The University of Hawai‘i football program held its inaugural "Braddahhood Ball" fundraiser on Saturday night at the Sheraton Waikīkī, an event that organizers saw as a success.
Spearheaded by Sherry Chang, the wife of UH head coach Timmy Chang, the event served as one of multiple fundraisers the Rainbow Warriors held over the summer, and the final before the team's season opener on Aug. 23 against Stanford.
Attendees of the event included Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, UH athletics director Matt Elliott, UH president Wendy Hensel, new Aloha Stadium developer Stanford Carr and others.
Other fundraisers the program has held over the years, also organized by Sherry Chang, include the "Sistahhood Social" held at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex. Saturday's Braddahhood Ball was a full-scale event that featured a live auction, allowing attendees to bid on game day experiences for UH's home game against Sam Houston on Sept. 6, its road game at UNLV on Nov. 21 and a Jan. 4 San Francisco 49ers game against the Seattle Seahawks.
An estimated $60,000 was raised for the Rainbow Warriors during the auction, which also included golf rounds at various Hawai‘i courses and chances to bid on various Waikīkī staycations.
Funds raised on Saturday will go towards supporting the UH football program in areas such as nutrition and Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) opportunities.
"We had a venue, we had a date, and then from there it was like, we just need to kind of get the people here and make sure they have a good time," Ryan Komagome, a childhood friend of Timmy Chang, told Aloha State Daily. "It's an event that people want to come to for future years. It kind of sets the foundation and helps to build the excitement for the football season that's coming next week."
An attendee on Saturday mused that the hundreds of people he saw seated in the Sheraton Ballroom surpassed any fundraising gatherings he saw for the program, even in its glory days of 2006 and 2007.
"That was the goal, just get as many people who support the program to have a good time," Komagome said when told of that comparison. "I think we just kind of built the venue, and there were so many people that helped. It wasn't a small group. There's a lot of people who were instrumental and using their contacts to get people to come. I think it was an event that just seemed to catalyze people. There really wasn't one event that people could come to. There were various things like a golf tournament and you could donate directly. But I think this event is something easy to sell. It's a fun event that people are going to enjoy."
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
