Scholarships / Colt for Governor / Hawaii Bowl / Nasti

Dave Reardon writes a pair of articles, one focusing on June Jones' efforts to set up scholarship endowments.

Hawaii football coach June Jones said UH is expanding efforts to secure monetary donations that go directly toward football scholarships, especially from former players who have advanced to the NFL.

"Some of the players are putting that in their contracts," UH coach June Jones said. "We're in the process of setting up a fund like USC and a lot of the other major schools do, scholarship endowments."

Gotta love what Brennan says about it:

"Obviously I'm far away from that and I've got to worry about my senior year and I don't have any money yet. But if I get in that position I would be thrilled to do it," Brennan said. "I plan on giving back to Hawaii financially, and I'm excited about something where I know the money would be going where I want it."

How awesome is that? Colt also spoke about the reaction to his comments regarding the facilities.

"It was never about me. I wanted to speak up for people who can't speak up. I don't have a complaint about Hawaii. The school and everybody there has been great to me. But I know I have a political presence and I thought I could help the situation, especially for my teammates and future players. Hawaii's treated me like a prince, a son," he said. "The community reaction has been great, the best you could expect. I'm just happy that people are willing to make a difference, making donations. I wanted to bring some light to what is holding Hawaii back."

That's even awesomer. Colt for Governor! Or maybe it should be June for Governor! Colt for Mayor! Anyway, I excerpted a lot from those articles, but there's more to read, including words of support for Colt from JJ.

UPDATE: Here's video from the Advertiser of June speaking at the QB Club.

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Ferd Lewis writes about the plans underway to get another PAC-10 team lined up for the 2008 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl.

The Rose, Holiday, Sun, Las Vegas and San Francisco bowl games are contracted to get the first five picks of Pac-10 teams through 2009. After that the conference hopes to renegotiate all its deals. The least lucrative of those pay a minimum of $800,000 per team, well above the Hawai'i Bowl payout.

Muldoon said ASU gave the bowl experience high marks but the Pac-10 lost money on the game. Jim Donovan, executive director of the Hawai'i Bowl, said bowl officials met with Pac-10 officials earlier this month in Phoenix and developed a proposal. He did not disclose the terms.

I have total confidence that Jim Donovan can pull it off. Jim for AD! Speaking of Jim, Stephen Tsai has a Warrior Beat video podcast interview with him, it's about 14 minutes long. Be there!

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And finally, here's a Morning Call column by Gordie Jones, profiling Nate Ilaoa.

Speed is an issue; his 40 times topped out in the 4.7 range in the months leading up to the draft, something that might improve if he follows through on his plan to shed a few pounds.

Listed at 180 when he committed to Hawaii -- and also listed, curiously, at 5-10 -- he routinely played at 245 there, and was very productive in the Warriors' run-and-shoot offense. He accumulated 1,827 all-purpose yards last year (990 on the ground and 837 on 67 receptions), and finished his career with 3,383 yards from scrimmage.

But now, he said, ''Everything's up another level. I've got to do something to get onto that level, and I think losing weight and getting into tip-top shape is going to help me to do that.''

And although it's still early, the article highlights Nate's somewhat precarious position on the running back depth chart, so every little thing he does will help. Good luck to Nate!