Dick Tomey, football coach at the University of Hawaii, dies at age 80

Football coach Dick Tomey, one of the most popular coaches at the University of Hawaii, died Friday night at the age of 80.

The State University of San Jose, where Tomey had also been coach, published the announcement this morning citing a statement from the family of Tucson, Arizona, where Tomey had lived.

Tomey, who was UH's head coach from 1977 to 1986, had been battling lung cancer for several months.

Tomey, a native of Indiana, was 63-46-3 at UH and led the Rainbows to the Western Athletic conference while playing in front of a large crowd at Aloha Stadium.

He came to UH from UCLA, where he was an assistant coach to help turn a UH team from 3 to 8 the previous season.

Tomey left UH in 1987 to become head coach in Arizona, where he coached for 14 years. He then led the San Jose State team for five seasons and was an assistant in the NFL.

A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.