The Hawaii football team’s "senior walk" will follow a new path this year.

Instead of a postgame ceremony, the Warriors will honor 14 seniors before the start of the regular-season finale against South Alabama at Aloha Stadium this Saturday.

UH’s senior walk began as a spontaneous act when defensive back Nelson Maeda decided to walk around the Aloha Stadium field following the Rainbow Warriors’ upset of Arizona State in the 1979 regular-season finale.

At the end of the last UH game of 1980, safety Blane Gaison circled the field, exchanging aloha handshakes and hugs with what remained of an Aloha Stadium crowd of 46,203, Thus, a tradition was born.

Through the years there were emotional sendoffs, such as Bob Wagner’s aloha walk a week after it was announced he would be fired.

But then the senior walk became commercialized. A sponsor was secured to pay for the commemorative plaques that were presented to each senior.

Photo opportunities and the crush of supporters on the field delayed the senior walk introductions. After the Warriors completed an undefeated season in 2007, portable gates were set up at midfield for the senior ceremony.

The past two years, the delays lengthened. Last year, there were only a few hundred in the stands when the final senior was introduced.

After consultation, it was decided the seniors and their parents or guardians would be celebrated before the game. Teammates and former Warriors will create a walkway during introductions.

UH coach Norm Chow said the pregame format will ensure a larger audience.

The Warriors gather in the locker room after the game for a brief meeting. This Saturday, there will be no postgame meeting, and the players will be free to meet with their family and friends after the final cannon boom.

"If they want to walk, let them walk," Chow said.

The seniors also will be honored at the Warriors’ postseason luau at UH’s soccer field on Sunday.

Chow said the luau was intended to be affordable ($50 for 13 and older, $25 for ages 4-12) and casual.