UH Timeline In The Big West
July 1, 1984 - The University of Hawai‘i officially joins the Pacific Coast Athletic Association— later renamed the Big West Conference—beginning a 12-year tenure in which it competes in eight different women’s sports.
Oct. 29, 1984 – UH makes its debut in the PCAA with a third-place finish in the cross country championship.
Jan. 17, 1985 – In its first league contest, the women’s basketball team pulls off a dramatic 77-72 overtime road win at Pacific.
May 11, 1985- The women’s track and field team captures titles in three individual and relay events at the PCAA Championships. It is the first and only conference meet for the program which is dropped that year, before being revived 16 years later.
March 1, 1986 – Coach of the Year Al Minn leads the Rainbow Wahine swimming team to a title in just its second season in the conference.
Dec. 19, 1987 – The women’s volleyball team defeats Stanford to captures the program’s fourth national championship and first and only NCAA title as a member of the PCAA/Big West.
July 1, 1988 – With the inclusion of the states of Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico, the Pacific Coast Athletic Association changes its name to the Big West Conference.
March 15, 1989 – After finishing second in the league standings, the women’s basketball team advances to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, falling at Washington in a first-round game.
Nov. 16, 1990 – The women’s volleyball squad sweeps Pacific to clinch its fourth straight conference title. The Rainbow Wahine tallied a 68-4 league record during a dominating four-year run.
April 1992 – The pair of Mina Hall and Rene Kaohou claim UH’s sole conference title in tennis at No. 2 doubles.
March 1, 1994 – All-American and two-time league pitcher of the year Brooke Wilkins strikes out a school-record 15 UC Santa Barbara batters in UH’s conference opener, propelling the Rainbow Wahine to its first Big West crown and subsequent NCAA berth.
Nov. 17, 1995 – The women’s volleyball team sweeps nemesis Long Beach State to secure an undefeated league record and fifth title in its final Big West season.
March 9, 1996 –The women’s basketball team exits the league on a high note, capturing the Big West Tournament title with a 68-64 win over Pacific.
July 1, 1996 – After a dozen years in the Big West, UH moves its seven women’s programs into the Western Athletic Conference.
Dec. 10, 2010 – Hawai‘i announces that its sports teams will join the Big West Conference and Mountain West Conference beginning in the 2012-13 season.
July 1, 2012 – UH joins the Big West Conference with a total of 13 sports programs—nine women’s and four men’s—set to compete.
