The Chaminade Silverswords are the 10 varsity athletic teams that represent

Chaminade University of Honolulu Chaminade University of Honolulu is a private Marianist university in Honolulu, Hawaii. Founded in 1955 by the Society of Mary, Chaminade is located in Kaimuki, Honolulu at the base of St. Louis Heights. Chaminade offers bachelor's degrees in ...

, located 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 ...

, in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

intercollegiate sports. The Silverswords compete as members of the

Pacific West Conference The Pacific West Conference (also known as the PacWest) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in California and Hawaii. Th ...

. Chaminade University of Honolulu's team name is the " Silverswords," a reference to a Hawaiian plant prized for its beauty and ability to withstand harsh conditions.

Varsity sports

Teams

Men's sports * Basketball * Cross Country * Golf * Soccer Women's sports * Basketball * Cross Country * Soccer * Softball * Tennis * Volleyball

Historic moments

In 1982, Chaminade, then a member of the NAIA, defeated

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

in what was considered the biggest upset in college basketball history up to that point. Virginia, which featured

Ralph Sampson Ralph Lee Sampson Jr. (born July 7, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. A phenom, three-time college national player of the year, and first overall selec ...

and

Rick Carlisle Richard Preston Carlisle ( ; born October 27, 1959) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has previously served as head coach of the Detroi ...

, was the top-ranked team in NCAA Division I basketball entering the game after posting victories against Georgetown (with

Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Georgetown University men's team. He played most of his career as the starting center for the N ...

) and

Phi Slama Jama Phi Slama Jama was a name given to the men's college basketball teams of the Houston Cougars from 1982 to 1984. Coined by former ''Houston Post'' sportswriter Thomas Bonk, the nickname was quickly adopted by the players and even appeared on team ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. But in the

Blaisdell Arena The Neal S. Blaisdell Center is a community center near downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The complex has a multi-purpose arena, concert hall, exhibition hall, galleria, meeting rooms, Waikiki Shell and others. Constructed in 1964 on the historic Wa ...

, the 3,500 fans in attendance, most of whom had come to see the nation's No. 1 team, witnessed the historic 77–72 upset. Many newspapers reportedly checked sources several times to make sure the story was right—that 800-student NAIA Chaminade had actually defeated the NCAA's top-ranked Cavaliers. The

Maui Invitational Tournament The Maui Invitational, currently known as the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, is an annual early-season college basketball tournament that takes place Thanksgiving (US), Thanksgiving week, normally in Lahaina, Hawaii, Lahaina, Hawaii, at the Lahaina ...

, hosted by Chaminade, began in 1984, partly due to the Silverswords' 1982 win over Virginia.

Maui Invitational

Chaminade hosts a major annual early-season tournament in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

men's basketball: the

. The Silverswords are the only Division II team that plays in the Maui Invitational. However, since 2018, the Silverswords only appear in the tournament in odd-numbered years. In even-numbered years, Chaminade plays two games at tournament participants' home arenas. In the 2012 invitational, Chaminade defeated the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

in the opening round by a score of 86–73. It was the second career loss to Chaminade for Texas coach

Rick Barnes Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

, who previously lost in 1991 as the coach of the

Providence Friars The Providence Friars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Providence College, located in Providence, Rhode Island. They compete in the Big East Conference (NCAA Division I) for every sport except for ice hockey, where they compet ...

. the Silverswords' record in the tournament is 8–92 after a 24-point win over

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Notable staff

Al Walker Al Walker (born March 19, 1959) is an American former basketball coach. He currently is a pro personnel scout for the Detroit Pistons of the NBA, a position he'd held since 2015. He played college basketball for the Brockport Golden Eagles, won ...

(born 1959), former basketball player and college coach, now a scout for the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

of the NBA

References

External links

* {{Pacific West Conference navbox