Sports | Hawaii Newcomer's Guide 2007-08



	Sports 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. 2007-08 UH Schedules FOOTBALL Sept. 1 NORTHERN COLORADO, 6:05 p.m. Sept. 8 at Louisiana Tech, 6:05 p.m. Sept. 15 at UNLV, 6:35 p.m. Sept. 22 CHARLESTON SOUTHERN, 6:05 p.m. Sept. 29 at Idaho, 2:05 p.m. Oct. 6 UTAH STATE, 6:05 p.m. Oct. 12 at San Jose State, 5:05 p.m. Oct. 27 NEW MEXICO STATE, 6:05 p.m. Nov. 10 FRESNO STATE, 6:05 p.m. Nov. 16 at Nevada, 8:05 p.m. Nov. 23 BOISE STATE, 4:05 p.m. Dec. 1 WASHINGTON, TBA Top of Page WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL Aug. 24-26 ASICS Rainbow Wahine Invitational Aug. 31-Sept. 3 Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic Sept. 6-8 Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge Sept. 14 IDAHO, 7 p.m. Sept. 15 BOISE STATE, 7 p.m. Sept. 20 at Louisiana Tech, 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at New Mexico State, 7 p.m. Sept. 24 at San Jose State, 7 p.m. Oct. 5 NEVADA, 7 p.m. Oct. 7 FRESNO STATE, 5 p.m. Oct. 11 at Boise State, 7 p.m. Oct. 13 at Idaho, 7 p.m. Oct. 15 at Utah State, 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at Nebraska, 3 p.m. Oct. 26 NEW MEXICO STATE, 7 p.m . Oct. 28 LOUISIANA TECH, 5 p.m. Nov. 1 at Nevada, 7 p.m. Nov. 2 at Fresno State, 7 p.m. Nov. 8 SAN JOSE STATE, 7 p.m. Nov. 11 UTAH STATE, 8 p.m. Nov. 15-17 WAC Tournament Nov. 20 LOYOLA MARYMOUNT, 7 p.m. Nov. 21 LOYOLA MARYMOUNT, 7 p.m. Nov. 29-30 NCAA First and Second Rounds Dec. 7-8 NCAA Regional Dec. 13 and 15 NCAA Championships Top of Page MEN'S VOLLEYBALL Jan. 1-5 14th Outrigger Hotels Invitational Jan. 10 LONG BEACH STATE, 7 p.m. Jan. 11 LONG BEACH STATE, 7 p.m. Jan. 23 UC SAN DIEGO, 7 p.m. Jan. 25 UC SAN DIEGO, 7 p.m. Feb. 1 at UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m. Feb. 2 at UC Santa Barbara, TBA Feb. 14 UCLA 7 p.m. Feb. 15 UCLA, 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at Pacific, 7 p.m. Feb. 25 at Pacific, 7 p.m. Feb. 27 at Stanford, 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at Stanford, 7 p.m. March 5 LOYOLA-CHICAGO, 7 p.m. March 7 LOYOLA-CHICAGO, 7 p.m. March 14 UC IRVINE, 7 p.m. March 15 UC IRVINE, 7 p.m. March 21 at USC, 7 p.m. March 22 at USC, 7 p.m. March 25 at Cal State Northridge, 7 p.m. March 26 at Cal State Northridge, 7 p.m. April 4 BRIGHAM YOUNG, 7 p.m. April 5 BRIGHAM YOUNG, 7 p.m. April 11 at Pepperdine, 7 p.m. April 12 at Pepperdine, 7 p.m. April 16-26 MPSF Playoffs May 1-3 NCAA Playoffs Top of Page MEN'S BASKETBALL Nov. 11 SAN DIEGO, 7:05 p.m. Nov. 16 ILLINOIS, 8:05 p.m. Nov. 18 ALCORN STATE, 7:05 p.m. Nov. 21 at New Mexico, TBA Nov. 27 COPPIN STATE, 7:05 p.m. Dec. 2 at San Diego, TBA Dec. , LONG BEACH STATE, 5:05 p.m. Dec. 19-22 44th Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic Dec. 27 NEW MEXICO, 7:05 p.m. Dec. 30 CENTENARY, 5:05 p.m. Jan. 3 at Utah State, TBA Jan. 5 at San Jose State, TBA Jan. 12 NEVADA, 7:05 p.m. Jan. 14 SAN JOSE STATE, 7:05 p.m. Jan. 19 FRESNO STATE, 7:05 p.m. Jan. 24 at Boise State, TBA Jan. 26 at Idaho, TBA Jan. 31 NEW MEXICO STATE, 7:05 p.m. Feb. 2 LOUISIANA TECH, 7:05 p.m. Feb. 9 at Nevada, TBA Feb. 16 UTAH STATE, 7:05 p.m. Feb. 20 at Fresno State, TBA Feb. 28 IDAHO, 7:05 p.m. March 1 BOISE STATE, 7:05 p.m. March 6 at Louisiana Tech, TBA March 8 at New Mexico State, TBA March 11-15 WAC Tournament, at Las Cruces, N.M. Top of Page WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Nov. 16-18 Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic Nov. 23-25 Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic Dec. 14-17 Paradise Classic Dec. 20-21 Women of Troy Classic, at Los Angeles Dec. 28-29 Bank of Hawaii Invitational Jan. 9 at Utah State, 7 p.m. Jan. 12 at Nevada, 6 p.m. Jan. 17 at Fresno State, TBA Jan. 19 at San Jose State, TBA Jan. 24 BOISE STATE, 7 p.m. Jan. 26 IDAHO, 7 p.m. Jan. 31 at New Mexico State, 7:05 p.m. Feb. 2 at Louisiana Tech, 7 p.m. Feb. 7 UTAH STATE, 7 p.m. Feb. 9 NEVADA, 7 p.m. Feb. 21 FRESNO STATE, 7 p.m. Feb. 23 SAN JOSE STATE, 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at Idaho, 7 p.m. March 1 at Boise State, 7 p.m. March 6 LOUISIANA TECH, 7 p.m. March 8 NEW MEXICO STATE, 7 p.m. March 11-15 WAC Tournament, at Las Cruces, N.M. Top of Page 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. Previous: Media Guide Top of Page Next: Golf
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