Karl Michael Akiu (born February 12, 1962) is a former

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 with ...

wide receiver who played two seasons with the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

of 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 ...

. He was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the seventh round of the

1985 NFL Draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New York. The league also hel ...

. He first enrolled at

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

before transferring to the

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. Akiu attended Kalaheo High School in

Kailua, Honolulu County, Hawaii Kailua () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. It lies in the Koolaupoko District of the island of Oahu on the windward coast at Kailua Bay. It is in the judicial district and the ahupua'a named Ko'ol ...

. He was also a member of the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Early years

Akiu played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the Kalaheo High School Mustangs from 1976 to 1979. He played

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

, and wide receiver for the Mustangs while earning all-state honors. He was also a

centerfielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ce ...

on the baseball team from 1977 to 1980 and a state champion in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

College career

Washington State University

Akiu attended Washington State University on a track scholarship from 1980 to 1982.

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Akiu transferred to play

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wāhine are the athletic teams that represent the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UH), in Honolulu, Hawaii. The UH athletics program is a member of the Big West Conference in most sports and competes a ...

from 1982 to 1984.

Professional career

Houston Oilers

Akiu was selected by the Houston Oilers with the 170th pick in the 1985 NFL Draft. He played in twenty games, starting one, for the Oilers from 1985 to 1986. He was released by the Oilers on September 7, 1987.

San Francisco 49ers

Akiu signed with the San Francisco 49ers on February 9, 1988. He was released by the 49ers on May 12, 1988.

Buffalo Bills

Akiu signed with the Buffalo Bills on July 1, 1988. He was released by the Bills on August 1, 1988.

Houston Oilers

Akiu was signed by the Houston Oilers on July 18, 1989. He was released by the Oilers on September 8, 1989.

Coaching career

Akiu coached the Windward Tigers

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

Midgets to a 95-5 record.

Kalaheo High School

Akiu was

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the Kalaheo Mustangs from 2000 to 2002, accumulating an 11-14 record. He resigned in March 2003 due to time constraints in relation to his job as a

stevedore A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...

Personal life

Akiu's son Mike Akiu, Jr. also played for the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. On September 1, 1985, Akiu, Sr. helped apprehend a burglar who had broken into a hotel room he shared with teammate Willie Drewrey.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akiu, Mike Living people 1962 births Players of American football from Hawaii American football wide receivers Washington State Cougars men's track and field athletes Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football players Houston Oilers players High school football coaches in Hawaii People from Honolulu County, Hawaii