{"id":221619,"date":"2025-09-09T16:29:35","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T02:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=221619"},"modified":"2025-09-10T09:07:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T19:07:00","slug":"uh-football-helmets-display","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/09\/uh-football-helmets-display\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> football helmets shine in tribute to Rainbow Warrior legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\"largeThe University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa Athletics Department<\/a> unveiled a new display celebrating decades of Rainbow Warrior football history, highlighted by a collection of helmets worn since the university\u2019s first football team was fielded in 1909.<\/p>\n
\"five
Wes Kimura, Joyce Lau, Chester Sebastian, Kevin Faller and Derek Inouchi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staged in the athletics department office, the project was led by the UH<\/abbr> Letterwinners Club<\/a>, an organization of former athletes, in collaboration with the Old Queen Street Stadium (museum of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> sports and vintage sportswear boutique) and community supporters.<\/p>\n

“This display honors the generations of athletes who built UH<\/abbr> football,” UH<\/abbr> Mānoa Athletics Director Matt Elliott said. “It\u2019s another way for our fans and community to learn about the rich history of Our Team, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s Team.”<\/p>\n

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Football helmet from the 1930s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UH<\/abbr> Football Head Coach Timmy Chang said, “As someone who played for UH<\/abbr>, it\u2019s very special to see the legacy of Rainbow Warrior football honored like this. It reminds our players and fans of the generations who paved the way for us.”<\/p>\n

Wes Kimura, a UH<\/abbr> baseball letterwinner, UH<\/abbr> Letterwinners Club board member and recipient of the Kāne Fernandez Community Service Award in 2013<\/a>, was one of the leaders in establishing this display to honor UH<\/abbr>\u2019s athletic history. He said the new football exhibit gives fans a visible way to connect with the program\u2019s roots.<\/p>\n

“A lot of the programs have a rich history, which aren’t really known by the current generation of fans. This is just a start,” Kimura said. “Just to see the football helmets and showing the generations. The program goes way back and those are the players, those are the teams that laid the foundation for the success now.”<\/p>\n

Just the beginning<\/h2>\n

\"whiteThe football showcase is part of a larger initiative to refresh and expand memorabilia displays across UH<\/abbr> athletic facilities, including the Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center and Les Murakami Stadium. Alumni and volunteers expanded the vision, contributing memorabilia, design work and financial support. Display cases no longer in use at Aloha Stadium were relocated to UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa, allowing for larger exhibits to be staged in highly visible areas.<\/p>\n

Supporters said the response from the community and coaches has been immediate. Kent Youel has volunteered as an ʻAhahui<\/span> Koa Ānuenue director, served as a UH<\/abbr> Foundation trustee, and along with his wife, Dora, was the recipient of the 2024 Charlie Ushijima Award<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“The coaches loved it when they first saw it, and now fans can see the history as they come to games,” said Youel, who helped fund the project. “We have a lot to be proud of, and this brings that history into the spotlight.”<\/p>\n

\"whiteEugene Price, UH<\/abbr> Letterwinners Club board member, former UH<\/abbr> football player and 2024 Kāne Fernandez Community Service Award<\/a>, said his company (On the Rock) developed, printed and installed all of the graphics that help support the displays.<\/p>\n

“I was proud of the display,” Price said. “The team we have right now is driven and passionate to make a difference in providing pride in University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Athletics. We have many more projects coming that will highlight different sports and hopefully increase pride from our current and former athletes and communicate to the fans of how special university sports is to our community.”<\/p>\n

Chester Sebastian and Kevin Faller of Old Queen Street Stadium added, “Our reaction was filled with joy. We always dreamed of also being a part of a ‘traveling museum,’ and having the AD<\/abbr> lobby solidifies us as a museum to further inspire, educate and faithfully represent our team.”<\/p>\n

To learn more about the Legacy Initiative, visit this website<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_masonry_media_grid element_width=”3″ css=”” grid_id=”vc_gid:1757471052461-4646eda1-eb6e-1″ include=”221691,221690,221689,221688,221684,221685,221686,221687,221683,221682,221623,221621″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UH<\/abbr> unveils a new football helmet display celebrating over a century of Rainbow Warrior football.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":221620,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1362],"tags":[58,83,714,9,550],"class_list":["post-221619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","tag-athletics","tag-football","tag-student-athlete","tag-uh-manoa","tag-manoa-athletics","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t