HONOLULU — The University of Hawaii expects a crowd at close to full capacity for Saturday’s football season opener against Vanderbilt and the head coaching debut of Timmy Chang.

UH’s online ticket ordering website displayed on Tuesday fewer than 100 tickets available for the 4:30 p.m. game against the Commodores of the Southeastern Conference at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, official capacity of 9,346. According to UH spokespersons, the online preordered passes for the roughly 3,000-stall parking structure at the Manoa Lower Campus were also close to selling out.

What You Need To Know

  • The Hawaii football team's 2022 season opener against Vanderbilt at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on Saturday is nearly sold out, with only several dozen scattered seats still available on UH's website as of Tuesday

  • Preordered passes for the Lower Campus parking structure were said to be close to sold out, but same-day purchases can be made for UH Upper Campus lots on Saturday

  • First-year head coach Timmy Chang likely will not name a starting quarterback before gameday, but the Rainbow Warriors announced their four team captains on Tuesday: running back Dedrick Parson, center Eliki Tanuvasa, linebacker Penei Pavihi and defensive lineman Blessman Ta'ala

  • Vanderbilt is in town and has commenced practices at Farrington's Skippa Diaz Stadium

Chang, the former UH quarterback from the early 2000s, is doing his utmost not to make too big a deal of his first game week leading his alma mater.

“Every day it’s just one day at a time,” Chang said. “It’s just trying to get these guys ready to go for Saturday and making sure all the details are correct and we’re peaking at that moment on Saturday.”

Similarly, Chang wants his players to focus on their roles and not be distracted by what could be the first sellout at the Ching Complex since it became UH’s site for home games in the 2021 season.

Vanderbilt, with a sizable travel party of over 100 people, arrived over the weekend and held its first practice at Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium.

UH moved its practice from Cooke Field to the Ching Complex on a soggy Tuesday so as the preserve the grass at Cooke. Spirits were not dampened with the game four days away.

“You can feel the energy in the locker room, on the field,” running back Dedrick Parson said. “Everybody’s ready to go, everybody’s ready to hit someone else.”

A busy scene in and around the Manoa campus is expected, and those who don’t have to be there on Saturday are encouraged by UH not to be. There is a Lower Campus drop-off zone as well as same-day parking in several lots at UH Upper Campus. Full information is here.

For those who plan to attend, UH is putting on a pregame “’Bows Fest” two hours before game time, similar to the “Island Day” festivities for the spring game in April. The theme of the Vanderbilt game is “Everything Green.”

Fittingly, reggae band “The Green” will play music inside the Stan Sheriff Center at 2:30 p.m., when festivities begin at the Ching Complex, Les Murakami Stadium and Sheriff Center. The concert is free with a game ticket.

UH offered up a vague depth chart over the weekend — many positions, including quarterback, featured “OR” designations on the starter between multiple players — but on Tuesday, the Rainbow Warriors announced a firm decision on something involving player hierarchy.

The players elected four seniors as their team captains: Parson, center Eliki Tanuvasa, linebacker Penei Pavihi and defensive lineman Blessman Ta’ala. Ta’ala and Pavihi, both of American Samoa, have already lettered four full seasons at UH. Tanuvasa, a Saint Louis alumnus, is in his fourth season after transferring to Manoa from Eastern Illinois. And Parson is in his second year as a graduate transfer from Howard.

“It’s … their body of work and what they’ve shown their teammates through January all the way to this point right now,” Chang said. “So it’s pretty special and a big honor … those four guys are who we hang our hat on and we go as they go.”

As for whether he will announce a decision on the starting quarterback before game day, Chang said, “Probably not. We really just want to make sure that they prepare for all five quarterbacks. You’ll see who comes out on that first day and then we’ll go from there.”

Note: Construction work to install photovoltaic panels above the upper level of the parking structure was completed this week, UH spokespeople told Spectrum News, meaning the full structure will be available for the game. The top level had been closed for parking since early in 2022.

Note: Connor Apo, who'd settled in as the sixth-string quarterback, has left the team to pursue other opportunities, UH confirmed Tuesday. The redshirt freshman from Waimanalo, a Saint Louis product, served on the scout team last season.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii.