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Decades ago, as his daughter raced off to play basketball with the neighborhood kids in Waipahu, Darren Agbayani offered this advice to his only child: “You can do anything the boys can do.”
That meant mixing it up on basketball courts or soccer fields.
It also led to Ku‘ulei Agbayani, now 34, being the only female host of a local sports talk show. Her “Wake Up In the Den” airs weekdays from 8 to 9 a.m. on Hawaii Sports Radio Network (95.1 FM, 760 AM).
“I like the radio aspect,” Agbayani said. “You can give an opinion, and have a little more fun. I love the fun and flexibility you can have on radio, especially with sports. Sports is supposed to be fun.”
Agbayani has addressed serious issues, notably breaking down the controversy surrounding the University of Hawaii football team in December and January, as well as devoting a daily segment to sports business. In addition to covering UH and high school stories, she hopes to expand conversations to water sports, including spearfishing and free diving. She often drifts into a food tangent, where she will opine on different rice styles, recipes involving Vienna sausage, and preparing hamburger-corn dishes.
“And some Filipino food,” said Agbayani, whose ancestry is a mix of Hawaiian, Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish and Okinawan.
In Hawaii sportscasting, there have been tremendous gains in gender representation since former UCLA guard Ann Meyers teamed with Jim Leahey to announce University of Hawaii basketball games during the 1981-82 season. Meyers already was a trailblazer, becoming the first woman to sign an NBA contract when she was invited to the Indiana Pacers’ preseason camp in 1979.
Oceanic and then successor Spectrum have employed female announcers in the booth and on sidelines for decades. Liz Chun made the successful transition from videographer to Hawaii News Now sports director and host of the UH football coach’s show. Brandi Higa, Taryn Hatcher and Francesca Weems were part of a time when women represented half the network sportscasters in Hawaii. Local radio has trailed in comparison.
Agbayani never envisioned a broadcasting career growing up in Waipahu.
She played basketball and soccer at Mililani High, then exclusively soccer for Chaminade University, where she majored in criminology and criminal justice. Her 2009 graduation came during the so-called Great Recession.
“There weren’t any criminal justice-related job openings or internships or anything like that,” Agbayani said.
She worked at the Hukilau Restaurant, where she met KKEA, 1420-AM manager Aaron Custodio. He mentioned there was an opening for a promotions assistant at his station. Agbayani applied, went through the process, and was hired. She eventually became the traffic and digital manager, where she handled sales orders and slotted the commercials. “I don’t think I would have done that job anywhere else if it wasn’t around somewhere where I could always talk about sports,” she said. “It was a fun environment.”
Agbayani eventually earned a fill-in spot on Kyle Galdeira’s show on KHKA, 1500-AM (KKEA’s partner station) and “The Sports Animals” on KKEA. She also was a co-host on a short-lived morning show on KKEA.
Former co-workers Alan Miya and Custodio asked Agbayani to join Hawaii Sports Radio Network, which launched in March 2021. Miya and Custodio work for the Salem Media Group, which essentially leases the dial posistion to HSRN. In September, Agbayani joined as operations manager with the intent of becoming a morning-show host.
After setting up the digital side, “Wake Up in the Den” started in December. “Here we are,” Agbayani said. Miya suggested the title because Agbayani is a fan of the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cubs. Agbayani’s favorite player was Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher.
HSRN airs broadcasts from affiliates covering the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Clippers, USC football and men’s basketball, and NASCAR. “I always tell people, don’t listen to (NASCAR) when you’re driving because your foot will get a little heavier on the pedal,” Agbayani said. HSRN also fills its 24-hour schedule with programming from SportsMap and SportsGrid, which emphasizes sports odds.
“Sports is like the original reality TV,” Agbayani said. “I love the drama and excitement you get from sports. I’m fascinated by all that goes into it.”
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