The top four teams in collegiate men's volleyball were supposed to converge in Southern California from Feb. 19-20 as part of an NIL tournament at the Honda Center in Anaheim. No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Long Beach State, No. 3 Hawai‘i and No. 4 USC were set to compete against each other in what would have served as a first in the sport.
As the start date for the landmark event crept up, no tournament sponsor was announced. Then on Jan. 27, teams were notified that the event was being scrapped in 2026. That meant all four teams suddenly had gaps in their schedule.
The University of Hawai‘i pivoted quickly, securing a home series against No. 7 BYU. Matches are set to be played on Feb. 25 and 27 at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors, who originally did not have any home matches scheduled in February, are set to host the Cougars for the first time since 2020. A thrilling five-set sellout victory over BYU on March 6, 2020 turned out to be the last time Hawai‘i played in front of fans until 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to their home series against BYU, the Rainbow Warriors will head to the Bay Area for a pair of road matches at No. 18 Stanford (3-6) on Friday and Saturday. First serve for both matches is set for 4 p.m. HST. While UH will not look past the Cardinal, who took a match off the Rainbow Warriors in a 2025 series at the Stan Sheriff Center, there certainly is a sense of relief that the 'Bows will have more competition to come home to.
"It was a lot of good work by a lot of people," Hawai‘i head coach Charlie Wade said of the scheduling pivot. "I think we were in contact with both UCLA and USC about dropping down from Stanford to play them. That would have required us to literally stay on the road for another week. There wasn't a lot of help financially for that. And then our administration started asking the idea about finding an opponent to come here.
"We were able to do that, not only an opponent, but a really good one. A team that's played really well, and we have a long history and tradition with so I give a lot of credit to (UH athletics director) Matt Elliott and to Brian Santiago, the AD at BYU. ... Those guys were able to come up with an understanding it works well for both teams. And I think it just it speaks to the fact that you're talking about two schools where volleyball means a lot, that the ADs are willing to get in and do what's right for the program. And we're excited to have a couple quality matches against a great opponent here at home."
Part of the agreement in getting BYU to come to O‘ahu entails UH heading back to Provo in 2028 for a road series. The Rainbow Warriors most recently visited Provo in 2025, winning both matches. Additionally, in lieu of the NIL tournament cancellation, a portion of the ticket sales for the BYU series will go towards the Hawai‘i men's volleyball team's NIL fund.
"Again, it speaks to just a level of commitment that our institution has to men's volleyball," Wade said. "They're willing to step up and do something great for our program and for our fans. We're pretty fortunate that volleyball is a big deal here."
As for the NIL tournament, Wade is hopeful it can come to fruition in the future.
"Certainly a lot of promise, right? I know the people are putting the event on are looking at doing a women's (NIL tournament) in the fall, and we've seen it done in basketball," Wade said. "The devil's always in the details. What's the venue, and how many teams in the field are you trying to do? I know there's going to continue to be discussion of a men's volleyball event, and we'll see what happens in the future."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
