UH athletic director Angelos ‘blindsided’ by his ouster

A week ago University of Hawaii athletic director Craig Angelos was in an upbeat mood ahead of a monthly meeting with school President David Lassner.

But what was supposed to be a routine meeting turned into an exit session. Lassner, who is retiring at the end of the year, told Angelos he would not be retained as athletic director. Angelos was handed a paper with two paragraphs detailing his separation. His signature was not required as acceptance of the document.

It was decided Angelos would stay on until Dec. 1, allowing him to accompany the UH football team to Utah, his home state, for last Saturday’s game against Utah State. Angelos agreed to help in the transition for associate athletic director Lois Manin, who will serve as acting athletic director beginning Dec. 2. A search for Angelos’ successor will begin after new UH President Wendy Hensel takes office in January.

Angelos was “blindsided” by the move — a sentiment he expressed Tuesday in announcing his dismissal to coaches and staff and then echoed in a release distributed to the media that afternoon.

UH volleyball players started a petition asking UH to keep Angelos. Supporters flooded social media with posts trumpeting his accomplishments. A prominent booster threatened to withhold his donations. But Angelos acknowledged that what he called “the firing” appears to be irreversible.

On May 18, 2023, Angelos was hired on an at-will agreement, meaning he would be without a contract — or buyout — while reporting to Lassner. The agreement did not provide for incentive bonuses. Angelos had said he agreed to the management-loaded arrangement because he was confident his work would merit extensive employment.

Four months later Lassner announced he would retire at the end of 2024. Angelos acknowledged that his agreement meant he could be let go anytime, even without cause.

In a release Tuesday from the UH Office of Communications, a statement read, “President Lassner met regularly with AD Angelos since he was hired, as he does with all his direct reports. Lassner made the decision to part with Angelos based on performance.”

Saying he was “completely blindsided” by Lassner’s decision, Angelos wrote in his release, “When I asked for the reason, he cited my performance — a response that absolutely shocked me because I thought things had been going pretty well for our athletics department.”

Angelos added, “In a short amount of time, I believe we accomplished so much like creating new revenue streams, hiring a ticket sales team, revamping fundraising efforts, focusing on NIL (name, image and likeness) initiatives, navigating the effects of the NCAA House settlement, securing a place in the Mountain West Conference while eliminating travel subsidies, arranging charter flights for the football team, negotiating a record-breaking apparel deal, developing a facilities master plan, collaborating with the stadium authority on the new Aloha Stadium project, and balancing the budget for the past two years.”

While declining to cite specifics, UH leaders had expressed dismay that Angelos broke the news about 15 of UH’s nonfootball sports joining the Mountain West ahead of a scheduled announcement. UH is a football-only member of the Mountain West through the 2025-26 academic year. It was actually Lassner, as dean of the Mountain West’s executive committee, who negotiated the deal to bring the other UH sports into the league and discontinue the Warriors paying travel subsidies to visiting MWC football teams.

On a podcast last week, Angelos detailed a potential apparel deal with Nike before a contract had been signed. The deal, which does not involve cash transactions, gives UH heavy discounts on purchasing Nike products — a standard arrangement between apparel companies and mid-major schools. It also was not known whether Adidas, which has the current apparel deal with UH, was notified of the move to Nike.

Angelos also clashed with several staff members over assignments and management style.

“I want to assure everyone that there is no ‘smoking gun’ here — no hint of impropriety or malfeasance, either personally or professionally,” Angelos wrote. “I have always treated people with kindness and respect and have done what is best for the athletic department at all times.”

Per the agreement, Angelos will receive three months of salary as part of the severance package.