The University of Hawai'i athletic department will review its controversial policy of restricting the release of information of players' injuries, athletic director Herman Frazier said.

"We will take a look at it again before the season starts," Frazier said. "I think right now it is up in the air until we kind of revisit it in the next 45 days."

After years of routinely releasing information about athletic injuries, UH last fall implemented a policy prohibiting disclosure of the information by coaches and staff members.

The issue came into the open last September when volleyball outside hitter Tara Hittle could be seen on the Rainbow Wahine bench in a walking cast. UH would only say that Hittle, along with sidelined All-America setter Kanoe Kamana'o, had not been "cleared to play" and the issues were medical. Similar instances occurred in football and other sports, although most players were willing to disclose information.

Frazier said the policy was rooted in federal privacy statutes.

UH was the lone school in the nine-member Western Athletic Conference to adopt such a policy.

"At the beginning of the year we had some athletes who didn't want to sign the release form and that's when that issue started, " Frazier said. "So we visited with it a little bit and I think our staff learned some things about it and I suspect we will take a look at it again before the season starts."

One of the options would be to announce injuries from those who sign waivers while withholding information from those who do not. Linebacker Adam Leonard favors that option.

"For me, (signing the waiver is) not a big deal," Leonard said. "Injuries are part of the sport, so if I'm hurt, I'm hurt. Why hide it? People are going to find out anyway. I would feel comfortable signing. If someone doesn't feel comfortable, he doesn't have to sign."

Frazier said the issue is not limited to injuries. He said academic records also are private, and the school — and the WAC — need to decide how to handle academic awards or deficiencies.

Frazier said fall sport athletes usually receive NCAA-mandated preseason instruction in early August and he expects to issue a statement on the policy by that time.

In other UH news, head football coach June Jones said he favors an itinerary in which the Warriors remain on the Mainland between road games Sept. 8 at Louisiana Tech and Sept. 15 at Nevada-Las Vegas.

"It makes the most sense," Jones said. "It gives us the best chance to win."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com and Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.