It began with a simple stroll.

Minutes after his final University of Hawaii football game in 1979, defensive back Nelson Maeda circled the Aloha Stadium field.

A year later, Blane Gaison would do the same, and that gesture soon would have a name — senior walk — and become a Rainbow Warrior tradition.

In the ensuing years, the walk became more commercialized. The individual introductions of photo ops and award presentations became longer, the walks shorter.

After discussions with former players, UH head coach Nick Rolovich said this Saturday’s senior night will have a more “traditional” theme. The cluster outside the UH locker room will be thinned. “We’re going to keep people in the stands,” Rolovich said.

After a quick meeting in the locker room following the game against Army West Point, the 23 UH seniors will walk onto the field, be introduced, and then go toward the stands to celebrate with friends, family and fans.

“It’s been a little convoluted,” Rolovich said, referencing past senior nights. “I’m not sure the fans got to see all the guys. We’ll let (the players) walk out and thank all the fans. It’ll be a much different setup. The organic attractiveness of how it began is what we want to get back to.”

This is a unique senior class. Running backs Dayton Furuta and KK Padello, slotback Jason-Matthew Sharsh, defensive linemen Kaimana Padello, Azia Se‘ei and Fanupo Peapealalo, linebacker Kana‘i Picanco, safety Kalen Hicks, and punter Ben Scruton began their UH careers without scholarships.

“It was very humbling,” said Kaimana Padello, who relied partially on academic scholarships to pay the brunt of his tuition and school expenses. “It makes you value what you have. Getting the scholarship (in 2017) was a true blessing.”

Scruton and kicker Ryan Meskell are from Australia.

Eperone Moanau, who has played on the offensive and defensive lines, is from American Samoa.

Cornerback Rojesterman Farris II is from Florida. Safety/returner Justice Augafa grew up in Alaska.

Hicks and safety Ikem Okeke played for national power Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas. Kaimana Padello and KK Padello are brothers who will both graduate on May 16, 2020.

“It’ll be a big moment for our family,” Kaimana Padello said.

Manly Williams’ namesake uncle was a UH linebacker in the 1980s. His older brother, Lance Williams, also was a UH linebacker. Rolovich has promoted a theme from “The Lion King,” with “Pride Rock” serving as a metaphor for the Warriors’ return to prominence. Williams’ nickname is “Pumba,” a character from the movie.

When Rolovich was hired in November 2015 as Norm Chow’s successor, he called a team meeting, uniting the holdovers.

“He set the tone,” said Farris, who redshirted in 2015. “Losing is not an option. We came here to win. We weren’t recruited here to lose and to ride the bench. It was all about buying in, loving one another, ‘ohana, that ‘live aloha, play Warrior.’ We did buy in. That ‘live aloha, play Warrior’ (slogan) really means a lot. I’m going to live that the rest of my life.”

The Warriors will play Boise State for the Dec. 7 Mountain West championship in Boise. “To the people who want to know why I came all the way to Hawaii,” Farris said, “it was to win a championship.”

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