Blane Keith Gaison (born May 13, 1958) is a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player. He played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, with the Atlanta Falcons (1981–1985). As a defensive back, he played at both the safety and cornerback positions.

Early years

Gaison was raised in Kaneohe, Hawaii on the windward side of Oahu. He attended the Kamehameha Schools in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

and is a 1976 graduate. At Kamehameha, he was an All-State quarterback leading the Warrior football team to consecutive state titles in 1974 and 1975 also known as the Oahu Prep Bowl and

Interscholastic League of Honolulu The Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) is an athletic activity league whose membership is primarily private secondary schools in Honolulu, Hawai'i. The ILH has 24 member schools with over 13,000 student athletes participating in 37 differ ...

championship games.

University of Hawaii

Blane Gaison played college football at UH from 1976 to 1980, starting at quarterback and defensive back. He was the University of Hawaii's Most Valuable Player in 1979 and 1980 and was included on the University of Hawaii Centurion's list with the description, "Steering the defense from his safety position, Gaison was a coach on the field. Number 11's intelligence and versatility provided Rainbow Warriors fans with some of their greatest memories. He received

All America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

, All

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to mos ...

and Academic All Western Athletic Conference honors in 1979 and 1980. Gaison was also recognized with Most Valuable Player honors at the 1981

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first st ...

along with

Kenny Easley Kenneth Mason Easley Jr. (born January 15, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a strong safety in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s. He played college football for the UCLA Brui ...

. He was inducted into the University of Hawaii's Circle of Honor in 1999.

NFL career

In the 1981 NFL Draft, Gaison was picked by the Atlanta Falcons where he played in the defensive secondary as a safety and cornerback. He became close friends with teammates Steve Bartkowski, Bob Glazebrook, Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, and

June Jones June Sheldon Jones III (born February 19, 1953) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the Offensive Coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons. Jones was the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 1 ...

Career in education

Gaison's

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

is in Pre-Law with a minor in Secondary Education. Gaison is a recipient of the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) Citation Award as well as the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) Distinguished Service Award for his contribution and services to high school athletics on the state, local and national levels.

Administrative career

After his retirement from professional football, Gaison was named the head football coach and associate athletics director at his alma mater Kamehameha Schools–Kapalama in 1989 and served as the football coach until 1996 when he was promoted to co-athletic director. He served in this role for 16 years before being named the sole athletic director at Kamehameha Schools' Maui campus in 2012. He was named the executive director of the

in 2015.

Family

Blane Gaison is married to Donnalei, and the couple have four children: Pilialoha, Kapulani, Iokepa and Kona.http://www.hawaiihoops.com/forum/topic/middle-school-ballers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaison, Blane 1958 births Living people Players of American football from Honolulu American football defensive backs Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football players Kamehameha Schools alumni Atlanta Falcons players High school football coaches in Hawaii