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Famous LDS People: Athletes

A native of Tonga, Vai first came to BYU in 1980 after playing high school football in Mesa, Arizona. He began his career on the junior varsity but also played with the varsity special teams.

His sophomore season in 1981, Sikahema was one of three BYU rushers with positive yardage in the 1981 Holiday Bowl vs. Washington State. He also ended up finishing fourth in the WAC in punt returns, with an 8.6 yard average on 44 returns.

Sikahema interrupted his college football career to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to South Dakota between his sophomore and junior year. He came back to BYU in 1983 to redshirt.

During his 1984 season alone, Vai Sikahema was named Honorable Mention All-WAC, ranked seventh nationally in kick-off returns, named Special Teams Player-of-the-Game vs. both Tulsa and UTEP, and listed as BYU’s fourth leading rusher on the Cougar team that won the National Championship. Not a bad record after a three-season hiatus!

Sikahema kept turning heads his senior year. He was named the Hartford-ESPN MVP twice for his performances against UCLA and Hawaii and made Second Team All-WAC as a return specialist. By the end of his BYU career, he had made 153 punt returns, securing the BYU all-time record for career returns.

Vai then left BYU behind to play for the St. Louis Cardinals, during which time he made two Pro-Bowl appearances. In the 1987 game, he set the NFL Pro-Bowl Single-Game Punt Return record with seven returns in one game.

Vai moved to Arizona with the Cardinals, where he continued his education at ASU. He went on to play for the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles. As an Eagle he was named to the 1992 All-Madden Team.

Sikahema then retired from the NFL and transitioned from player to media specialist. Currently he is the sports director and anchor for NBC’s Channel 10 in Philadelphia. He graduated from BYU in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism.

Vai and his wife, Keala, are the parents of three sons and a daughter: Landon, L. J., Trey, and Lana.

*Information for these biographies came from the following sources: rulongardner.com, Sports Gallery, Latter-day Heroes by Chad Hawkins, BYU Cougar Club, Lordly & Dame, Inc.