Riley Wallace, Jim Leahey, Tony Davis in Circle of Honor

Three characters with character have been inducted into the University of Hawaii’s Sports Circle of Honor.

Riley Wallace, the winningest head coach in UH men’s basketball history, sportscaster Jim Leahey, and former basketball standout Tony Davis will be celebrated at an enshrinement ceremony during the Rainbow Warriors’ basketball game on Feb. 25 in the Stan Sheriff Center.

This is the Circle’s 34th class. Each inductee will have a plaque with his image displayed in the SSC.

Wallace was 334-265 in 20 seasons as UH head coach, including three appearances in the NCAA Tournament and six in the National Invitation Tournament.

Wallace is an enigma whose brash coaching style belies his off-the-court kindness. He is known for prolifically tossing jackets and picking up dinner tabs. He coached three All-Americans and three academic All-Americans, but also gave chances to a high school dropout and many with hard-scrabble backgrounds. “Old Yeller” is his description and favorite movie.

Stan Sheriff, the late UH athletic director, was heralded for his behind-the-scene lobbying for an on-campus arena that eventually would bear his name. But it was Wallace who was the frontman, persistently — and loudly — promoting the need for a seating capacity of more than 4,000. The SSC has a seating capacity of 10,300.

Wallace and his wife own a condo in Honolulu and a house in Las Vegas, where he is an executive host for Boyd Gaming properties.

For more than 40 years, Leahey, the second of a family trilogy of sportscasters, has been the narrator of UH telecasts and broadcasts.

Leahey became the television voice for UH sports, working for KGMB and then KFVE and OC Sports. As play-by-play announcer, Leahey eloquently called UH’s greatest, worst and mundane performances, blending anecdotes with vivid descriptions. Sometimes he would step away from the mic, allowing the images and the crowd’s reaction to provide the portrayal. Leahey’s father, Chuck, is enshrined in the Circle of Honor, and his son, Kanoa, is a popular OC Sports play-by-play announcer for UH sports.

Davis enrolled at UH in the late 1950s. He set the program’s single-game scoring record with 45 points against Los Angeles State on Feb. 5, 1959. Davis was the program’s first NBA draft selection, picked by the New York Knicks in the ninth round in 1960. He then played for the Harlem Clowns and Harlem Travelers, had a pro-ball stint in Europe, and worked briefly as an actor before settling in San Francisco. He continues to be involved in basketball, having won 25 gold medals and a bronze in the Senior National Games.

[2/25/17] a look at the three inductees

Chargers headed for Los Angeles

The San Diego Chargers are moving to Los Angeles, where they will join the recently relocated Rams in giving the nation’s second-largest media market two NFL teams for the first time in decades.

Team chairman Dean Spanos made the announcement Thursday in a letter posted on the Chargers’ Twitter account.

“San Diego has been our home for 56 years. It will always be part of our identity, and my family and I have nothing but gratitude and appreciation for the support and passion our fans have shared with us over the years. But today, we turn the page and begin an exciting new era as the Los Angeles Chargers,” Spanos said in the letter.

The Chargers’ decision to move comes less than three months after San Diego voters resoundingly rejected a team-sponsored measure asking for $1.15 billion in increased hotel occupancy taxes to help fund a $1.8 billion downtown stadium and convention center.

They’re leaving behind a loyal fan base that cheered for Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner and Kellen Winslow during the Air Coryell years in the 1970s and early 1980s, and for Junior Seau, Stan Humphries and Natrone Means on the Chargers’ only Super Bowl team in 1994.

smaller stadium recommended to replace Aloha Stadium

The Aloha Stadium Authority is recommending that the state invest in a new, slightly smaller stadium on land surrounding the deteriorating 42-year-old Aloha Stadium and seek ancillary development of the site to help fund the project.

Stadium Authority consultants have briefed key legislators in recent weeks on studies that indicate a “state-of-the-art stadium facility can be constructed for an amount roughly comparable, including market escalation, to the department’s current estimate for health and safety repairs, depending on the materials selected for construction, the amenities included in the design and the timing of construction, exclusive in all cases of transportation improvements, remediation and related infrastructure.”

The Stadium Authority is recommending a facility with “30,000-35,000 permanent seats that is expandable to 40,000 for special events,” saying it “would create a more intimate environment significantly improving the fan experience, reduce operating costs and facilitate an efficient and more economical design.”

The Stadium Authority said the building of a rail station on the site affords “a unique opportunity to leverage increased transit options for stadium operations and transit-oriented development.”

The 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium, the state’s largest outdoor arena, opened in 1975 at a cost of $37 million.

The Stadium Authority did not put a price tag on what a new stadium would cost, but some estimates have ranged from $200 million to $300 million, depending upon when it is built, materials involved and amenities.