Despite a planned protest rally today and an impassioned plea from the University of Hawaii Letterwinners Club, athletic director Ben Jay said he has no plans to retreat on a change of the school’s nicknames.

In February, Jay announced that the school would officially begin calling all its men’s teams ‘Warriors" on July 1, while all the women’s teams will remain the "Rainbow Wahine."

Currently, various men’s teams go by "Warriors," "Rainbow Warriors" and "Rainbows." Jay said the change is for branding purposes and to avoid confusion.

The UH Letterwinners Club sent Jay a letter on Wednesday in which it wrote, "We request that you hold off changing the nicknames of the University of Hawaii athletic teams." The letter, signed by State Rep. K. Mark Takai, who is president of the group, said it was "disappointed" it hasn’t yet had the opportunity to meet with Jay on the subject.

"We look forward to supporting you in the future, but cannot support your decision to cast aside decades of athletic history and the boosters who recall these fond times," the letter said.

Jay, who is on the mainland, said Thursday that he hasn’t had an opportunity to respond to the letter but, "I don’t foresee any change" in the previously announced plans. He said the switch will take place July 1, as announced.

Jay said he had hoped to meet with the group earlier in the year, but had to cancel.

Meanwhile, another opponent of the name change, Steve Chinen, has announced a "Rally 4 Rainbows" today at 5 p.m. at Bachman Hall.

In a letter to Chinen made available by UH on Thursday, Jay wrote, "Based upon numerous conversations with UH fans, I did not hear a consensus on what the men’s nickname should be, but individuals were clearly in agreement that a decision had to be made and was long overdue. One of the key factors in the decision was that Warriors is the nickname of the majority of our men’s teams, including the one with the largest following (football)."

Jay thanked Chinen for "the feedback and passion," and wrote, "We know we will not be able to please everyone, but we are moving forward."