UH Athletics Statistician Tokuhama Honored for Nearly 50 Years of Service

Nelson Tokuhama receives the 2025 Charlie Ushijima Award for dedicated and unselfish service to UH Athletics.

Mar. 31, 2026 at 1:09am

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A cubist, geometric painting breaking down a basketball game or match into sharp, overlapping planes of green, white, and black, conceptually representing the analytical work of a longtime college sports statistician.A vibrant visual interpretation of the decades-long statistical contributions that have helped power University of Hawai'i athletics.Honolulu Today

University of Hawai'i at Mānoa football and basketball statistician Nelson Tokuhama has been named the recipient of the 2025 Charlie Ushijima Award for his nearly 50 years of service to UH Athletics. Tokuhama received the award during intermission of the March 28 men's volleyball match at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

Why it matters

The Charlie Ushijima Award is presented annually by 'Ahahui Koa Ānuenue, the fundraising organization for UH Athletics, to recognize outstanding volunteers who have made significant contributions to the university's sports programs over many years.

The details

Tokuhama, a 1975 UH alumnus with a degree in architecture, joined the statistics crew under longtime sports information director Ed Inouye. He began working with the men's basketball crew during the 1976–77 season and later joined the football stats crew in 1978, serving as chief statistician for many of those years. Tokuhama has witnessed the evolution of the profession, transitioning from manual record-keeping to modern, computer-generated statistics programs.

  • Tokuhama received the award on March 28, 2026.
  • Tokuhama has been a member of the UH Athletics statistics crew for nearly 50 years, since the 1976-77 season.

The players

Nelson Tokuhama

A longtime University of Hawai'i at Mānoa football and basketball statistician who has served in numerous positions within the statistics crew for nearly 50 years.

Ed Inouye

The longtime sports information director at the University of Hawai'i who Tokuhama joined the statistics crew under.

Derek Inouchi

The Director of Media Relations at the University of Hawai'i, who praised Tokuhama's commitment and loyalty to the university.

'Ahahui Koa Ānuenue

The fundraising organization for UH Athletics that presents the Charlie Ushijima Award annually to an outstanding volunteer.

Charlie Ushijima

The first recipient of the award, which was originally titled the Rainbow Service Award before being renamed after him.

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What they’re saying

“For almost half a century, Nelson has been a cornerstone of our statistics crew, rarely missing a home game. His commitment and loyalty to the university are unmatched. His professionalism has earned the UH stats crew immense respect among our peers across the country.”

— Derek Inouchi, Director of Media Relations

The takeaway

Tokuhama's nearly 50 years of dedicated service to UH Athletics, through the evolution of sports statistics technology, exemplifies the kind of unsung volunteer contributions that help sustain successful college sports programs over the long term.