Red Rocha and the late Chuck Leahey, both inducted to the UH Sports Circle of Honor, are given credit for innovating and developing the Rainbow Classic into one of the finest tournaments in the country.

Rocha, head coach of the Rainbows in the 1960s and 1970s, wanted to take advantage of the newly-built Honolulu International Center Arena, now known as the Neal S. Blaisdell Center Arena. With the help of Leahey, UH Assistant Athletics Director Jack Bonham and Business Manager Gilbert Tom, this dream turned out to be the best eight-team holiday tournament in the United States and still is today.

With very little financing available, five college teams were brought from the Mainland to play in the first Rainbow Classic in 1964. Leahey, then director of special services and athletics director for the 14th Naval District, housed the college teams at Pearl Harbor. These five teams were joined by the two military teams and the Rainbows. In the first year, the consolation round was played at Bloch Arena, inside the naval installation. That court has seen outstanding military and college teams dating as far back as World War II.

The Hawai'i Marines, led by Clyde Stallsmith and Bill Connelly, won the first Classic. However, it was the late Wayne Estes of Utah State who wowed the fans with his scoring ability. His 122 total points in the tournament still stands today.

The following year, Tulsa Missouri Conference rival St. Louis, 70-64, to win the title. Eldridge Webb and Sherman Dillard led the Hurricanes, but the military made its mark again when former Purdue All-American Terry Dischinger, playing for the Army, won the tournament scoring title with 91 points.

The military placed two teams in the tourney until 1967 when only one military team was invited. In 1974, the tournament went to an all-college format.

In 1966, California, behind Russ Critchfield, the tourney's Most Outstanding Player, captured the crown. The next year, it was Houston, behind the great Elvin Hayes, who won MOP honors. In 1968, Santa Clara won the title with Bud Ogden and Dennis Awtrey leading the way and in 1969, Yale upset Louisiana State and the great Pete Maravich to win the crown. In 1970, UH's "Fabulous Five" made its mark, and the Rainbows won their own tournament for the first time as Jerome Freeman captured MOP honors. The following year, Hawai'i repeated with Bob Nash, now associate head coach for the Rainbows, winning MOP honors after setting two tourney records -- most rebounds in a game (30 vs. Arizona State) and most rebounds in the tournament (52).

In 1972, North Carolina, under Dean Smith, won the title behind the playing of George Karl and Bobby Jones. Hawai'i won it again in 1973 with the playing of Tom Henderson, the tourney MOP.

Bobby Knight's great Indiana team of Quinn Buckner, Scott May and Steve Green captured the 1974 crown while USC won the 1975 title. The great Otis Birdsong led Houston to the 1976 crown and Phil Ford led the Tar Heels of North Carolina to the 1977 title. In 1978, Joe Barry Carroll led Purdue to the crown and in 1979, Illinois won the title. Clemson won the 1980 crown and Rice, a Cinderella team, won the 1981 title. North Carolina made its third appearance and won its third tournament in 1982 and Southern Methodist, behind Jon Koncak, won it in 1983. In 1984, it was Georgia Tech, one of the favorites to win the national title, which captured the Classic.

Missouri, behind Derrick Chievous, won it in 1985 and Pittsburgh, with tournament MOP Curtis Aiken leading the way, won it in 1986.

The North Carolina State Wolfpack, under the late Jim Valvano, won the title in 1987 while Illinois, which won the Rainbow Classic back in 1979, defeated the Rainbows, 96-87, in 1988.

In 1989, the Duke Blue Devils won the Rainbow Classic and moved on to finish second in the NCAA Tournament while Hawai'i won its first Rainbow Classic in over 17 years with a win over 11th-ranked Pittsburgh in 1990.

Alabama made its first appearance in the Rainbow Classic in 1991 coming away with the championship by beating Washington State in the finals.

In 1992, the classic became known as the Kraft Rainbow Classic when the Rainbow Classic and the UH Athletic Department teamed up with title sponsor Kraft. The tournament, which featured Michigan, North Carolina, Kansas, Jackson State, Nebraska , SW Louisiana, and Fordham, sold out all four nights. In a preview of the NCAA Tournament Final, Michigan's "Fab Five" defeated North Carolina, 79-78, in the semifinals with Jalen Rose's shot with a second left. Michigan then routed Kansas to claim the tournament crown. Hawai'i would finish fourth in the tournament, after falling to Kansas and North Carolina.

The Rainbows fell one win shy of winning the 1993 Kraft Rainbow Classic, falling to Louisville in the tournament final, 85-79. Hawai'i's Trevor Ruffin earned a spot on the all-tournament team.

In 1994, another spectacular array of teams played in the Kraft Rainbow Classic, with defending national champion Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Duke, Cincinnati, Iowa, Oklahoma, Boston University and Hawai'i. The tournament was played for the first time in the new on-campus Special Events Arena. Four consecutive sellout crowds of 10,031 witnessed the Razorbacks of Arkansas capture the tournament crown. The Rainbows finished third, upsetting 24th-ranked Cincinnati.

Kraft officially ended its sponsorship of the tournament and Outrigger Hotels became the sponsor of the tournament in 1995.

Along the way the Rainbow Classic has seen many of its stars rise to even brighter careers in the NBA. In fact, the Classic has a reputation of producing future first-round picks. The list includes such notables as Rick Mount of Purdue (1970, by Indiana), Bobby Jones of North Carolina (1974, by Houston), Bill Cartright of San Francisco (1976, by New York), Otis Birdsong (1976, by Kansas City), Xavier McDaniel (1985, by Seattle), Michael Jordan (1984, by Chicago), Wayman Tisdale (1985, by Indiana), Byron Scott (1983, by the LA Clippers), Jon Koncak (1986, by Atlanta), Chris Webber (1993, by Golden State) just to name a few.

From a little known tournament with humble beginnings, the Rainbow Classic has risen from the middle of the Pacific to become a giant among holiday tournaments in the United States.