Rockne Crowningburg Freitas (September 7, 1945 – June 8, 2022) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

and the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

in an eleven-year career that lasted from 1968 to 1978 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 ...

(NFL). Freitas played college football at Oregon State University and was drafted in the third round of the 1967 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 1972 season. His son Makoa Freitas, Makoa was selected in the 2003 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. Following his NFL career, Freitas served in various leadership roles in education, including at Ke Aliʻi Pauahi Foundation, Kamehameha Schools, and GRG Enterprises. He also served as the chancellor of Hawaiʻi Community College for six years, as vice president for university relations for the University of Hawaiʻi System, and as associate athletic director for the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. As a vice president of the University of Hawaii System, Freitas was instrumental in negotiating a move of the Hawaii Warriors football, UH football team from the Western Athletic Conference to the Mountain West Conference in 2010 during the 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment. Freitas served as the chancellor for the University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu from 2013 until his retirement in 2015.

References

External links

Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freitas, Rockne 1945 births 2022 deaths American football offensive linemen Detroit Lions players Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine athletic directors Oregon State Beavers football players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Honolulu Native Hawaiian sportspeople