HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i Sports Circle of Honor committee has announced its 39^th class which includes Nani Cockett (women's basketball), Barbara "Bobbie" Perry (women's indoor volleyball), Katie Spieler (women's beach volleyball), radio announcer Bobby Curran, and athletics director David Matlin.
 
The Class of 2023 will be officially enshrined during the Green & White Celebration scheduled for Saturday, March 25 at the Royal Hawaiian Resort.
 
As the UH Athletics Department celebrates the 50^th anniversary of Title IX with the rest of the country, three women enter the Circle including the beach volleyball program's first-ever inductee in Spieler. Cockett is the third women's basketball player inducted and Perry the 14^th women's volleyball player to be enshrined. Curran becomes the sixth announcer to be recognized and Matlin is the 10^th athletics director to enter the circle.
 
In addition, the Class of 2021 – Colt Brennan, Amber Kaufman, Robert Kekaula, and Edwin Wong – will also be honored at this year's Green & White Celebration. Although officially inducted, the four honorees never received a formal recognition due to the pandemic.
 
The Circle of Honor started in 1982 to recognize individuals and teams who have contributed to the growth, history and tradition of UH Athletics. The total number of inductees in the Circle of Honor is 132 individuals and 12 teams, including this year's honorees. Plaques honoring the individuals and teams are anchored on the inner walls surrounding the main concourse of SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
 
Biographies of the Circle of Honor Class of 2023 inductees are listed below: 
One of Rainbow Wahine basketball's all-time greats, Nani Cockett lettered at UH from 1993-98 and finished as the program's second-leading scorer…also ranked among the school's Top 5 in scoring average, field goals, three-pointers, steals and 20-point games…two-time All-WAC First Team selection…an All-American in her senior season…one of only two Rainbow Wahine to record more than 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists and 200 steals…led UH to three NCAA Tournament appearances…later spent time with the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks and played professionally in Israel, Switzerland and Greece. 
 
The Rainbow Wahine volleyball program was a club team in the 1960s and one of its early stars was Barbara "Bobbie" Perry…the Kamehameha Schools graduate played two seasons at UH before transferring to Long Beach State…member of the United States national team and competed at the 1966 World Championships, 1967 Pan American Games and the 1968 Summer Olympics…coached volleyball at Southern California and Redondo High School…moved back to Hawai'i and taught at Castle High School before a 20-year career in the Punahou Schools Athletic Department and later at her alma mater Kamehameha Schools.
 
The most distinguished beach volleyball player in program history, Katie Spieler helped lead the Rainbow Wahine to a pair of national championship appearances including a fourth-place finish at the inaugural NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships in 2016…the four-year letterwinner (2013-16) was the recipient of the Jack Bonham Award and was a semifinalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award…received the NCAA Elite 90 Award and was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America second team…two-time All-American…Big West Pairs Team of the Year in 2016…quarterfinalist at the AVCA Pair Championship in 2014.
 
Longtime radio announcer Bobby Curran has been the voice of the Rainbow Warriors for three decades calling football and men's basketball games since the 1990s…called more than 400 broadcasts during 32 football seasons, the longest announcing streak in UH football history…longtime host of the popular sports talk show "The Bobby Curran Show" on KKEA…in addition to football and men's basketball, also called UH baseball and women's volleyball games…named Hawai'i Sportscaster of the Year six times by the National Sports Media Association.
 
The UH Athletics Department experienced unprecedented success under the leadership of Athletics Director David Matlin, who will retire in June after an eight-year tenure (2016-23)…grade point averages and graduation rates of student-athletes hit all-time highs…hired 16 head coaches, the most by any AD in school history…during his tenure, oversaw approximately $80 million in facility upgrades impacting nearly all of UH's 21 sports programs…led the department through the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of Aloha Stadium and subsequently led efforts to retrofit Clarence T.C. Ching Complex into a 9,000-seat football stadium…secured one of the top multimedia rights partnerships among the Group of 5 conferences and negotiated multi-million dollar TV rights agreement…UH teams won two national championships, 14 conference titles, and 19 conference tournament championships and the football team was invited to five bowl games.