestern, Michigan State, Alabama, San Diego State, BYU and Arizona State. Last season it lost by a combined 11 points to Alabama and Oregon State.
Flying in the Warriors for a non-conference game could invite embarrassment. Frazier has only 12 games scheduled at this point (Hawaii is allowed 13). Michigan State bought out of a game for $250,000. Discussions with Michigan broke down.
Frazier has had to schedule two I-AA games, a severe blow to a program trying to become this year's Boise State. The highest profile games for Brennan to show his stuff on the mainland really aren't -- Friday night games at San Jose State and Nevada.
Brennan might deserve a trip to New York, but all that gives the notoriously cash-strapped Heisman Trophy folks every reason not to spring for his air fare.
"We would have paid for it last year," Frazier said, "just like we paid for the soap."
Hawaii endures, despite Brennan's complaints
By Dennis Dodd
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Hawaii's Heisman campaign for Colt Brennan is coming. In fact, it can't come soon enough. Right after the school is through refuting their quarterback's contentions that the facilities stink, campus parking police are bullies and scholarship checks don't cover the cost of living. This is how an NCAA-record 58 touchdown passes and national acclaim turn into accusations and a bit of national shame:
"When we were on the road (last season) and saw what Alabama had, you have no idea how intimidating that is," Brennan said, "when we come from not even having soap in our showers."
The quarterback made national news last week complaining to the Honolulu Advertiser about the lack of soap. That was for starters. He said shampoo bottles were recycled as soap dispensers, locker-room theft was a problem and that coach June Jones himself might not even be aware.
"He's never been to another college setting," Brennan told CBS SportsLine.com. "I don't think he has seen really what I've seen. I don't think he understands how bad it really was."
It was the kind of stuff that led briefs sections in newspapers and replaced potty talk on FM morning talk for a day. Brennan then went a lot further when contacted by CBS SportsLine.com. His voice carries because 1) He's a Heisman candidate and should have been a finalist last year; 2) Hawaii gave him a home after an incident with a female student cost him seven days in jail at Colorado and 3) He stayed for his senior year when he could have gone into the NFL Draft.
"When I came back," he said, "I wanted to do something special."
That depends on how you define special. Brennan's reputation might be rehabbed. His mouth is not. Reporters love him because he can't stop talking. It's the same reason AD Herman Frazier issued a point-by-point statement addressing Brennan's claims.
"Ever since I got here I noticed a huge dropoff in money and resources," the quarterback said. "It's just, they have no money. They were way over budget ..."Everybody is kind of in the same boat. The fans feel a little cheated. The players feel a little cheated, and the faculty feels a little bit cheated."
The soap? Replaced at least three times in the past year because of vandalism, according to Frazier. New dispensers were being installed the day after Brennan spoke out. A mechanical contractor reportedly offered to pay for a year's supply of soap. The Honolulu Quarterback Club started a soap drive.
Wait a minute, vandalism? Michigan or USC or Rutgers don't have a problem with locker rooms being trashed.
"I'm not going to throw our kids under the bus," said Frazier, who seemed to be indicating it might have been an inside job.
Frazier also said a computer facility for football players had been closed indefinitely because of vandalism and "improper computer usage." It is available, but by appointment only.
Facilities? A capital improvement project was started two years ago.
Parking?
"Colt, my man, I love you, but every student has to pay for parking," Frazier said.
Remember when UCLA's Cade McNown didn't? He was charged in 1999 with a misdemeanor after possessing handicap parking passes used to park free on campus.
All this, Colt, is part of being a scholarship athlete. Nobody said it was fair. All those helmets and jerseys you sign? You don't see any of the income. That $630 scholly check you received last year? Sure, it was $20 short of covering your monthly rent. That's why there is a group in California suing the NCAA over the true cost of attendance, which in Hawaii is a heck of a lot more than Manhattan, Kan.
The "vindictive" parking guards? Those of us who went to college have our own stories. Brennan said that Hawaii alums in the NFL don't give back to the school because, "when you leave here you feel so cheated and exploited."
Maybe, but there are millions of us out there who would have given our left arm to spend four years in Honolulu. We feel for what might have set you off, Colt. You said your car was broken into at your off-campus apartment -- on consecutive days. They got your wallet and golf clubs. Before that, you claimed to be a victim of identity theft.
"The only way that was possible is people went through my trash," Brennan said. "He's not giving me any money. That stirred my irritation level."
The kid knows that ultimately this is a recruiting issue. His comments might prevent the school from being able to land another Colt Brennan.
"In a heartbeat I'd still pick Hawaii," he said. "It's amazing Coach Jones is able to get the talent when the facilities look the way they do."
Oh boy.
That's not to say money isn't a problem at Hawaii, and pretty much everywhere in the WAC. Frazier told CBS SportsLine.com that his football budget is basically equal to that of Boise State's -- approximately $3.5 million. He also said the program finished in the black, which is huge considering air fuel costs alone from Hawaii to the mainland.
The problem right now is that Hawaii is too good. Few BCS conference teams want to play the Warriors after an 11-win season fueled by a high-powered offense. A trip to Hawaii is no longer considered a leisurely, automatic W. Since 2000, Hawaii has won non-conference games against Northwestern, Michigan State, Alabama, San Diego State, BYU and Arizona State. Last season it lost by a combined 11 points to Alabama and Oregon State.
Flying in the Warriors for a non-conference game could invite embarrassment. Frazier has only 12 games scheduled at this point (Hawaii is allowed 13). Michigan State bought out of a game for $250,000. Discussions with Michigan broke down.
Frazier has had to schedule two I-AA games, a severe blow to a program trying to become this year's Boise State. The highest profile games for Brennan to show his stuff on the mainland really aren't -- Friday night games at San Jose State and Nevada.
Brennan might deserve a trip to New York, but all that gives the notoriously cash-strapped Heisman Trophy folks every reason not to spring for his air fare.
"We would have paid for it last year," Frazier said, "just like we paid for the soap."