Kafentzis’ love for UH led to sons’ and team’s successes

As the father of 13 children, Andy Kafentzis was often asked if he intended to start his own football team.

“Nope,” he replied more than once, “we already have one — the University of Hawaii.”

Kafentzis, who died last week at age 86, had five sons and three grandsons who lettered in football for UH between 1980 and 2008 in a relationship unique in Rainbow Warriors annals, if not college football given the distances involved.

Many of the sons of Andy and Beverly Kafentzis had offers from Northwest schools within driving distance of their Richland, Wash., home, including Washington State and Oregon State, but they ended up in Manoa, more than 2,700 miles away.

“People around town would kind of scratch their heads wondering ‘why Hawaii over WSU or Oregon State?’” recalls Kyle Kafentzis, a UH defensive back (1983-86). “Why fly over all the Northwest schools to go to Hawaii?”

It was an obvious question in the early 1980s when few UH games were on TV outside Hawaii and video streaming was unheard of. Recruiting rivals hammered on the theme that Hawaii was a place far away from family and friends.

But that was part of the attraction for the Kafentzis family. Andy, a former University of Montana wide receiver, and his wife were hard-working restaurateurs with an independent streak they passed on to their children. “Our dad and mom didn’t want us just to settle for what everybody else did. They wanted us to go out and see the world, see new places and meet new people,” Kyle said.

Andy and Beverly also required that their sons meet the challenge. “They wanted us to be the hardest workers, so there would be no excuses,” Kyle said.

And it was love at first, second, third … sight. When the oldest, Mark (1980-81), a junior college transfer, had a good experience at UH, going on to be drafted by Cleveland, that opened the way for the next two brothers, Kent (1981-82 and ’84-85) and Kurt (1981-84).

“Our parents loved the way people treated us here, the fan base and the coaching we got,’” said Kyle, who was among four of the brothers who went on to sign NFL contracts. He was followed to Manoa by brother Sean (1987) and nephews Landon (2004-05), Mikhail (2005) and Tyson (2005-08).

In return, Andy and Beverly became a valuable sales team for the ’Bows, providing from-the-heart testimonials on the benefits of the UH experience. So much so that when mainland parents had questions about sending their sons to Hawaii, UH coaches would give them the Kafentzis’ telephone number.

“(They) were a big help to our program and very willing to aid some of our mainland families,” recalled Bob Wagner, who spent 30 years at UH as a head coach and assistant.

It was a time, before the athletic arms race escalated out of UH’s price range, when the ’Bows could go head-to-head and win some recruiting skirmishes with the then-Pac-10 teams.

Along the way, the Kafentzis home became a repository for all things UH. “Even those old UHAD sweat pants,” Kyle said. “(Dad) became a Rainbow Warrior are heart.”

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.