It's
a little complicated being a University of
Hawai'i sports fan. UH men's athletics have
three different mascots - the Rainbow Warriors,
the Warriors and the Rainbows. Adding to the
confusion is the shortened 'Bows nickname.
All teams shared the Rainbow Warriors
designation up until 2000, when the football
team became simply the Warriors. The golf and
volleyball teams followed suit.
The baseball team held on to the other nickname
and is now known as the Rainbows, while the
basketball, tennis and swimming teams retained
the Rainbow Warriors moniker. Luckily, all
women's teams are known as the Rainbow Wahine.
(Whew.)
So keep it straight because the Warriors don't
like being confused as the Rainbow Warriors, the
Rainbow Warriors don't like being referred to as
Rainbows, etc., etc.
No matter the mascot, there's little doubt that
UH athletics are the hottest sports tickets in
town, especially the Warriors football team and
the Rainbow Wahine volleyball squad.
Under the guidance of head coach June Jones, the
football team has become an up-and-coming team
at the national level. The Warriors feature
Jones' Run-and-Shoot offense, one of the most
potent and exciting in the country.
Last season, the Warriors offense rewrote a
number of single-season NCAA records, including
highest pass efficiency rating, most passing
touchdowns, most points and most yards.
The 2007 team features senior quarterback Colt
Brennan, who's an early favorite for the Heisman
Trophy after throwing for a single-season record
of 58 touchdown passes last year.
The Warriors have been on a roll since 1999 when
Jones inherited a team that had lost 18 straight
games. Jones has led the team to four bowl game
victories and six winning seasons.
Last year's Warriors had a record of 11-3 and
were victorious in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl. It
was considered one of the best in school
history, but this year's team has the potential
to be even better.
Over the yearS, UH has been responsible for such
NFL standouts as Jeris White, Jesse Sapolu,
Jason Elam and Mark Tuinei.
The
Islands have a three-decade love affair with the
Rainbow Wahine volleyball team. Head coach Dave
Shoji has been at the helm for 33 years and has
led the volleyball team to four national
championships, and the Rainbow Wahine are in
contention for a fifth national title just about
every year.
Quite simply, the program is one of the nation's
elite and its fans are the most faithful and
knowledgeable anywhere. The team leads the
nation in attendance every season.
Shoji has recorded more than 900 victories,
ranking second on the all-time list.
The Rainbow Wahine softball team had its best
season yet in 2007. UH advanced to the NCAA
Super Regional for the first time and fell just
one victory short of making the Women's College
World Series. It won the Western Athletic
Conference with a 16-2 record, and went 50-13
overall.
The other Rainbow Wahine programs include
soccer, cross country, track and field, golf,
swimming and diving, basketball, water polo,
tennis and sailing. UH also has a co-ed sailing
team.
Three Oahu universities - Brigham Young Hawaii,
Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific - are members of
the NCAA Division II Pacific West Conference.
BYUH has a long tradition of winning, and has
captured 24 national titles over the years. The
Seasiders women's tennis team has dominated NCAA
Division II play with seven national
championships, including the last two, since
1999.
Hawaii Pacific has also found success at the
national level, with NCAA Division II volleyball
titles in 1998 and 2000, plus a 1990 NAIA
championship. The Sea Warriors women's teams
also include basketball, cross country, soccer,
softball and tennis teams. HPU men's teams
compete in baseball, basketball, cross-country,
golf, soccer and tennis.
Each November, the Silverswords of Chaminade
host the EA Sports Maui Invitational, one of the
more prestigious men's basketball preseason
tournaments. This year's field features national
powers Arizona State, Duke, Illinois, LSU,
Marquette, Oklahoma State and Princeton.
The Silverswords also field men's teams in cross
country, golf and soccer teams; and women's
basketball, cross country, soccer, softball,
tennis and volleyball squads.
Prep
Sports
Due
to the absence of any full-time professional
sports organizations in Hawaii, many fans view
the University of Hawaii and its various
athletic teams as the only show in town. But
with nearly 100 years of history and memories in
the books, organized prep sports in Hawaii have
remained increasingly popular as fans track
their ala maters, or root for friends and
family.
The Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH)
stands as Oahu's oldest athletic conference. At
its inception in 1909, the ILH included just
three members: Punahou, Kamehameha and McKinley
High Schools. More schools joined throughout the
years until in 1970, Farrington, Kaimuki,
McKinley, Roosevelt and Kalani High Schools
pulled out of the ILH to join the remainder of
Oahu's public high schools in the Oahu
Interscholastic Association (OIA). The exodus
created a clear division between the ILH and OIA
as private and public school leagues,
respectively.
According to the ILH Web site, the league now
encompasses 26 private secondary schools and
gives student-athletes the chance to compete in
22 sports ranging from football and baseball to
kayaking and sailing.
As
one of the ILH's founding members, Punahou
remains one of the most dominant athletic
programs in the state. Since the league's
inception, Punahou has amassed over 320 state
titles and more than 700 league championships,
according to the school's Web site. Based on
school statistics from 2001, more than 1,400
students from grades 7-12 participated in at
least one ILH sport - nearly 60 percent of the
student body.
In 2005, Sports Illustrated recognized Punahou
as No. 4 on its list of Best High School
Athletic Programs. The criteria included state
titles won, college athletes produced, and
all-around excellence.
"I think we've been real fortunate, we are
a large school with some good coaches and
excellent support from administrators,"
says Tom Holden, Punahou Athletics Director.
"With all of our programs here, we want
them to be great experiences for the kids. We
try to get coaches in who meet the athletic and
academic goals of the school. It is an integral
part of the whole package here, from academics
to athletics, and it's a commitment of the
school so the kids have a well-rounded
background."
As evidence of the school's consistent success,
a handful of Punahou teams have compiled
impressive winning streaks in their respective
sports.
"We really don't get too bogged down with
[all the titles], but we do recognize the
extraordinary accomplishments," says
Holden, who also makes note that the school
doesn't hang championship banners in part
because there are just too many championships,
and because the school wants athletics to be a
component of building a well-rounded student,
not the focal point.
Saint Louis has dominated Hawaii's football
landscape for much of the past two decades. The
Crusaders, also of the ILH, claimed an
unprecedented 15 state crowns between 1986 and
2002, including a run of 14 straight titles.
But, the success stories are not limited to the
private schools.
With 29 member schools, the OIA represents
Hawaii's largest athletic league. The
association was formed in 1940 as a rural
association to counter the urban-centric ILH,
and included Castle, Kahuku, Leilehua, Waialua
and Waipahu High Schools. As the island
population increased and more public schools
formed and joined the league, the OIA provides
an opportunity for thousands of athletes to
compete in 19 various sports.
Kahuku
is arguably the most recognized public school
athletic program, mostly because of the
attention generated by its championship football
team. The Red Raiders have put together quite a
run to open the century, claiming state titles
in 2000, '01, '03, '05, and '06. The team has
been featured on numerous national television
programs because of their popularity as a
talented football dynasty that keeps growing as
more and more graduates go on to play at elite
colleges and even the professional ranks.
Also, this past February, the OIA stole the
limelight again as Kaimuki knocked off Punahou
in the state boys' basketball championship game,
winning 61-53. With the fall preps season just
underway and the athletes still assimilating, it
is unclear which schools will rise to the top.
But fans can rest assured that they are in store
for some heated competition.
