By: Jamal Smith Staff Writer
It has been well documented within the past decade that Oregon’s major universities have been a draw for Hawaiian athletes.
Although Western is a much smaller college than the University of Oregon or Oregon State, the Wolves still play host to a growing number of Hawaiian student-athletes.
On all three rosters of the football team, soccer team, and volleyball team, the Wolves have a total of 22 Hawaiian athletes; 13 on the football team, six on the soccer team, and three on the volleyball team).
These numbers may not seem all that staggering, but when comparing the number of Western’s Hawaiian athletes to the rosters of the other ten schools in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), it becomes clear that Western is a stand out in attracting Hawaiian players.
The rosters of football, soccer, and volleyball from all of the other 10 schools in the GNAC conference only have a grand total of 15 Hawaiian students (11 for football, three for soccer, and one for volleyball).
Yes, you read correctly. Western Oregon has seven more Hawaiian athletes in football, soccer, and volleyball than the 10 other teams in the GNAC conference combined.
Generally, Division-II schools across the country recruit athletes within their state lines or bordering states.
Central Washington’s women’s soccer team, for example, has a 28 person roster, all of which are from the state of Washington.
So what makes Western Oregon such a hot destination for Hawaiian athletes?
“I like the people; they’re all friendly,” stated first year midfield soccer player Taylor Cadiz from Mililani, Hawaii. “I also like that it’s a small school. The classes are really small and it’s easier to go to the professors and get help compared to a bigger university.”
Junior midfield/forward soccer player Machaela Rapozo from Lihue, Hawaii said, “I chose Western Oregon because it’s under the WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange Program) and we get in-state tuition here. Also, Oregon is pretty close to Hawaii because it’s on the west coast so we don’t have to travel that far to go back home.”
“There’s still a lot of [Hawaiians] here so you can get away from home but at the same time there’s still the comfort of having other [Hawaiians] here,” Rapozo added.
Whatever the reason may be for a Hawaiian athlete or student to choose Western Oregon over other universities, the Wolfpack is certainly happy to have them.
