1972
• Dr. Donnis Thompson is hired as the first UH women’s athletic director. The Wahine field their first intercollegiate teams in volleyball and track and field.
June 23, 1972
• Title IX is signed into law by President Richard Nixon, eliminating gender discrimination in education.
1974
• The Wahine volleyball team finishes second in its first national championship tournament (AIAW).
July 21, 1975
• President Gerald Ford signs an amendment to the original Title IX legislation specifically prohibiting sex discrimination in athletics.
1976
• A lawsuit is filed with the national DOE office claiming UH is not in compliance with Title IX for women’s athletics. UH settled, promising to implement a three-year gender equity plan.
1977
• UH hosts its first women’s national championship, the AIAW golf national tournament.
• The first state tournament for girls basketball and softball is held.
1977
• A capacity crowd of 7,813 fans at Blaisdell Arena watch Hawaii rally to outlast UCLA in five sets.
1979
• Hawaii Hilo wins its first national title, winning the women’s volleyball title in Florida; hours later, the Wahine duplicate the feat in Illinois.
—
>> RELATED: Dr. Donnis Thompson was a champion in life and for all women
>> RELATED: Mink’s determination, grit paved the way for millions
—
1981
• Hawaii hires Dave Shoji as the first full-time women’s coach as the Wahine program moves from AIAW to NCAA.
• Hawaii-Hilo, with a choice to play in the AIAW and NCAA, decides to do both and captures dual volleyball titles.
1982
• Girls soccer holds its first state tournament.
1982-83
• The Wahine win two NCAA volleyball titles. Deitre Collins wins the Broderick Cup as the top female collegiate athlete.
1984
• Gwen Loud wins the NCAA long jump title and becomes the University of Hawaii’s first track and field All-American.
1985
• The University of Hawaii softball program makes its debut.
1987
• Wahine volleyball program wins its fourth national title. Teee Williams wins her second Player of the Year award.
1989-90
• All-American Judy Mosley leads the Wahine basketball team to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
1994
• UH adds women’s soccer.
The first state golf tournament for girls is held.
1997
• Judy Mosley is drafted seventh overall by the Sacramento Monarchs in the first WNBA Draft.
• Brigham Young-Hawaii sweeps Biola (Calif.) 15-3, 15-7, 15-4 to win its fourth straight NAIA women’s volleyball national championship and sixth in seven years. Hawaii teams account for 14 NAIA titles in a 17-year span.
1998
• Coach Tita Ahuna leads Hawaii Pacific University to the NCAA Division II volleyball championship. The Sea Warriors add another title in 2000 and BYU-Hawaii wins the 1999 and 2002 crowns
• The University of Hawaii adds women’s water polo.
1999
• The first state girls wrestling tournament is held.
2002
• BYU-Hawaii finishes 29-0 to win its fifth women’s tennis championship in six years.
2003
• Girls judo is added as a state tournament sport.
2004
• Girls water polo is added as a state tournament
2005
• QiongJie Huang becomes UH’s first diving national champion by winning the 1-meter springboard at the NCAA championships.
2010
• Jenna Rodriguez hits a walk-off two-run homer to shock top-seeded Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., 5-4, and send the Wahine to their first Women’s College World Series appearance.
• Hawaii Pacific University wins the NCAA Division II softball national championship.
• UH dual-sport athlete Amber Kaufman wins the NCAA high jump title.
2012
• Former two-time state wrestling champion Clarissa Chun of Roosevelt becomes the first female wrestler from Hawaii to win an Olympic medal (bronze) at the 2012 London Games.
• The University of Hawaii adds beach volleyball
2014
• Michelle Wie wins the U.S. Women’s Open in Pinehurst, N.C., just two months after winning the Lotte Championship in Hawaii.
2018
• Former UH star Natasha Kai helps the U.S. win an Olympic gold medal in women’s soccer in the Beijing Games.
2021
• Carissa Moore wins a gold medal in the newly introduced sport of surfing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (delayed a year because of the pandemic)
2021-22
• Campbell alum and Oklahoma softball star Jocelyn Alo is named the national Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons and leads the Sooners successive NCAA softball titles.
2022
• Wahine basketball player Amy Atwell becomes the second UH player to be drafted by the WNBA, being selected by the Los Angeles Sparks in the third round.
