Imagine being a University of Hawai'i football season-ticket holder and opening up your e-mail at some season's end to discover among the in-basket messages an H-mail from the athletic department that includes something like this:

"I assure you that no one is happy about our season — especially me, and I know that our fans deserve better than what we produced this year."

Sincerely, June Jones, head football coach.

OK, so maybe you shouldn't hold your breath waiting on that one. Even if the Warriors were to lose to San Diego State Saturday and end up 4-8.

What are the chances of it happening at Michigan State or Purdue, in the wake of higher expectations and 5-6 records, either?

Which is part of what makes University of Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer's e-mail — including the above italicized paragraph — to about 38,000 Volunteer season-ticket holders and other subscribers yesterday noteworthy.

In 300 words, according to The Associated Press, Fulmer also acknowledged to the Vol Nation the 5-6 season was "unacceptable" and a "disappointing season for everyone in the Tennessee family."

Especially, you'd assume, coming from a head coach whom the athletic director has said won't be receiving a raise on his reported $2.05 million annual salary.

Still, it is remarkable stuff for a college football coach in this day and age, particularly when you're talking about one of the anointed. Such as a coach who has a national championship — and a street near Neyland Stadium, Philip Fulmer Way, named after him.

A common course of action in such situations by any coach worth his courtesy car is to dodge like an All-America running back and stiff-arm critics. Deny or obfuscate. So prevalent is it that they must give seminars in it at the annual coaching convention.

The more accomplished, after some hemming and hawing, blame media expectations, injuries, inexperienced players, the schedule or the alignment of the stars. Anything but pointing a finger at the face in the mirror that promised big things and banged the drum about all-world recruiting classes.

Indeed, what a lot of perennial top 10 programs do after failing to become bowl eligible is fire an assistant coach — or three — and then turn the talk to better days ahead.

Fulmer did some of that, too. But faced with the need to retain season-ticket holders, he stepped away from the playbook. In the e-mail and in a series of speeches and radio and television appearances, Fulmer, whose team started out as high as No. 3 in some polls, has been acknowledging this for what it is, an unacceptable performance on his watch.

Altogether appropriate and refreshing, perhaps. But probably not likely to start a national trend.

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