Afoa, 45, was a standout lineman at Saint Louis School and San Diego State and spent 18 years as an NCAA Division I assistant coach, including 16 at San Diego State. He coached the defensive line at UH in 1995 and 1996 and also was Punahou School's defensive coordinator in 1994.

Afoa coached special teams at Steel Canyon High School in San Diego last season.

"I've already done the Division I thing, and I think the two most fun years I've had coaching was when I was coaching high school ball," said Afoa, who will work at Kamehameha-Hawai'i as an athletics/fitness coordinator. "This is a great opportunity for me — this is a great place and I'm happy to be back home. We've got good athletes and good, quality students, so I would like to build this program and see where it goes."

Kamehameha-Hawai'i, with an enrollment of 432, will be classified as a Division II team in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation this season.

"We're very excited to have somebody of Ulima's caliber, not just because of his experience but also because he's a really good person," said Bob Wagner, who was UH's head football coach from 1987 to 1995. "We've got a good corps of athletes and our JV team went undefeated last year, but like I told our kids today, it's a big jump to varsity. So we're very fortunate to have someone like Ulima."