For the 25th anniversary of the University of Hawai'i Sports Circle of Honor, the inductees are guys who keep on giving.

Joe Onosai's huge frame and athletic exploits are now dwarfed by his faith-based accomplishments, particularly for kids. The late renaissance man Toshio "Bob" Nagatani left UH with a world-class academic center in his parents' name. The 1955 football team, which played David to Nebraska's Goliath one remarkable day in Lincoln, ultimately will be known more for its all-star educators.

Onosai and Nagatani will be the 70th and 71st individuals inducted into the Circle at halftime of tonight's men's basketball game between Hawai'i and Idaho at Stan Sheriff Center. The 1955 football squad will be the eighth team inducted.

All were honored at a luncheon yesterday hosted by founding sponsor Bank of Hawai'i. Their plaques will be displayed on the inner walls of the arena's main concourse.

Nine months after getting blitzed by Nebraska, 50-0, in Honolulu — and two weeks after opening the season with a 33-7 victory over the Hawai'i Prep All-Stars — that 1955 team took 25 players to Nebraska and won, 6-0. Seven of the 11 UH starters played all 60 minutes, in a stadium drenched in red and expecting the 'Huskers' season-opener to be a "scrimmage" for the upcoming Ohio State game.

The Rainbows had other ideas. A nucleus of players who came in with coach Hank Vasconcellos in 1952 prepared two months for Nebraska, practicing twice a day, seven days a week. After their 1954 thrashing, they knew they had to develop speed to go with their quickness and find a way to prevent UN from running them into the hot turf.

They stuffed the 'Husker offense by putting nine players on the line and co-captain Hartwell Freitas plunged in for the game's only score midway through the fourth quarter. Skippy Dyer broke up a Nebraska pass at Hawai'i's 10 with less than 2 minutes left and a team that included future educators Charles Araki, Henry Ariyoshi, Don Botelho, Richard Hadama, Ed Kawawaki and Bill Tam celebrated.

"What a joy to beat them," co-captain Richard Ueoka recalled.

The joy has been passed on generations. Botelho missed the PAT that day — "The only one I missed in four years, I knew we wouldn't need it" — and went on to become the Pac-5 football coach and athletic director, and Interscholastic League of Honolulu executive director.

He won the 1982 Prep Bowl with Onosai as his star player. Botelho's impact on Onosai's life was never forgotten.

Onosai, whose daughter Careena is now on the UH track and field team, was born in American Samoa. He grew up in Kuhio Park Terrace and was the Advertiser's 1982 Offensive Player of the Year in high school.

An honorable mention All-American on the offensive line during his UH football career from 1983 to '86, Onosai was drafted in the sixth round by the Dallas Cowboys. He never played in the NFL because of a neck injury.

An inspiring new life, anchored in faith and a natural ability to lead, was born. Onosai's rehabilitation prepared him to become a two-time World Powerlifting Champion and take third in the World's Strongest Man contest.

His spiritual strength, debilitated just as much by the injury, also returned. Onosai began support groups for at-risk kids and started the Men of WAR (Wisdom, Authority, Righteousness) outreach program. He became an ordained pastor at Word of Life, where he is the athletic director, in 1998.

"I do this because I'm so appreciative of the opportunities I've had," Onosai said. "Guys like him (Botelho) and all the coaches I've had took this insecure boy from Kuhio Park Terrace and made me believe I could do something."

Onosai found his purpose in life early, and recites it with pride. "My purpose is to inspire and influence young people to discover and release their God-given potential," he says. "That's what I'm all about."

Nagatani, who died last year at 67, continues to inspire and influence with the $1 million Chika and Hisazo Nagatani Academic Center, located in the midst of the UH athletic facilities and opened in 1999. He was involved in every aspect of the center, from the texture of the walls to the artwork and size of the chairs, designed to be comfortable for cross country runners and linemen.

"He wanted the athletes to have some place to go because often they couldn't get to upper campus," said Patricia Nagatani, Bob's wife. "This was a place they could go in between practices that would cater to them. He was really determined."

Nagatani was raised in a Jewish neighborhood in Chicago and graduated with honors in social psychology from Harvard in 1961. He came here as a grad assistant in sociology. Larry Price, one of his students, convinced Nagatani to help with football statistics. Nagatani stuck with it for 40 years, adding basketball a few years later.

He worked as a Waikiki beach boy, a cowboy in Mexico, a baker in Kalihi and a bass player who performed with Mel Torme and Della Reese. Nagatani believed UH was Hawai'i's most important institution, sports was a critical part of community pride and academics were crucial. He tutored students in the dorms in the 1960s and '70s and created the academic center after investing his inheritance.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.