UH football notebook: Pritchard, Chang will reunite after long ago recruiting trip

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For Saturday’s football opener, Stanford’s Tavita Pritchard will serve as host to the Hawaii football team.

Pritchard is reciprocating a gesture from 22 years ago.

In November 2004, Pritchard was a promising Clover Park (Wash.) High quarterback on an official UH-sponsored recruiting trip. On the itinerary was attending the Rainbow Warriors’ regular-season finale against Michigan State.

“Timmy was still playing, and I got to see him play,” Pritchard said of UH head coach Timmy Chang, who was the Warriors’ record-setting quarterback at the time. “They played Michigan State at home at Aloha Stadium, and I got to see him go off, and send those guys off with a win in his senior year here.”

Chang was Pritchard’s host during the 48-hour recruiting trip.

“He was such a great player, and I know we wanted him,” Chang recalled. “I enjoyed my time with him. I was trying to sell the University of Hawaii program.”

Pritchard eventually decided to attend Stanford.

Of his UH trip, Pritchard said, “I’ve got a special connection to Timmy. … I’ve got a ton of respect for him through his playing and coaching career. … But you know this game, it does give you a little extra juice in the lead-up and the preparation for it.”

Saturday’s game will be played in tribute to the Pacific Islander community. Pritchard is of Samoan ancestry. His uncle is former Washington State quarterback Jack “Throwin’ Samoan” Thompson. The Stanford coaches and staff will wear custom apparel. The Cardinal’s helmets will feature a tribal pattern celebrating Pacific Islander heritage.

Team will wear sponsor’s patch

A partnership deal has been reached in which a patch of the Hawaiian Airlines logo will be worn on the Rainbow Warriors’ football jerseys this season.

The NCAA is permitting sponsorship patches on uniforms. UH athletic director Matt Elliott said it was decided to connect Hawaiian Airlines with the football program. Patch partnerships will be announced for other UH sports teams.

The one-year deal is believed to be the first between an NCAA team and a major airline.

In turn, Hawaiian Airlines will provide charter flights, at a discount, for all routes of the Warriors’ six road football games. In addition, the airline will provide tickets for recruiting and other Warriors-related endeavors. Hawaiian Airlines also will provide affordable charter-flight options for visiting football teams.

Warriors work out at ‘Iolani again

For the second time in four days, the Warriors practiced at ‘Iolani School ahead of Saturday’s road game against Stanford.

Stanford Stadium has a grass field. Three years ago, the grass practice field on the UH’s Lower Campus was transformed into a complex for the soccer and track-and-field teams. The Warriors conduct football practices on the Ching Complex’s artificial surface.

The Warriors will practice at Ching today and Thursday morning, then depart for Northern California.

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