LOGAN, Utah – Former Utah State football player Ernest Aalona died on Monday, July 11. He was 66.

Aalona was a two-year letterwinner for the Aggies on the gridiron in 1977 and 1978, helping the team amass an overall record of 11-11 during that span. However, during the last 15 games of his collegiate career, Utah State went 10-5.

During Aalona's senior season in '78, Utah State went 7-4 overall and 4-1 in its first year in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), tying for first place with San José State. Aalona and the Aggies opened the season with a 10-0 win over Idaho State on Sept. 3, at Nishnamiya Stadium in Osaka, Japan.

This was Utah State's second trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. On the Aggies' first visit in 1971, they played two games against Japanese all-star teams, winning both handily. According to a newspaper article preceding the 1978 trip, football was gaining popularity in Japan, and in addition to playing the game against the Bengals, USU put on clinics for aspiring Japanese football players.

Prior to making a name for himself with the Aggies, where he played on the offensive line, Aalona received a football scholarship to Santa Rosa Junior College in Santa Rosa, California.

Aalona was born on April 29, 1956, to Joseph Aalona and Puanani Lurline Emmsley-Kama in Honolulu, Hawaii. While attending Utah State, he married Jean Barrus, and the couple had six children together.

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