At the time of the emotional funeral services last month for Congressman K. Mark Takai, who died of pancreatic cancer in July at age 49, a well-meaning but uninformed prisoner of the moment suggested the Stan Sheriff Center be renamed for Takai.

The reasoning was that as a UH student leader 30 years ago, Takai successfully pushed for the arena that is home to UH’s basketball and volleyball teams to be built large enough to seat 10,000 fans — not thousands fewer, as some then wanted.

The person suggesting this name change apparently didn’t know Takai was a leading advocate for the facility to be named for Sheriff, the UH athletic director who lobbied for construction of what was called the Special Events Arena when it opened in 1994.

Takai, and many others, assisted in delivery. But it was Sheriff’s baby.

Sheriff never saw an event at the facility. He died in 1993, at age 60, while still the UH athletic director. In 1998, the arena was rightly renamed in his honor.

“Mark and Stan Sheriff were really close from the time Mark started swimming at UH,” said Star-Advertiser reporter Michael Tsai, who was on the Ka Leo staff when Takai was the school paper’s editor and became his good friend. “It was like a father-son relationship and he had Stan’s ear. He understood how much Sheriff wanted the arena to be built. And then Mark was a major force in the name change.”

Changing it again now would make about as much sense as altering the title of Murakami Stadium — the baseball facility formerly known as Rainbow Stadium that is now named for UH’s legendary coach, Les Murakami.

It would, however, be extremely appropriate to name either of two places on the Manoa campus in honor of Takai.

One would be the pool at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Center, since Takai was a conference-champion swimmer. Naming actual competition sites within already-named venues is common, but can be confusing and unwieldy.

Perhaps more fitting would be the Warrior Rec Center in the heart of campus.

About 10 years ago Takai excitedly showed me plans for a beautiful new facility where all UH students — not just athletes — could go to lift weights, play ball and participate in all kinds of other fitness activities. It was easy to see the project had special meaning for Takai, and he was an advocate for all students, not just a select group; just like when he was student body president.

Normally, the UH Board of Regents won’t consider naming something after someone until five years after death. Murakami, who is still alive, is an exception.

Exceptions can be made when “the nominee contributed in truly exceptional ways over a sustained period to the welfare of the institution or achieved such unique distinction as to warrant recognition,” and … “The nominee is of such outstanding character and distinction that naming a facility after him or her would honor the University of Hawaii as well as the individual.”

It’s hard to see any reason to wait until 2021 to start calling it the K. Mark Takai Warrior Rec Center.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.