Jump to content

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
Jrboi96786 (talk | contribs)
Jrboi96786 (talk | contribs)
Line 51: Line 51:




==Hawaii Warriors Football History==
==History==
'''Important milestones'''
'''Important Milestones'''
[[Image:Vilithewarrior.jpg|thumb|right| Vili Fehoko portrays Hawaii Warriors football mascot, '''Vili The Warrior'''.]]
[[Image:Vilithewarrior.jpg|thumb|right| Vili Fehoko portrays Hawaii Warriors football mascot, '''Vili The Warrior'''.]]
*'''1909''' - The College of Hawai{{okina}}i "Fighting Deans" played and won its first game against [[President William McKinley High School|McKinley High School]] by a score of 6-5 in front of 2,500 fans at [[Punahou School]].
*'''1909''' - The College of Hawai{{okina}}i "Fighting Deans" played and won its first game against [[President William McKinley High School|McKinley High School]] by a score of 6-5 in front of 2,500 fans at [[Punahou School]].

Revision as of 05:10, 18 April 2008

Hawaii Warriors football
2008 Hawaii Warriors football team
File:HawaiiWarriors.png
First season1909
Head coach
1st season, 0–0 (–)
StadiumAloha Stadium
(capacity: 50,000)
Field surfaceFieldTurf
LocationHonolulu, Hawaii
All-time record491–373–26 (.566)
Bowl record5–3 (.625) ()
Conference titles3
ColorsGreen and Black
   
MascotVili The Warrior
RivalsFresno State (main rival)
Boise State
BYU
WebsiteHawaiiAthletics.com

The Hawaiʻi Warriors football team represents the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The team, which is currently coached by Greg McMackin, is part of the Western Athletic Conference. They are the third non-BCS team to play in a BCS bowl game, having faced Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 2008.


History

Important Milestones

File:Vilithewarrior.jpg
Vili Fehoko portrays Hawaii Warriors football mascot, Vili The Warrior.
  • 1920 - The College of Hawaiʻi becomes the University of Hawaiʻi and the football team plays its first intercollegiate game against Nevada, losing 14-0 on Christmas Day.
  • 1922 - Hawaiʻi defeats its first collegiate opponent, beating Pomona 25-6 on Christmas Day.
  • 1923 - A rainbow appears over Moiliili Field after Hawaiʻi upsets Oregon State, 7-0. Local reporters begin calling UH athletic teams the "Rainbows."
  • 1924-25 - The Rainbows, under the guidance of coach Otto Klum, complete back-to-back undefeated seasons. The Rainbows outscore their opponents 606-29 in 18 games. Among the schools defeated during this time are Colorado, Colorado State and Washington State. These two teams become known as the "Wonder Teams" due to their outstanding play.
  • 1926 - The Rainbows play their first game at their newly-constructed home field, Honolulu Stadium. The Rainbows fall to the Town Team by a score of 14-7 in front of 12,000 fans on Armistice Day.
  • 1935 - Rainbow running back and future coach Thomas Kaulukukui becomes Hawaiʻi's first All-American player. Kaulukukui starred on Hawaiʻi's 1934 undefeated team and set a school record in 1935 with a 103-yard kick return touchdown during a 19-6 loss to UCLA in Los Angeles. Kaulukukui's number 32 is later retired by the University and remains the only number to be retired in Hawaiʻi football history.
  • 1942 - Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States' entry into World War II, Hawaiʻi cancels the 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1945 football seasons. This marks the second time Hawaiʻi has had to cancel football seasons due to the breakout of war. The 1912-14 seasons were cancelled due to World War I [citation needed].
  • 1946 - Hawaiʻi resumes football play after a four-year hiatus as a member of the NCAA. Hawaiʻi enters as a Division II Independent. The Rainbows continue to play local teams on occasion but the bulk of their schedules are made up of collegiate teams.
  • 1955 - A year after suffering a 50-0 blowout loss to Nebraska in Honolulu, the Rainbows go up to Lincoln the following season and upset the Huskers 6-0. The win is considered one of the school's all-time biggest upsets.
  • 1961 - The UH Board of Athletic Control votes to abolish the football program due to a lack of finances. The program would return to intercollegiate competition the following year behind the urgings of new athletics director Young Suk Ko.
  • 1966 - Hawaiʻi completes its first all-collegiate schedule.
  • 1968 - Head coach Dave Holmes begins what would be the most successful coaching tenure at Hawaiʻi. From 1968-1974, UH won 67 percent of its games and never suffered a losing season. Holmes still ranks as the all-time leader at Hawaiʻi in winning percentage (.718)
  • 1973 - The Rainbows record what is widely considered to be the biggest upset in school history, defeating Washington 10-7 in front of 52,500 in Seattle. The Huskies were favored to beat Hawaiʻi by as many as 50 points.
  • 1975 - 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium becomes the new home of Hawaiʻi football. Hawaiʻi loses its first game in the new stadium, falling to Texas A&I by a score of 43-9 in front of a crowd of 32,247.
  • 1976 - The NCAA reclassifies its divisions and drops Hawaiʻi to Division I-AA (now FCS). Athletic Director Ray Nagel appeals the decision and the next month the NCAA reinstitutes Hawaiʻi to Division I-A (now FBS) status.
  • 1986 - Defensive end Al Noga becomes the first Hawaiʻi player to be named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press. He also was tabbed as the school's first Heisman Trophy candidate.
  • 1992 - Hawaiʻi wins a share of its first-ever WAC championship and posts its first bowl game victory, a 27-17 defeat of Illinois in the Thrifty Car Rental Holiday Bowl. Hawaiʻi would finish the season ranked 20th in the nation and post a team-record 11 victories.
  • 1998 - Hawaiʻi suffers through the program's first-ever winless season, going 0-12 under head coach Fred von Appen. Von Appen coached the Rainbow Warriors to a 5-31 record in his three years at Hawaiʻi. He would be fired after the season.
  • 1999 - June Jones becomes the new head coach at Hawaiʻi and guides the Rainbow Warriors to the best single-season turnaround in NCAA history, winning nine games and a share of the WAC championship. Hawaii would go on to defeat Oregon State in the Jeep Oʻahu Bowl, 23-17.
  • 2001 - Hawaiʻi changes its nickname from "Rainbow Warriors" to simply "Warriors." Wide receiver Ashley Lelie becomes the highest draft pick in program history as the Denver Broncos select him with the 19th pick in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft.
  • 2002 - Hawaiʻi is invited to play in the inaugural ConAgra Foods Hawaiʻi Bowl. The Warriors would fall to Tulane, 36-28.
  • 2003 - Hawaiʻi returns to the Hawaiʻi Bowl and defeats Houston in a wild 54-48 triple-overtime game.
  • 2004 - Hawaiʻi returns for a third-straight season to the Hawaii Bowl and triumphs over UAB, 59-40. Hawaiʻi quarterback Timmy Chang would also become the NCAA's all-time leader in passing yards with 17,072 over the course of his career, eclipsing the old mark (15,031) set by former BYU quarterback Ty Detmer.
  • 2005 - Hawaiʻi finishes 5-7 and misses out on playing in a bowl game for the first time since 2001, despite a breakout year for quarterback Colt Brennan.
File:DSC00422.JPG
2007 WAC Championship, Boise State @ Hawaii (HAWAII 39-27)
File:SugarBowlLogo.png
2008 Sugar Bowl Georgia vs. Hawaii (GEORGIA 41-10)
  • 2006 - Quarterback Colt Brennan sets NCAA single-season records for touchdown passes (58) and passer efficiency rating (185.96), on his way to a sixth-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting. The Warriors return to the Hawaiʻi Bowl and defeat Arizona State, 41-24. Hawaiʻi head coach June Jones passes Dick Tomey to become the winningest head coach in school history.
  • 2007 - Brennan adds to his collection of NCAA records, breaking Detmer's career records for TD passes and total TDs responsible for. He and wide receiver Davone Bess have also tied an NCAA record for most career TDs by a quarterback-receiver combination. The Warriors are unbeaten, with a breakthrough win against Boise State, giving the Warriors their first win ever over the Broncos as a WAC member and their first outright WAC title ever. A 35-28 win over Washington in the season finale on December 1 resulted in them finishing #10 in the BCS rankings and earning a berth in the Sugar Bowl. This is the first regular season Hawaiʻi has ever gone undefeated. Hawaii was also the sole undefeated college football team for the season. Hawaiʻi then played Georgia on Jan. 1, 2008 in New Orleans, losing 41-10.


Rivalry

File:FresnoStateBulldogs.png
Fresno State Bulldogs

The rivalry with Fresno State has increased greatly in recent years, with both teams contending regularly for the conference championship. The Bulldogs hold a slight edge in the series with a record of 20-18-1 against the Warriors. Coaches from both schools have accused each side of various episodes of poor sportsmanship over the years, and both schools have some of the nation's rowdiest home fans. The rivalry has featured some lopsided results, including a 70-14 Fresno victory in 2004 and a 68-37 Warriors victory in 2006. In 2007, allegations that Fresno State fans were physically and verbally abused by hometown University of Hawaii fans circulated the internet and television media added to this rivalry.

File:Boisestatebroncos.jpg
Boise State Broncos

It was being reported that several Fresno State fans attempted to warn Boise State fans from attending University of Hawaii football games due to potential violence against them, however no incidents were reported by Boise State fans and many photographs from Hawaii-based publications covered incidents where Hawaii and Boise State fans were seen mingling together before and after their 2007 WAC Championship game.

Boise State and Hawaii have begun to develop a rivalry since the Broncos joined the WAC in 2001. Until Hawaiʻi defeated Boise State 39-27 on November 23, 2007 to clinch that year's WAC championship outright, the Broncos had won the all of the contests between the two schools since Boise State became a conference member. Many of them have been very closely contested. As these two teams are usually two of the better teams in the WAC, the rivalry can only be expected to grow in the coming years.

BYU Cougars

BYU had been regarded by many Hawaiʻi residents to be the Warriors' biggest rival and most high-profile game. One of the reasons for the interest in games against BYU comes from the large Mormon population in Hawaiʻi, especially on the island of Oʻahu, and BYU's success in recruiting players from Hawaiʻi (in addition, BYU has a campus in Hawaii). The rivalry with BYU has been largely one-sided, with the Cougars holding a 19-8-0 all-time advantage in the series and going 18-5 since 1972 when LaVell Edwards became BYU’s head coach. BYU won 10 straight contests against the Warriors from 1978 through 1988 and 6 straight from 1993 through 1998. Hawaiʻi has never won in Provo, Utah, losing all 8 contests by an average score of 34 to 18. The series has decreased in notability and importance due to BYU's defection to the Mountain West Conference in 1999. In 2001, Hawaiʻi ruined the then 8th-ranked Cougars' perfect 12-0 season and ended any chance of BYU earning a BCS bowl bid with a 72-45 victory at Aloha Stadium. The last meeting between the two teams was a 35-32 BYU victory at Provo in 2002. The rivalry has also been considered by some people to be one-sided on the terms of emotion. Though Hawaiʻi had considered BYU its main rival for quite some time, BYU usually did not return the favor, considering Utah to be their main rival.

Coaches