HONOLULU – Longtime University of Hawai'i football and basketball statistician Nelson Tokuhama has been named the recipient of the 2025 Charlie Ushijima Award, presented by 'Ahahui Koa Ānuenue, the fundraising organization for UH Athletics. Tokuhama will receive the award during intermission of the March 28 men's volleyball match at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
 
The award is presented annually to an outstanding volunteer for dedicated and unselfish service to UH Athletics. Originally titled the Rainbow Service Award, it was later renamed after its first recipient, the late Charlie Ushijima.
 
For nearly 50 years, Tokuhama has served in numerous positions within the stats crew and has rarely missed a home game. An 'Aiea High School graduate and 1975 University of Hawai'i alumnus with a degree in architecture, Tokuhama joined the crew under longtime Sports Information Director Ed Inouye. He began working with the men's basketball crew during the 1976-77 season—Larry Little's first as head coach—and later joined the football stats crew in 1978 during Dick Tomey's second year at the helm.
 
Tokuhama served as chief statistician for many of those years, witnessing nine football and seven men's basketball head coaches lead their respective programs. He has seen the evolution of the profession firsthand, transitioning from the manual era of jotting down numbers with a calculator to today's modern, computer-generated statistics programs.
 
"For almost half a century, Nelson has been a cornerstone of our statistics crew, rarely missing a home game," said Media Relations Director Derek Inouchi. "His commitment and loyalty to the university are unmatched. His professionalism has earned the UH stats crew immense respect among our peers across the country."
 
In addition to his primary duties with football and men's basketball, Tokuhama is occasionally called upon for women's basketball games. His extensive resume includes working numerous bowl games—such as the Aloha Bowl, O'ahu Bowl, Hawai'i Bowl, Hula Bowl, and NFL Pro Bowl—as well as major basketball tournaments like the Rainbow Classic and Diamond Head Classic.
 
Ushijima, the award's namesake, was responsible for the construction of the first on-campus baseball stadium and contributed countless volunteer hours as President of the UH baseball booster club. Tokuhama is the 29th recipient of the award, which was established in 1992.