Norman Kaluhiokalani, commonly known as Coach K. all across the campus of Brigham Young University–Hawaii, is retiring after 40 years of working and coaching at BYU–Hawaii, leaving a legacy of coaching for the cross-country, soccer, and rugby teams that have played at the university. His last name, Kaluhiokalani, means in Hawaiian, “One who helps much for many without asking for any admiration.”
“My 40 years have gone by quick. I’ve enjoyed my work; enjoyed my students,” he reminisced. “I’ve had a lot of enjoyment in my life.”
“Coach K. is an institution. He’s one of the best men I know and he bleeds Seasider red,” said University Information Officer Kevin Schlag, who now coaches cross-country. “When he asked me to help with the cross country team, I was amazed at how much he knows, his love for people everywhere, and how much he’s respected around the country. It wouldn’t matter where we went—Montana, Washington, or Kentucky—he’d run into people who know him, and always they’d talk about what a great coach, mentor, teacher, and man he is.”
Ryan Belliston, a senior in marketing from Ohio and a member of the cross-country team, said “I look up to Coach K. because of his humility.”
“We’re going to miss him tremendously,” said Schlag. “He’s coached a national champion and so many successful teams it’s just crazy. This season and next, we really will be standing on the shoulders of a giant of a coach.”
