Herman Frazier

Herman Ronald "Herm" Frazier (born October 29, 1954) is a retired American sprinter. He won gold medals in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 1976 Olympics and 1975 and 1979 Pan American Games. Individually he earned a bronze medal in the 400 m event at the 1976 Olympics. He served as chef de mission of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team and as the Athletic Director at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Hawaii. He currently serves as the senior deputy athletics director at Syracuse University.

Herman Frazier

Frazier at the 1976 Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Herman Ronald Frazier
Born	October 29, 1954 (1954-10-29) (age 69) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.^[1]
Occupation(s)	Athletic Director, University of Hawaii (2002–2008)
Height	184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	100–400 m
Club	Philadelphia Pioneer Club
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	100 yd – 9.4 (1974) 100 m – 10.36 (1977) 200 m – 20.75 (1977) 400 m – 44.95 (1976)^[1]^[2]
Medal record Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1976 Montreal 4×400 m relay 1976 Montreal 400 m Pan American Games 1975 Mexico City 4×400 m 1979 San Juan 4×400 m Athletics World Cup 1979 Montreal 4×400 m relay

Athlete

Frazier started his athletic career as multiple sport athlete at Germantown High School in Philadelphia.^[3] He was a member of the Philadelphia Pioneers Track Club where he was coached by Alex Woodley. His collegiate career began at Denison University. He later attended Arizona State University, where he became an All-American sprinter. He was the team captain of the 1977 national championship track team. He graduated from ASU in 1977 with a degree in political science.^[4]

As a member of the US National Track & Field team, Frazier participated both in the Olympic and Pan-American games. In the 1976 Montreal Olympics, he ran the first leg for the gold medal-winning 4×400-meter relay team. Individually, he won a bronze medal in the 400-meter dash. He was also a gold medalist at both the 1975 and 1979 Pan-American Games. In 1980, he was a member of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field team that boycotted the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow. He also tried to qualify for the 1980 Winter Olympics as a bobsledder.^[1][5][6]

Administrator

Frazier began his administrative career as a graduate assistant at Arizona State University in 1977. He would later become a full-time administrator and remained with the university for a total of 23 years, eventually becoming the Senior Associate Athletics Director. He would earn his first athletics director job at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2000.^[7][8] In 2002, he left UAB to accept the athletic director position at the University of Hawaii^[9][10] where he would remain until 2008.^[11][12] Frazier was fired the day after he failed to re-sign football coach June Jones.^[13][14]

In 2008 Frazier was named associate athletic director for sports administration at Temple University, and stayed there until 2011.^[3] In July 2011, he was hired at Syracuse University by Daryl Gross to take similar position.^[4]

He has served on the U.S. Olympic Committee in numerous capacities. In 1996, he was elected as one of three vice-presidents for the committee and accompanied the team to the 2000 games in Sydney, Australia. Most recently, he served as the chef de mission for the 2004 games in Athens, Greece. He has also served on the U.S. Olympic Athletes Advisory Council and the U.S. Olympic Overview Commission.^[7]

As a member of the Fiesta Bowl Board of Directors, he was vice-president in 1996 and chairman in 1998 and 1999.^[7]

He serves as the board-chair for Syracuse Stage^[15] and The Bowerman Advisory Board.^[16][17]

Honors

Frazier has received numerous honors, including the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award (Class of 2002), which recognizes "distinguished former student-athletes on their 25th anniversary as college graduates".^[18] Frazier was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal due to the US boycott of the 1980 Olympics.^[19]

In 2003 he was cited as one of the 101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports by Sports Illustrated.^[20] He was named as one of The 50 Most Powerful African Americans in Sports in the March 2005 issue of Black Enterprise magazine.^[21] In 2002, the Herman R. Frazier Political Science Scholarship was established by his friends and colleagues at Arizona State University to "celebrate and honor Mr. Frazier’s lifetime achievements" and award a "deserving political science student."^[22]

In 2012, Frazier was awarded the Pioneer Award for his role in the 2004 Olympic Games, honoring minority 'first' in athletics, by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.^[23]

On November 5, 2020, Frazier was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.^[24][25]

Criticism

Frazier was criticized by some for leaving UAB with a $7.5 million deficit. His supporters noted that he had inherited a deficit and did not receive institutional support, while his detractors claimed that he was ineffective in increasing revenue.^[10][26]

On January 8, 2008, Herman Frazier was fired from his position as athletic director at the University of Hawaii following heavy criticism from the fans and media of the State of Hawaii. On March 3, 2007, he was loudly booed by the crowd following the final home game of the University of Hawaii's head basketball coach Riley Wallace.^[27][28] Frazier is widely viewed as having forced Wallace to resign by including a "no-extension" clause in his final contract. However, Wallace has accepted responsibility by saying, "The bottom line is Riley Wallace signed the contract."^[29] Frazier was also criticized by both the media and public for ongoing delays and a perceived lack of integrity in finalizing the full 2007 Hawaii Warriors football team schedule. Frazier admitted that he may have miscalculated in regards to the schedule but stands by his record at Hawaii citing, in part, his balancing of the athletics budget. He inherited a $2.5 million deficit from his predecessor.^{[28][30][31][32]} (Note: It was discovered after Frasier left that the so-called "balanced budget" left the athletic department with an even greater debt hovering around $6 million even after the windfall from the Sugar Bowl.) Finally, Frazier also received the brunt of the blame for then UH football coach, June Jones, leaving the university for Southern Methodist University.^[11][12]

On April 6, 2009, Jim Bolla—who Frazier hired in 2004—was fired as the women's basketball coach for Hawaii after former players complained of a "pattern of verbal abuse" from Bolla. Former UH player Pamela Tambini told the Honolulu Advertiser that players complained for years about their treatment by Bolla to Frazier but Frazier apparently took no actions. The paper quoted Tambini stating: "Everybody knew about it and did nothing about it ... We were going through hell. No student should have had to go through that. It's not fair."^[33]

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020.
2. "Herman Frazier". trackfield.brinkster.net.
3. "Temple hires Germantown High alum Herman Frazier". The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 13, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
4. Bloss, Joe (October 2, 2017). "Herman Frazier's track to Syracuse ran from North Philly, through Olympic gold". The Daily Orange. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
5. Tamurian, Niko (August 5, 2016). "Herm Frazier celebrates 40th anniversary of winning Olympic gold". WSTM-TV. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
6. Kobland, Keith (July 26, 2021). "45 Years Later, Olympic Memories Still Fresh for Herman Frazier". SU News. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
7. . August 22, 2000. Archived from the original on September 18, 2006. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
8. "Frazier Resigns Athletics Director Position At UAB, Accepts Hawaii AD Post". University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics (Press release). June 21, 2002. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
9. Costello, Paul (June 21, 2002). "Olympic Gold Medalist Herman Frazier Appointed UH Manoa Athletic Director". University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (Press release). Retrieved July 31, 2021.
10. Reardon, Dave (June 21, 2002). "Hawaii welcomes Frazier as AD today". The Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
11. "Frazier bought out for $312,510". The Honolulu Advertiser. January 8, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
12. "UH to buy out Frazier's contract for $312,510". The Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
13. "Jones loss means end of job for Hawaii AD Frazier". ESPN. AP. January 9, 2008. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
14. Sun (January 9, 2008). "Hawaii dismisses AD Frazier day after Jones' departure". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
15. Duncan, Brenda (October 26, 2020). "Company news: Syracuse Stage announces new board president Herman Frazier". The Post-Standard. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
16. "The Bowerman Advisory Board: The Bowerman". The Bowerman. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
17. Seames, Sam; Eder, Larry (January 1, 2015). "[Audio] Herman Frazier, Deputy Athletics Director at Syracuse University, interviewed by Larry Eder". www.runblogrun.com. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
18. . Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
19. Caroccioli, Tom; Caroccioli, Jerry (2008). Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253. ISBN 978-0942257403.
20. . Sports Illustrated. CNN/Sports Illustrated. May 5, 2003. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
21. Hughes, Alan (March 2005). "The 50 most powerful African Americans in sports". Black Enterprise. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
22. "Political Science Dept Arizona State University: Scholarships". The Institute for Social Science Research. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
23. "Herman Frazier wins Pioneer Award". FOX Sports. March 14, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
24. Estrada, Lorenzino (August 31, 2020). "Sun Devil Herman Frazier Entering Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame". thesundevils.com. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
25. "Frazier Gets Philly 'Hall Call'". Syracuse University Athletics. September 2, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
26. Reardon, Dave (June 19, 2002). "UH near hiring new AD". The Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
27. Tsai, Michael (March 4, 2007). "UH says aloha to Wallace with 92–75 win". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
28. Reardon, Dave (March 25, 2007). "Frazier to his critics: Judge me by my record". The Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
29. Kaneshiro, Jason (December 30, 2006). "Wallace makes it official". The Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
30. Kaneshiro, Jason (June 17, 2004). "UH athletic department has lost millions since '02". The Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
31. Simpson, Kalani (March 20, 2007). "It would have been better for Frazier if he leveled with UH fans". The Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
32. Lewis, Ferd (March 16, 2007). "Previous AD could seal deals". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved March 21, 2007.
33. . Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2016.

External links

• Syracuse Athletics Profile
• Arizona State Photographs
• 1993 Interview with Track & Field News
• 2016 Video Interview July 31, 2021, at the Wayback Machine