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 at the NCAA Division I level. It comprises seven men's, 12 women's, and two coed athletic teams.

Nickname

Hawaiʻi athletics began more than a century ago, with the first football team being fielded in 1909. Through 1923, the UH teams were called the "Deans." In the final game of the 1923 season, the football team upset Oregon State, with a rainbow appearing over the stadium during the game. Sportswriters began referring to UH teams as the "Rainbows," and the tradition was born that Hawaii could not lose if a rainbow appeared. The rainbow officially became a part of the school's athletic logo in 1982 and remained until 2000.

King Kamehameha the Great and his warriors united the Hawaiian Islands, earning the warrior a place of honor in Hawaiian history and an expectation of strength, skill and a fighting spirit. The UH teams became known as "Rainbow Warriors" long before the name became official in 1974.

When women's teams were begun in 1972, founder and first women's athletic director Dr. Donnis Thompson named the teams the "Rainbow Wāhine" with "wāhine" being Hawaiian for women.

Both the men's and the women's teams have long been known as the "Rainbows" or merely the "'Bows."

A controversial change in 2000 allowed each team to pick its own team name; the football, men's volleyball, golf, and tennis teams became the Warriors, while the men's basketball and swimming & diving teams remained Rainbow Warriors, and the baseball team became the Rainbows. The women's teams, however, all remained the “Rainbow Wāhine." At the same time, the school changed its athletics logo to the current stylized "H,” omitting the rainbow of the old logo altogether.

On July 1, 2013, the nicknames of the university's men's sports teams were once again standardized, and all male teams at the university are now referred to as the "Rainbow Warriors." More recently, the women's beach volleyball team, while still officially "Rainbow Wāhine,” generally uses "SandBows.”

History

Conference affiliation

The Hawaiʻi men's teams competed as independents until joining the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 1979. The women's teams were independents until joining the Pacific Coast Athletic Association in 1985, with that conference rebranding as the Big West Conference in 1988. In 1996, the women's teams joined the men in the WAC. In July 2012, most of the school's teams moved from the WAC to the women's former league, the Big West Conference. Since the Big West does not sponsor football, the Rainbow Warriors became affiliate members of the Mountain West Conference. Teams in sports not sponsored by the Big West compete as members of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

Sports sponsored

Baseball

The Rainbow Warriors have made one appearance in the College World Series, finishing as the runner up to champion Arizona in the 1980 College World Series. The team is currently led by first year head coach Rich Hill.

Men's basketball

The Rainbow Warriors are coached by Eran Ganot. In 2015, the university self-imposed penalties as a result of NCAA violations committed by the previous coaching staff that include vacating 36 wins from the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons, reducing scholarships and practice time, and placing itself on one-year probation. The university also agreed to pay a $10,000 fine. The team's most recent appearance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was in 2016.

Women's basketball

The Hawaiʻi Rainbow Wāhine basketball team represents the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. They are currently coached by Laura Beeman. The team plays its home games at the Stan Sheriff Center