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Athletics

Dean’s Speaker Series

September 20, 2023

Eric Fujimoto ’94 advises students to persevere and show humility

The best rate of return and the stock market ticker symbol to keep a close eye on is YOU or ME. Sage advice from Ho‘ea Wealth Advisory Group Principal Eric Fujimoto, the guest speaker of the School of Business and Communication’s inaugural Dean’s Speaker Series. In his address to students, the 1994 Chaminade MBA graduate and Board of Regents member advised attendees to double down and invest in themselves.  

“There is nothing wrong with making money,” said Fujimoto, who was ranked Barron’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors and #1 in Hawai‘i and Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors from 2018-2023. “But, do it ethically and use it to better your community. Shift the focus from money to people.”  

The Dean’s Speaker Series is designed to bring private, nonprofit and public sector leaders who have achieved recognition in their respective fields to share their expertise and insights on a broad range of timely issues, as well as share the highlights, challenges and turning points of their individual career paths.

The intent of the forum is to bring a diversity of social, cultural, economic and other business-related perspectives to the Chaminade community in order to engage in ways that inform and encourage sustainable business for good.  

Ho‘ea Wealth Advisory Group Principal Eric Fujimoto Eric Fujimoto shared his story and advice with students.

“The impetus for the Series is to provide co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for students to augment what they are learning in the classrooms with relevant and high-impact experiences,” said School of Business and Communication Interim Dean Annette Santos. “Ultimately, this event has an underlying call to action to students who are reminded that they are empowered to create a sustainable future that reflects the values and the priorities of their communities through the knowledge they glean from their educational experience at Chaminade.”  

Awarded the US Small Business Administration’s Small Business Person of the Year for the City and County of Honolulu in 2020, Fujimoto’s wealth of experience not only includes offering solid financial advice to his clients, but also serving as a member of various nonprofit organizations, including Drug Free Hawai‘i, Central Union Church and, one that he is particularly eager to help, Unity Prom, which is an effort to provide students with disabilities the experience of a normal high school prom.  

“We were the students and they were the teachers,” said Fujimoto, choking up in a video address that he played during his Monday evening talk. “The Ho‘ea Foundation is a proud sponsor of this event, which gives these high schools the chance to enjoy what other kids their age experience every year. And we’re always looking for dates, so if anyone wants to be a prom date, contact her—pointing to Jill Higashi, Chaminade’s Assistant Vice President of Advancement.”  

After Fujimoto’s talk, freshman baseball player Jacob Villacorte said he learned a lot, and the message of perseverance and giving back to the community especially meant a lot to him. “There were things I didn’t know about,” said Villacorte. “It was a good learning experience.”  

Consistent with Chaminade’s mission of community service, the Speakers Series is framed around the theme, “Sustainable Business for Good,” which also aligns with Chaminade’s CIFAL designation. Speakers are selected based on their demonstrated commitment to transforming lives and advancing communities.  

“I’ve had the privilege to visit other universities, but Chaminade is the only one where you feel a sense of community that genuinely wants you to succeed,” Fujimoto said. “The people here care about you; they put great ideas in front of you; so you were right to choose Chaminade.”  

Santos hopes students will feel the same way after they attend the Speakers Series.  

“There are several takeaways that I hope will resonate with students,” Santos said. “The first is to be inspired by the personal and professional journey of the featured speakers in ways that enhance their educational experience; the second is to understand that personal and professional growth is a process that involves challenges and turning points on the way to wins and transformation; and the third is to provide opportunities for them to build their network, possibly creating meaningful connections with speakers or those in attendance.”  

Gesturing as if he was steering a car on the H-1 freeway, Fujimoto made one final point to the students: they are in the driver’s seat and they determine the course of their destiny. “If you were just to turn the car by one degree, what do you think would happen,” he posed to the students. “You will end up at a different destination.”        

Posted by: University Communications & Marketing Filed Under: Alumni, Athletics, Business & Communication, Campus and Community, CIFAL Honolulu, Homepage, Institutional Tagged With: Alumni, Campus Event, Guest Speakers

39th Annual Maui Invitational

September 15, 2023

Tournament officials decide to shift location to Oahu  

It’s official. The 39th Annual Maui Invitational will be played on O‘ahu, from Nov. 20 to 22. Tournament officials attribute the necessity to relocate the event due to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s current use of Lahaina Civic Center as its Disaster Recovery Center for Maui wildfire recovery efforts.  

“We understand that circumstances warrant moving the Tournament, which has been held on Maui for the 37 years,” says Dr. Lynn Babington, President of Chaminade University of Honolulu. “However, this year is like no other, and it will stand alone in history as one of the most difficult for our West Maui residents.”  

Ironically, the tournament returns to the city where it all began. In 1982, Chaminade, then a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school, shocked the collegiate sports world by defeating No. 1 Virginia, led by two-time national player of the year Ralph Sampson, in Honolulu.  

Often considered one of the premier in-season tournaments, the 2023 Maui Invitational assembled one of the strongest fields in the tournament’s history with Gonzaga, Kansas, Marquette, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, UCLA and Chaminade University, which has hosted this event for the past 36 years. Combined, the eight teams boast 263 NCAA Tournament appearances, 17 NCAA Tournament Championship Titles and three AP Coach of the Year award—Mark Few (2017), Bill Self (2009, 2016) and Shaka Smart (2023).  

“While we have to move this year’s Tournament off of Maui, we are determined to celebrate and honor the culture and traditions that make this event so special,” says Tom Valdiserri, executive vice president of KemperSports LIVE, the operator of the Maui Invitational. “Throughout this process, we’ve seen the spirit of ‘ohana in action. Thank you to Governor Josh Green, Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, and Mayor Richard Bissen, as well as the staff at Chaminade University of Honolulu and the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa for working tirelessly with us to keep this tournament in Hawai‘i.”  

Other college basketball programs across the country are showing their support for Maui through charity games and fundraisers. Michigan State hosts Tennessee on Oct. 29 in a charity exhibition, while Kansas and Illinois will do the same in Champaign, Illinois. Saint Mary’s will visit Honolulu on Oct. 20 to play an exhibition game against Hawaii at the Stan Sheriff Center.  

Meanwhile, the Maui Invitational launched its Hoops for ‘Ohana online auction last week in partnership with Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund. All the proceeds will go directly to wildfire relief and recovery efforts. Fans can bid on unique items donated by past Maui Jim Invitational basketball programs and Tournament partners.  

“Although this year’s Invitational will be held on O‘ahu, Maui will forever remain in the hearts and minds of the teams who participate in it,” Babington says. “We feel a heightened responsibility to support our Maui neighbors, and we look forward to returning home to Lahaina in 2024.”  

Posted by: University Communications & Marketing Filed Under: Athletics, Campus and Community, Homepage, Institutional Tagged With: Maui Jim Invitational Maui Tournament, Men's Basketball

Student-Athletes Score Awards

August 4, 2023

54 Silverswords honored with Academic Achievement Award

Nine seniors played their final game with the Silverswords Women's Soccer team.
Nine seniors played their final game with the Women’s Soccer team.

Now in its 16th year, the Division 2 Athletic Directors Association (D2 ADA) Academic Achievement Award is a program that recognizes the scholastic accomplishments of student-athletes at the Division II level. This year, a record 54 Silversword student-athletes were honored with the award, eclipsing last year’s number of 52.

“Intercollegiate athletics is an important component of the student experience at Chaminade,” says President Dr. Lynn Babington. “As a Marianist, Catholic institution, we value the development of the whole person, and athletics creates the opportunity for our students to not only excel in sports, but to learn teamwork and leadership and provide school spirit to the campus.”

To be honored with the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award, the school’s athletic director must be a current dues-paying member of the D2 ADA. Also, a student-athlete must have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale, have attended a minimum two years (four semesters) of college level work ,and have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her academic year.

Eleven Silverswords posted 4.00 grade-point averages during their time at Chaminade with two senior student-athletes—Peyton Oshiro (men’s cross country) and Hoku Schatz (women’s soccer)—wrapping up their playing careers with perfect GPAs.

In all, a record-breaking 19,646 student-athletes from across 196 NCAA Division II institutions were recognized with the award.

Isaac Amaral-Artharee ranks 11th in the all-time scoring list with 1,326 points ... second in 3-pointers made (192) ... fourth in free throw percentage (83.5; 198-of-237) ... seventh in starts (69) ... sixth in minutes played (2,842).
Isaac Amaral-Artharee ranks 11th in the all-time scoring list with 1,326 points.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our student-athletes, who earned the prestigious honor of being a D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award winner,” said Chaminade Athletic Director Tom Buning. “Having a school record number of awardees is a testament to our Silverswords dedication to excellence in the classroom and competition. This accomplishment is even more noteworthy when considering that travel for the PacWest Conference competition requires extended absences from class.”

Of the more than 1,100 NCAA member universities and colleges, about 300 classify their athletics programs in Division II.
 
Division II is all about balance. Students participate in highly competitive athletics, have the best access ratio to NCAA championships of any division and can earn athletics scholarships, but their college experience includes so much more than sports participation. The balanced approach in athletics, academics and community engagement allows Division II student-athletes to focus on their academic pursuits, internships, studies abroad and all that interests them.
 
Among the most distinguishing features in Division II is its athletics scholarship model, which awards partial scholarships that students combine with academic or need-based grants to construct their financial aid package. Division II believes it is important to acknowledge and financially reward students’ athletics abilities. This partial scholarship model keeps athletics budgets more closely proportioned with the total institutional budget.

The following Silversword student-athletes were recipients of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award (listed by sport):

Men’s Basketball
Isaac Amaral-Artharee
Scott Ator
Dorian Harris
Kameron Ng
Braden Olsen
Patrick Renane
Kobe Young
 
Women’s basketball
Olivia Crigler
Mia Ming
Emma Morris
 
Men’s Cross Country
Elijah Bernardo-Flores
Peyton Oshiro
Peter Jan Ramos
Josiah Rodrigues
 
Women’s Cross Country
Leila-Jayne Casison
Montserrat Lanfranco
Eri Leong
Ashley Yoshikawa
 
Men’s Golf
Kal O’Brien
Schuyler Peterson
 
Men’s Soccer
Kekoa Kuloloia
Kaulana Navares
Daniel Villalva
Brandon Yasue
 
Women’s Soccer
Lece Aviles
Gracie Bowers
Ruby Burroughs
Caili Cain
Gracie Knowd
Jenna McLean
Kira Nishiki
Dayna Nishimura
Hoku Schatz
Clara Slate-Liu
Kyla Takazono
Nicole Vontsolos
 
Women’s Softball
Kobe Brown
Taryn Fujioka
Kailah Gates-Coyaso
Taylor Genera
Haley Hayakawa
Bailey Jacobsen
Kieren Lopez
Chasity McKean
Cheyne Obara
Keolani Takemura
 
Women’s Tennis
Sydney Danielson
Emily Ramirez Miranda
 
Women’s Volleyball
Alexia Byrnes
Sasha Colombo
Greta Corti
Brooklen Pe’a
Kaybrie Pe’a
Sophie Schilling
 

Posted by: University Communications & Marketing Filed Under: Athletics, Campus and Community, Diversity and Inclusion, Featured Story Tagged With: Athletics, Honors and Awards, Men's Basketball, Women's Volleyball

First Pitch Fundraiser

June 26, 2023

Proceeds to support new Baseball Program

Play Ball! Chaminade University of Honolulu hosted its “First Pitch” Baseball fundraiser on Saturday, May 20, 2023 at Murphy’s Bar and Grill. Head Baseball Coach, Chad Konishi, mingled with attendees, sharing his strategy for the upcoming season. Guests enjoyed delicious food, local entertainment and a silent auction.

All proceeds from First Pitch benefited the Chaminade Baseball program, which is set to resume its regular season action in Spring 2024. Go Swords!

Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington and Baseball Head Coach Chad Konishi flash their shaka of approval.
Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington and Baseball Head Coach Chad Konishi flash their shaka of approval.
The evening featured a buffet of island favorites.
The evening featured a buffet of island favorites.
First Pitch attendees enjoyed the convivial atmosphere during a Silversword Baseball Program fundraiser at Murphy's Bar & Grill.
First Pitch attendees enjoyed the convivial atmosphere during a Silversword Baseball Program fundraiser at Murphy’s Bar & Gr

Konishi has extensive experience in collegiate baseball, serving as associate head coach at the University of Hawai’i Manoa from 2002 to ’13 where he was also the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. During his 12-year career at Hawai’i, the Rainbow Warriors reached two NCAA Regionals (2006 and 2010) with a Western Athletic Conference title in 2011 while posting one 40-win season and eight 30-win campaigns. His pitching staffs were consistently near the top of WAC pitching statistics including posting the conference’s lowest ERAs in 2006 (3.79) and 2007 (3.97).

Since 2014, Konishi had been a high school athletics director, the past three at Saint Louis School, which shares the same campus as Chaminade. Prior to his time at Saint Louis, he headed the extremely successful athletics program at Saint Francis School in Manoa before the institution closed its doors in 2019. Both Saint Louis and Saint Francis won numerous Hawai’i High School Athletic Association state championships and Interscholastic League of Honolulu titles during his tenure as athletics director.

He is only the second head coach in program history, succeeding Leroy Goo who was Chaminade’s only baseball coach during the 1980 and ’81 seasons before the program was dropped.

“I am thrilled to join the Silverswords ‘ohana,” Konishi told the crowd. “Having a close working relationship with them while I was at Saint Louis I know how special this university is. I am very much looking forward to building the foundation of Chaminade baseball and to eventually become a force in the PacWest of a sport I am passionate about.”

Posted by: University Communications & Marketing Filed Under: Alumni, Athletics, Institutional Tagged With: Athletics, Baseball, Fundraiser

Chaminade University to Add Men’s Baseball, Women’s Beach Volleyball for the 2023-2024 Academic Year

August 1, 2022

Chaminade University today announced it will add Men’s Baseball and Women’s Beach Volleyball to its Athletics offerings for the 2023-2024 academic year.

After an absence of more than 40 years, Chaminade Baseball will join the Pacific West Conference. In addition, Chaminade will become one of only two schools in the PacWest and one of three Division II institutions in the West Region to field teams in Beach Volleyball.

“We are incredibly excited to welcome these sports to Chaminade University starting in 2023, the first new additions in 17 years,” said President Dr. Lynn Babington. “Athletics are an important part of the spirit of our campus, and the addition of these new teams will help us to attract even more students interested in excelling in both athletics and academics.”

Chaminade Men’s Baseball
Chaminade University last fielded an intercollegiate baseball in 1980. In their inaugural season, the ’Swords finished 20-6 and earned a berth in the NAIA District 2 Playoffs. However, due to budgetary restrictions, the program dropped to club level status in 1981 before disbanding altogether the following year. The search for a baseball head coach is currently underway.

Chaminade Women’s Beach Volleyball
Chaminade has fielded beach volleyball as an exhibition sport since Spring 2013, playing various Division I schools over the years. Because the conference does not sponsor the sport and the NCAA does not separate beach volleyball into its traditional divisions (I, II, III), Chaminade will compete as an independent and be eligible for national championships at the same level as other high-profile programs. Current women’s volleyball indoor coach Kahala Kabalis Hoke will serve as the head coach of beach volleyball.

Added Chaminade University Director of Athletics Dr. Tom Buning, “This Chaminade University of Honolulu initiative reinforces the co-curricular value of our Silversword athletics to the campus experience. This decision aligns with the university’s mission to serve and educate the local community which has an abundant source of talented interscholastic athletes who deserve the opportunity to compete at the collegiate level while earning a degree and staying close to home.”

Both baseball and beach volleyball will begin competition in the spring of 2024, raising the number of intercollegiate programs at Chaminade to 12.

# # #

About Chaminade University
Chaminade University of Honolulu believes in the power of education to drive positive change, broaden perspectives and deepen our understanding of one another. With an emphasis on transformative service-learning experiences, we prepare students to serve as tomorrow’s leaders, inspiring and challenging them to use their minds and their hearts to help build stronger and more just communities. We are proud to serve as Hawai‘i’s only Marianist university, and rely on these values to guide us in delivering a high-quality education with an individualized approach and a focus on excellence, innovation and change. Established in 1955, we offer more than 30 undergraduate and graduate programs, including doctoral degrees in education, psychology and nursing practice. Learn more at chaminade.edu.

Posted by: University Communications & Marketing Filed Under: Athletics, Featured Story, Institutional, Press Release Tagged With: Baseball

A Record Year for Women’s Volleyball

January 11, 2022

If you want to win, you’ve got to work for it.

Chaminade women’s volleyball embraced that mantra this year — and it paid off.

Chaminade University's Women's Volleyball team 2021 in a huddle after a good play

The team wrapped up a wildly successful season after grabbing its first AVCA Division II Coaches Poll ranking since 2005, clinching its first PacWest title in a quarter century and going all the way to the NCAA Region West Division II tournament to end the year with a 27-6 record. 

“We didn’t want another season of a talented team falling short of goals,” said Head Coach Kahala Kabalis Hoke. “We knew that this year, we had to think differently if we wanted a different result. So the thought was that we will work for what we want. We will not expect anything to be given to us.”

Hoke said the team “embodied this culture” from day one.

Their motto: Huli ka lima i lalo or “turn the hand down.”

The saying encourages hard work (working the soil with hands down) to cultivate success, Kabalis Hoke said, over expecting things to be given to you (holding hands up to others). “The thought was we didn’t want to have our hands facing up, asking for anything to be given to us,” Kabalis Hoke said.

“We wanted to turn our hands down and work the aina.”

“I knew this team was different,” Kabalis Hoke added. “They were hungry to put in the work they needed to achieve success. They were committed to the process. They understood that there were sacrifices needed and our team leaders set a great example of work ethic and training with intention.”

The team started the season on solid footing and were picked second in the PacWest poll.

In mid-September, the Silverswords debuted at no. 21 in the AVCA Division II Coaches Poll. It was an incredibly strong showing for the team, which had previously been unranked for nearly 16 years. The Silverswords would then go on to beat the No. 11-ranked Metropolitan State University of Denver.

The season’s wins would only continue, including with their first-ever sweep of Azusa Pacific.

Chaminade University's Women's Volleyball team 2021

And then in November, a win 25 years in the making: the team captured their first Pacific West Conference title since 1996 and snagged a berth in the NCAA West Region tournament. While their subsequent fall to Central Washington was a bittersweet end to their eight-match winning streak and magical season, Kabalis Hoke is still immensely proud — and rightly so — of all her team achieved.

“This season was filled with highs and lows, from season-ending injuries to navigating COVID. We understand how blessed we are to achieve this result and we know it did not come easy and without a cost,” she said, noting the team clinched the highest regional seed (at no. 3) in Chaminade history.

Kabalis Hoke, who received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Chaminade, is in her 10th year as the team’s head coach. While an undergraduate at Chaminade, Kabalis Hoke was an All-PacWest First Team selection in 2003 and 2004 and ranked as a PacWest leader in kills, digs and service aces.

Kabalis Hoke said it’s been exciting to see women’s volleyball and athletics at Chaminade grow over the last decade, including with big investments in facilities and the student-athlete experience. “We have really been able to break new competitive ground as a program while unlocking new recruiting potential,” she said. “With each year of hard work and dedication these athletes and coaches put into the program, we level up. Every person who has stepped into our program either on or off the court has made a significant difference and helped us to represent Chaminade in the best way possible.”

In addition to all the wins this season, Kabalis Hoke and her team are celebrating plenty of recognition:

  • In early October, middle blocker Lataisia Saulala was named a PacWest Player of the Week following her standout performance against Dominican University and Holy Names University.
  • Saulala also clinched  the PacWest Defender of the Week title the following month. 
  • In post-season, Brooklen Pea was named PacWest Player of the Year.
  • Setter Alexia Byrnes earned the PacWest Setter and Newcomer of the Year awards.
  • Pea, Byrnes and Anna Dalla Vecchia were named to the All-PacWest First Team.
  • The All-PacWest Second Team included Greta Corti, Kyra McCain, and Saulala.
  • Additionally, Pea and Byrnes were named to All West Region first teams.

Kabalis Hoke also ended the season with high honors. She was named both the PacWest and AVCA Division II West Region Coach of the Year. She said all the praise is appreciated, but she — and her team — are already looking ahead to next year and what they hope is an even stronger season.

“Knowing that we will have the bulk of this team return with a fire lit makes for an exciting thought for 2022,” Kabalis Hoke  said. “Huli ka lima i lalo is what we did for the conference championship and now that we’ve raised the bar, we will huli ka lima i lalo for a regional and national championship.”

Posted by: University Communications & Marketing Filed Under: Athletics, Featured Story Tagged With: Women's Volleyball

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