5 things for Hawaii sports fans to be thankful for in 2025

HONOLULU – ‘Tis the season.

Happy Thanksgiving, from our HSRN family to all of the beautiful people!

A tipsy-turvy year of college athletics has led to plenty of pointed discussions, flared up frustrations and taken more from fans than ever before. It’s honestly been exhausting.

Conference re-alignment ruining old conference rivalries, every payment being called “Name, Image and Likeness” compensation to cover up further professionalization of college athletes and countless other headaches for enjoyers and supporters of programs to wrestle with.

But within all the madness was beauty.

Injuries, heartbreaking losses and stories about stadium progress (or lack thereof) have dominated plenty of headlines over the calendar year. That’s boring and no fun to discuss.

The start of a new administration at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, the best Rainbow Warrior football team of Timmy Chang’s tenure and the switch to Nike gear for Hawai’i only are a few of the great athletics things happening in the islands.

It doesn’t even touch on HPU men’s basketball’s historic upset over Boise State, Chaminade’s return to Lahaina and the Maui Invitational and two new participants for the HHSAA Open Division state football championship game.

In the spirit of the season, here’s a written version of the five-finger turkey project with 5 things to be thankful for in Hawai’i sports.

1. Welcoming Wendy Hensel & Matt Elliott to the UH ‘Ohana

Who could forget the end of 2024?

David Lassner had thrown a wrench into the machine right before retiring from his post as the President of the University of Hawai’i, dismissing then-athletic director Craig Angelos (effective at the start of December) as every other college athletic department nationally stressed and strategized over the potential effects of the looming House v. NCAA settlement.

Rumors floated around Angelos’ dismissal being a “coup” or Lassner using his last bit of power to look out for friends who had served him well, leading to the former UH President to defend the decision in a Board of Regents meeting on November 21, 2024, and reaffirm his choice to give his incoming successor free reign to pick her own AD.

Weeks of protests and the #SaveCraig campaign spread on social media, but ultimately did not lead to the reinstatement of Angelos. A national search for the next UH athletic director began, leading to the selection of Matt Elliott.

New UH Director of Athletics Matt Elliott poses with President Wendy Hensel following the Board of Regents confirmation. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Elliott has proven to be the perfect blend for Hawai’i since taking over in the summer, spending weeks before his official first day getting up to speed with remaining members of the athletic department so they could hit the ground running in early July.

Since, Elliott has helped re-secure charter flights in a deal with Hawaiian Airlines, operates as a lead voice in meetings with state officials as UH works to evolve into the new age of college athletics competition and eliminated fans needing pay-per-view to see the Rainbow Warrior football team in his first five months on the job.

Even better, the work isn’t done.

Hensel and Elliott are aligned on continuing to grow the notable brand that is the University of Hawaii, leading to the pursuit of deals that have allowed for better accessibility for fans on the continent or Tokyo Toe fanatics in Japan alike to take in Hawai’i sports.

Of course it’s still early, but the new administration at UH has calmed many of the nerves once struck by the sudden canning of Craig just over a year ago. Having shown an early ability to get things done is just one of the reasons that the two have been big blessings as UH enjoys great seasons across many sports.

2. Rainbow Warrior Football flashing back to the Good ‘Ol Days

Who’s ready to go Bowling?

No, not at Aiea Bowl. Or at Aloha Stadium.

But for the first time since Timmy Chang took over at his alma mater, the Rainbow Warriors are bowl-eligible. The offense has been amongst the top units in the Mountain West and the team flirted with a conference championship bid into the final weeks of the regular season.

Led by a roster littered with local players, some guys who have adopted the aloha spirit and an international flavor on special teams, UH clinched a spot in postseason ball by the middle of October and reinvigorated a fanbase that had been in a deep slumber since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The offense saw the best scoring streak in nearly two decades, Micah Alejado put his name in the same sentence as program legend Colt Brennan and Jackson Harris broke out as the next star in the Hawai’i Run-N-Shoot offense.

Kansei Matsuzawa became a national sensation in the opening weekend of the season, earning the “Tokyo Toe” nickname while his story of learning to kick from YouTube to winning a Division I starting kicker job spread like wildfire. The senior from Japan became just the second Rainbow Warrior ever to be named a finalist for the Lou Groza Award and enters the Senior Weekend 23-of-23 on field goal attempts, two shy of the FBS record for consecutive makes to start a year.

The defense has seen elite production in the trenches as Jackie Johnson III, De’Jon Benton and numerous others took turns tormenting opposing quarterbacks at the second-highest rate in the conference.

All three phases have helped combine to make a bowl team, likely an invite to the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve and quieted critics of the current coaching staff to the point of contract extensions being the talk of the town rather than coaching searches.

It’s been a hell of a season, and it’s not even pau yet.

Take it from a Jets fan – it’s just nice to be over .500 again. Especially while watching a dynamic offense.

3. Basketball has rarely been better in Hawaii

Where do we start?

The Rainbow Wahine program has become a machine under HC Laura Beeman, even after remodeling the roster following the graduation of more than half of last year’s team. Led by a legion of underclassmen, the ladies for Hawai’i are off to the best start in 25 years after winning the Bank of Hawaii Classic last weekend and are looking for more as the holiday season rolls in.

Beeman’s squad, currently ranked within the Mid-Major Top 25 poll after a 4-0 start, will face their biggest test yet in the American Savings Bank Rainbow Wahine Showdown as Vermont, Lindenwood and Santa Clara come to Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center to close out November. They also provide the best deal in town with $8 tickets for adults, $6 tickets for senior citizens and free admission for children ages 4-18 for all home games.

The bench celebrates during a home game for the Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine basketball team. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Speaking of rocking deals, Hawaii Pacific University’s men’s basketball team looks primed for a great season in the third year under HC Jesse Nakanishi’s leadership. The Sharks shocked the college basketball world to open the 2025 season, going to the continent and upsetting Division I Boise State and have already received PacWest Team of the Week recognition after a 3-1 start.

HPU tickets go for $11 and provide exciting basketball and a different environment from other college contests. Division II basketball in Hawai’i provides a bevy of competitive programs in Hawaii Pacific, Chaminade and UH-Hilo, all three of which should see their men’s programs make the PacWest Tournament at the end of the year.

Of course, you cannot forget about the Rainbow Warriors. After the worst season in Eran Ganot’s UH tenure, the program transformed itself into a more modern look with nine new faces joining just four returners from last year.

Even despite some brutal injury luck at the start of the race, Hawai’i has jumped out to a solid 5-2 start with losses against Power 4 foes Oregon and Arizona State. The offense is averaging more than 80 points per game through nearly a quarter of UH’s schedule, the defense is amongst the best in the Big West once again and UH is a top 25 team nationally in drawing fouls and making free throws.

In the final year of current conference membership, Ganot and company could have as good of a chance as ever to take home a title and return to the NCAA Tournament in March. There’s no reason to miss out on Dre Bullock’s high-flying dunks, Isaac “Big Fish” Johnson’s domination inside and out or any of the explosive scoring stretches the Rainbow Warriors randomly rip off.

4. Some of the best Olympic Sport programs in the entire country

Who isn’t thankful for winners?

Hawai’i boasts some of the most prolific programs in the Olympic Sport sphere. Rainbow Warrior men’s volleyball and Rainbow Wahine water polo made deep postseason runs in 2025, each finishing the season with a loss in the Final Four of the national tournaments after winning Big West titles.

The Hawai’i men’s volleyball team thanks the crowd following a match. | Photo Credit: Hawaii Sports Radio Network

Rainbow Wahine Track & Field overcame another year of lackluster resources and practice facilities to send four women to the first round of NCAAs in four different events. Men’s Swimming & Diving had the lone Big West representative at the NCAA Championships in Karol Ostrowski and nine individual conference champions in total.

In a time where anything outside of football and men’s basketball lacks attention (and resources), UH’s student-athletes in Olympic sports have quietly dominated and competed among the best the NCAA has to offer without taking a single excuse.

Here’s to the athletes who honed their craft without weekly media avails, cameras in their faces for every contest and still have just as much to take care of academically. Winning isn’t easy and it isn’t for everyone, but Hawai’i should be thankful for great programs across the board.

5. The workers for every UH home event

This category could spiral on for a while if we thanked every person by name with a hand in making sure UH athletics operate smoothly, so instead we’ll put it together into one large group.

From Sodexo workers for concessions to bouncers to ticket checkers to the Stan Sheriff Center crew that flips the venue between basketball and volleyball seamlessly for fans, there are dozens of names and faces that never get the thanks for helping provide a quality experience for fans during Rainbow Warrior and Wahine home contests.

If you’ve ever enjoyed a beverage or a few fries from the concession stand at Bankoh Arena, these people have likely served you with a smile regardless of the result on the court.

If you’ve ever taken in multiple games in one day on UH’s campus, these people have helped make it possible without any hiccups.

If you’ve ever needed help finding a seat or purchasing parking, these people have happily helped assist so that you can cheer and be among the best fanbase the school could ask for.

Don’t forget about the in-house sports information people and students assisting for the enjoyment of fans. Without a plethora of people helping out behind the scenes, there would be no immediate statistics, highlight videos or television broadcasts, among many other things.

And of course, the custodians, cleaners and helpers that ensure T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, Les Murakami Stadium, Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium and the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Complex are looking brand new following each home game.

Hawai’i doesn’t have Power 4 money or resources, but there are plenty of power people sprinkled all along the way that make it so the islands can enjoy the programs that so desperately push to make them proud.

Within all the darkness of college sports, there are plenty of Rainbows we have to be thankful for.