Mike Biscotti completed a lot of passes in his three years as quarterback for the University of Hawai'i football team in the early 1970s. But his best completion turned out to be a "Rainbow Connection" nearly 40 years later.

Being a former UH athlete — yes, UH teams were called the Rainbows (and still by me, Go 'Bows) — played a big part in Biscotti getting the job as general manager of the Hoakalei Country Club five months ago.

Haseko ('Ewa) Inc., which developed Hoakalei and hired Arnie Palmer Golf Management to run the Ernie Els-designed golf course in 'Ewa Beach, was looking for a GM.

"They contacted me because I had the connections with the university in Hawai'i and strong ties here. It didn't take me long to let them know I was interested," Biscotti said.

It also helped that Biscotti had a background in managing private country clubs, starting with the American Golf Corporation more than 12 years ago. His resume includes handling golf operations at courses in Cincinnati, Portland, Ore., Palm Springs, Calif., and the latest at Prescott Lake Golf and Country Club in Arizona.

"It's just great to be back," said Biscotti, 58. "My experience here as a student-athlete was second to none." He also met his wife, Patti, during his UH days. They have a daughter, Nicole, who's 24.

Who says, you can't go home again? Not that Biscotti didn't try to come back to Hawai'i earlier.

"You never forget your alma mater," said Biscotti, who had hoped to return to the Islands 20 years ago. He had coached the quarterbacks and tight ends at Cincinnati before Bearcats' head coach Dave Curry was fired. "I actually interviewed with Bob Wagner (UH head football coach), but he didn't have any openings on his staff at the time," Biscotti recalled.

Along the way, Biscotti ran into former UH coach June Jones a number of times, including in Portland when Jones left Hawai'i and the Hula-T to play for Portland State. Jones, who was a freshman in Biscotti's senior year, often visited the training camp of the WFL's Thundering Herd to hook up with his fellow Rainbow.

UH football is never far from Biscotti's mind. He tries to look up game results and even came to town to watch the Warriors' victory over Washington that capped a 12-0 season in 2007.

After leaving Hawai'i with a degree in May, 1973, Biscotti played in the World Football League in its brief, two-year existence, but never came here to play the Hawaiians, who had a number of former UH teammates on the team, including Levi Stanley and Harold Stringert. He then coached high school football in the Gardena, Calif., area where he came from, then at West Los Angeles Junior College.

He was just on the telephone with another Rainbow teammate, running back Larry Sherrer, who's an ophthalmologist on Kaua'i.

"I'm trying to catch up with everybody I can," said Biscotti. Two guys in particular are Larry Price, the head assistant to Dave Holmes, and Elroy Chong, who shared QB duties with Biscotti during his junior year.

UH was an independent during Biscotti's three years and went 9-2, 7-4 and 9-2 in 1970 through 1972, playing against Division I-AA schools with a few heavyweights like Nebraska and Tennessee sprinkled in. Even though UH lost to both powerhouses, Biscotti thought they were two of his most memorable games in his UH playing days.

"From a personal standpoint, that game (a 45-3 loss to Nebraska) was one of the best games I played," said Biscotti, who felt he and his teammates did their best against the No. 1 team in the nation.

"My senior year we traveled to Knoxville and, at the time, played in front of the fifth largest crowd in University of Tennessee history. That was also quite an experience."

Biscotti also vividly recalls playing at the old Honolulu Stadium. "First of all, you can't forget it. That was quite an experience. But the biggest thing is that I had such a wonderful experience here. The people here just treated me extremely well."

Right now, it's golf, not football, for Biscotti, who plays to a 10-handicap. He thinks Els designed a great golf course. "It's very forgiving off the tees with wide fairways. He's designed the golf course in which you have to get your shot to a certain point for your best approach to the greens, which are small."

Not that there aren't any hazards — water comes into play on 12 holes and there are 108 sand bunkers, which means that each member of the private golf club (there are 111 who paid $30,000 to join) just about has a sand trap to call his own.

The most picturesque hole is the par-4 eighth with a split fairway to a green well protected by a natural spring.

"Ernie designed it so that you aim at the right if the pin is on the left, and aim left if the pin is on the right," said Kris Kitt, Hoakalei's director of golf. "He designed a course in which you have to hit every club in your bag."

The hole will be No. 7 when a clubhouse is built. The holes will be renumbered with the par-5 first hole being the finishing hole. There is no specific target date for the building of a clubhouse, according to Biscotti.

But he's sure glad he's here to enjoy Hoakalei's future, thanks to that Rainbow connection.