Rockne freitas biography channel

Rockne Crowningburg “Rocky” Freitas
Sept. 7, 1945 – June 8, 2022

Reprinted with permission from UH News. Originally published June 14, 2022.

A powerful voice, once-in-a-generation, sports phenom – just a few of the superlatives used to describe the former pro-football standout and University of Hawaiʻi leader Rockne Freitas, who died on June 8, 2022, at the age of 76.

Freitas, who towered over others at 6’6”, was a pioneer in Native Hawaiian advancement in both higher education and professional sports.

He graduated and played football at Kamehameha Schools and Oregon State University and had a stand-out career with the NFL’s Detroit Lions.

After returning to Hawaiʻi he served in multiple roles in the UH Mānoa Athletics Department, including a brief stint as athletics director and then as vice president of University Relations.

Along the way, he earned master’s and doctoral degrees in education from UH Mānoa.

“Rockne is truly one of a kind. Someone like him come