Posted with permission, article and pictures, courtesy of University of Hawaii Manoa

On June 23, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed into law the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act (commonly known as Title IX), which prohibits gender-based discrimination in any school or education program that receives federal funds. A year later, Dr. Donnis Thompson, who helped Congresswoman Mink write the Title IX legislation, was named the University of Hawai’i’s first women’s athletics director.
 
Her annual budget? $5,000.
 
Since those humble beginnings, Rainbow Wahine teams and individual student-athletes have garnered league championships, national rankings, All-America honors and, yes, even national titles. Along the way, thousands of young women at UH-Manoa have had the opportunity to further their education, compete in the sports they love and create memories to last a lifetime.
 
Here is a (very) subjective list of 12 of the greatest student-athletes to ever wear a Rainbow Wahine uniform: