Niumatalolo still has lots of aloha on his mind
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LAS VEGAS — Smoke got into Ken Niumatalolo’s eyes as he reflected on the demolition of Aloha Stadium.
“Sad,” Niumatalolo said, softly.
At Thursday’s Mountain West Football Media Days, Niumatalolo was among 10 head football coaches promoting the coming season. He also looked back on the Halawa stadium that was a virtual scrapbook of his life.
“There aren’t very many guys who have had as many experiences that I feel like I’ve had at Aloha Stadium,” said Niumatalolo, who is entering his third season as San Jose State’s head coach.
In 1975, a 10-year-old Niumatalolo attended the stadium’s first event, a meet-and-greet session with the Hawaiians of the World Football League.
“I remember meeting Calvin Hill,” Niumatalolo said of the Hawaiians’ running back and father of Hall of Fame basketball player Grant Hill.
Outside the stadium, he sold newspapers featuring rosters.
“I went to Aiea Elementary, so I used to walk across that little bridge over there,” he said.
If he and his friends sold their quota of papers, they could buy general admission tickets to an event.
“We tried to go in early because we wanted to see the teams (warm up),” he said. After the game, they pleaded with players for game-worn chinstraps or wristbands.
In 1981, Niumatalolo, a quarterback, led Radford High to a 14-2 victory over Saint Louis School in the Oahu Prep Bowl. In 1989, Niumatalolo was the backup quarterback when the Rainbow Warriors routed BYU 56-14 before a capacity crowd at Aloha Stadium.
Later in 1989, UH played in the Aloha Bowl.
“Garrett (Gabriel) was obviously the starter,” Niumatalolo recalled. “I came off the bench to get a headache. You know, I was like, ‘Wait a minute, I only came in for a couple minutes but I got a concussion?’”
Niumatalolo was a graduate assistant and then full-tine assistant coach for UH from 1990 through 1994. Later, he became Navy’s head coach.
“From a young kid being at the opening day to selling newspapers there to … winning the state high school championship to playing at the University of Hawaii to being there when we beat BYU,” he said, “and then coming back as an opposing coach, I feel like I’ve been there (a lot).”
He also attended several stadium concerts, including Michael Jackson’s.
“A lot of great memories there,” Niumatalolo said. “A lot of great memories with UH. Bad memories as a coach at Navy because we lost both games (against UH).”
These days Niumatalolo still keeps tabs on the progress of the stadium project n Halawa. Niumatalolo owns a home in Manoa, a stroll from UH’s campus.
San Jose State also has added quarterback with ties to the Warriors. Quarterback Luke Weaver, who threw UH’s winning touchdown pass in the 2025 Hawaii Bowl, transferred to SJSU in January. Daniel Rolovich — son of former UH quarterback and head coach Nick Rolovich — signed with the Spartans and is competing for the starting job.
Niumatalolo said the elder Rolovich was supportive during the recruiting process. Nick Rolovich is associate head coach for California.
“It was kind of cool,” Niumatalolo said. “He just came as a dad on the visit. … We all know Rolo. Craig (Stutzmann, SJSU offensive coordinator) knows him really well, worked with him for many years, one of his best friends. But I thought it was cool how Nick came in as a dad, and just taking it back, with his son making the decision.”
Niumatalolo said Weaver spoke highly of his experience with the Warriors but was seeking more playing time. Micah Alejado is established as the Warriors’ starting quarterback.
“I was impressed with (Weaver) when I talked to him,” Niumatalolo said. “He had nothing bad to say about Hawaii. He just talked about how he wanted a chance to play, and that spoke volumes to me. … He had nothing but good things to say about Timmy Chang and the program. He was totally honest. It wasn’t about the money. He just wanted a chance to play.”
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