UH unveils 2026 Sports Circle of Honor inductees
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The University of Hawaii unveiled its newest class of inductees into the UH Sports Circle of Honor.
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Five new members make up the 41st class, joining some of UH’s most accomplished athletes, coaches, and supporters.
Monika Eggens becomes the first Rainbow Wahine water polo player enshrined in the program’s 29-year history. She is the only UH player to score 100 goals in a season.
“I’m so thankful for my time there and all my teammates from all over the world, and having great coaches, and I’m incredibly honored,” she said.
Eggens followed her time in Manoa with the Canadian Olympic team and competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“The legacy she left and just the incredible standard of the work ethic and everything really set the tone for the right Rainbow Wahine of the future, and that was really awesome,” said former UH water polo head coach Maureen Cole.
The class also features those who impacted UH in multiple ways, including former UH football coach-turned-color analyst Rich Miano.
“To join Jesse Sapolu and, you know, some of the greats, the Colt Brennans, the June Joneses, some of the coaches, some of the players that have been involved, and some of the broadcasters too, ‘cause I kind of do all three of those things. It was a tremendous honor,” he said.
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A three-year letterman for the UH football team, Miano continued his playing career in the NFL, but said it was playing in Manoa that truly shaped his life.
“Those times at the University of Hawaii spent as a player, really, really segued away my whole life in terms of being a coach, being a broadcaster, and what this state represents to me and my family really set the tone in those five years,” he said.
Miano was part of the coaching staff for June Jones and Greg McMackin before going to the broadcast booth as a color analyst.
Rounding out the class: former UH volleyball player Costas Theocharidis, swimmer Barbara Mitchell, and Ben Yee, a founding member of the football team’s booster club Na Koa who died in 2020.
Miano said “There’s nobody that put in more time, more years, had more passion. I got to know him so well, and for him no longer to be with us but being inducted into the Circle of Honor, he’s smiling down from above.”
The UH Sports Circle of Honor Class of 2026 will officially be enshrined on Oct. 16 during the Green & White Celebration.
Since it was established in 1982, the UH Sports Circle of Honor has recognized 138 individuals and 13 teams — including this year’s honorees — for their contributions to the growth, history, and tradition of UH Athletics.
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