Honolulu, Hawai’i
🏀 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

The only Division I gym in the 50th state, Bankoh Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center is the largest indoor sports facility outside the mainland US. With seating for more than 10,000, it hosts the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors – and their female counterparts, the Rainbow Wahine – and acts as the main court for the school’s basketball and volleyball programs.

While the Rainbow Warriors have been competing on the hardwood for far longer than Hawai’i has even been a state, their current home only opened in 1994. The arena is named for a former athletic director who passed away a year prior to its construction, and the venue now also maintains a naming rights sponsorship with the Bank of Hawai’i.

The arena’s interior walkway houses the UH Sports Circle of Honor, an assortment of plaques adorned with leis which celebrate some of the university’s most outstanding sports contributors. From basketball star Bob Nash to volleyball legend Kanani Danielson, the stars who have helped UH shine bright are immortalized for all to see. On the main concourse, trophy cases feature hardware for both the volleyball and basketball squads, and support columns are wrapped with some written history about the latter.

In their more than half-century playing at the Division I level, the Rainbow Warriors have appeared in sixteen postseasons, including 6 NCAA Tournaments, 8 NITs and 2 CITs. In the Big Dance, they’ve only secured one victory, an upset of #4 California in 2016.

For decades, the Stan Sheriff Center was the longtime host of the Diamond Head Classic, a round-robin men’s college basketball tournament which is sadly on a possibly permanent hiatus. The arena has also seen a few NBA preseason games, mostly featuring LA-area teams.

The arena, as the Aloha State’s premier events center, also serves up a great variety of local Pacific cuisine. Offerings include saimin, edamame, churros, stuffed cookies, birria tacos, fruity drinks, fresh roasted nuts and an assortment of sherbet flavors. The unique Hawaiian flair provided at the concessions really adds to the island-inspired atmosphere of the venue and helps ensure it will remain Oahu’s faithful palace of sports culture.