Former Warrior Coach June Jones Gives to Cayetano

Another highlight from campaign finance reports.

Nice Grube for Inside Honolulu writes:

Honolulu mayoral candidate Ben Cayetano got a little Warrior power last month when former University of Hawaii head football coach June Jones gave $2,500 to his campaign.

Jones is revered on the islands for turning around the UH football program, taking over an 0-12 team and turning it into a 9-4 contender in his first year on the job.

He was UH’s coach from 1999 to 2007.

When Jones was hired, Cayetano hosted a large welcoming party for the new head coach at Washington Place. At that time Cayetano was governor of Hawaii.

“Just to spend a minute with June, you know he has a love for Hawaii and our people,” Cayetano is quoted as saying the Star-Bulletin at that time. “Just the fact that so many people came out, and I know if we had invited more people, they would be here as well, shows you there’s a great feeling in this audience today.”

Jones now lives in Dallas, and has since taken the helm of the Southern Methodist University football program.

The Mustangs have a sordid football past. In 1987, the NCAA handed down the “death penalty” for a scandal involving under-the-table payments to SMU players.

It’s one of the worst punishments in NCAA history, comparable only to the recent sanctions at Penn State.