Vai Sikahema
From College of Fine Arts and Communications
Vai Sikahema was born August 29, 1962 in Nuku'Alofa, Tonga. A native of Tonga, Vai first came to BYU in 1980 after playing high school football in Mesa, Arizona.
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. After great college career, Sikahema then left BYU behind to play for the St. Louis Cardinals, during which time he made two Pro-Bowl appearances. He moved to Arizona with the Cardinals, where he continued his education at Arizona State University. 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. Sikahema was hired by then-CBS owned and operated television station WCAU in Philadelphia to do weekend sports. Surviving the station's sale to NBC, Sikahema later moved to weekdays and is currently the Sports Director in the nation's fourth-largest TV market.
He has covered events ranging from the Olympics to the Super Bowl. In 2008, during the Beijing Olympics, Sikahema worked as an NBC network correspondent, contributing to a daily network show during the Olympics.
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.
