The Chaminade Silverswords are the 12 varsity athletic teams that represent Chaminade University of Honolulu, located in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the 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 environment ...

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. T ...

in all sponsored sports except beach volleyball, in which they are independent. 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.

History

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

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

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 Sr. (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is a basketball ambassador for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played most o ...

) and Phi Slama Jama of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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

Varsity sports

The most recently added sports are baseball and beach volleyball, both added in 2023–24. Baseball had originally been sponsored in 1979–80, but dropped to club level after that season and disbanded completely after the 1981 season. Beach volleyball had been a club-level sport (billed as an "exhibition team") since the 2013 spring season.

Maui Invitational

Chaminade hosts a major annual early-season tournament in

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

men's basketball: the Maui Invitational. 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 ...

in the opening round by a score of 86–73. It was the second career loss to Chaminade for Texas coach Rick Barnes, who previously lost in 1991 as the coach of the

Providence Friars The Providence Friars are the College sports in the United States, 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 exc ...

. 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 that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Notable staff

* Al Walker (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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

of the NBA

References

External links

* {{Pacific West Conference navbox