University of Hawai‘i head football coach Timmy Chang always thought the day after the Super Bowl should be a holiday.
That's why when he finally had the power to do so, he made it one.
As Chang was crafting the team's spring schedule, he put the Rainbow Warriors on a practice regimen of Monday-Wednesday-Friday for five consecutive weeks, with one exception: Feb. 10. The 'Bows are even set to take the field on Presidents Day the following Monday.
Chang, 43, is set to enter the fourth season as the head coach of his alma mater. During his days climbing the coaching ranks, he always believed the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday should be an off day — not just for those involved in the sport, but Americans in general.
"I thought of it when I was having to go to work on Mondays, and was hoping that maybe there would be a day off," Chang told Aloha State Daily. "I think the community, the workforce, I think people across the country kind of realize that, hey, if we have a chance to have that day off, that'd be nice."
The big game on Sunday kicks off at 1:30 p.m. HST, with the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles taking on the AFC's Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, are aiming for an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl victory.
As Chang alluded to, the Super Bowl extends beyond the field and is fondly viewed as a piece of enjoyable Americana. Recent Grammy winner Kendrick Lamar will perform a full show at halftime, while a variety of companies continue to spend millions of dollars to air commercials during the game.
Super Bowls parties are also common social settings around the world. Chang wants his staff to enjoy Super Bowl Sunday without the burden of getting up early for work on Monday.
"I'm in a position where I can schedule the days and how we practice and all these other things and how we work. But just having a Sunday with your family and your friends, it's such a great time," Chang said. "Some people partake in the festivities and if you get a chance to just kind of rest after the next day, it's actually a bonus.
"It's such a great time with your family as well. You don't get to see a lot of people. I hate for (work the next day) to be rushing on the back of your head. You got to get somewhere the next day. And so for us, we take that day off."
Chang, whose 17,072 career passing yards remain a program record, competed for a quarterback spot with the Eagles in the 2006 NFL preseason but was cut. He got into coaching after retiring in 2009, a path that led him to his dream job as Hawai‘i head coach.
As for Sunday, Chang looks forward to spending the day with his wife, Sherry, and their five young kids.
"My kids enjoy watching football now. Before they would kind of skip over football and not enjoy it. But now, they understand what daddy does now," Chang said. "We look forward to being together as a family, and me and my wife are in the midst of planning right now."
Despite the off day on the horizon, spring ball has been anything but lax for the Rainbow Warriors, who are looking to earn bowl eligibility for the first time since 2021. An intense first week of practices ended on Friday. Come Wednesday, when the 'Bows return to practice, Chang says there will not be a dropoff.
"I do like the effort," Chang said of the first week of spring ball. "There's just so much areas that we have to continue to grow at. Mentally, physically, just the mental toughness part. Challenging these guys, having them respond to adversity, that's what I'm looking for. And so the more I can challenge them, the more our coaches can challenge them and have them respond, the better I think they're going to be."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
