Just a guess, but chances are you probably won't be hearing much criticism of upcoming Western Athletic Conference policies and plans coming from the University of Hawai'i this year.

Of course, that could be because UH will have its fingerprints all over what the WAC does this year, too.

When UH begins its 28th year of membership July 1, it will occupy most of the prime member leadership posts in the conference for one of the rare times in its history.

Manoa Chancellor Denise Konan will chair the Board of Directors. Athletic director Herman Frazier will lead the ADs, associate AD Marilyn Moniz-Kaho'ohanohano will be the ranking senior women's administrator and English professor Peter Nicholson will be the lead faculty athletic representative.

"It is an exciting time in our conference and we look forward to being part of it," said Konan, who will become the first chairwoman of the board of directors in the conference's 45 years. "Hawai'i is the longest-serving member of the WAC and it is a good time for Hawai'i to be within the leadership in the WAC."

UH has been a member since 1979 but not since 1994 have school officials been so well-positioned to help the WAC shape its future. Nor, perhaps, have they been so cognizant of the roles in power they share.

For 1994 will also be remembered as the period in which the WAC added six members, expanding to what became an unwieldy 16. That set in motion what has been the most turbulent period in the conference's history with the comings and goings — mostly goings — of 24 schools that ended only last year.

It wasn't an agenda that UH pushed but the school has had to live with the consequences of being one of just two (Fresno State is the other) on hand at the time who remain members.

Now with the dust having settled one year into a WAC that is, for the first time, composed entirely of public institutions, the conference has begun taking off the "Hello: My Name Is" tags and getting down to making something of itself.

The first step is implementing a new strategic plan, aimed, Konan said, "at the competitiveness of our athletic programs but also (focused) on supporting our student-athletes as students. There is a business component to the plan in terms of elevating the conference and also supporting (fan) participation at games."

A succession of UH officials have talked about where they'd like to see the WAC go. The ones in place now have the opportunity to actually do something about it.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.