UH Athletics Receives $5 Million NIL Commitment; Leaders Call on Community to Join Effort

HONOLULU — University of Hawaiʻi Athletics received a major boost Wednesday as five prominent Hawaiʻi donors and organizations announced a combined $5 million commitment over the next five years to support student-athlete Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) opportunities.

Bank of Hawaiʻi, First Hawaiian Bank, Matson, Jack Tsui and Walter Dods will each contribute $200,000 annually over the next five years, creating a $1 million-per-year foundation for UH Athletics as it navigates the rapidly changing landscape of college athletics.

The announcement was made during a press conference at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where university leaders, donors, coaches and student-athletes gathered to celebrate what UH Athletics Director Matt Elliott described as a transformational moment for the program.

“We are here today because leaders in our community decided to create hope,” Elliott said. “What you’ve done is provide inspiration. You’ve inspired us all.”

Elliott: “This Is About Team Hawaiʻi”

Elliott spent much of his remarks highlighting the accomplishments of UH Athletics over the past year, including five conference championships, a men’s volleyball national title, a Hawaiʻi Bowl victory, a return to the NCAA Tournament for men’s basketball, and 170 student-athletes earning degrees.

But he repeatedly returned to a broader message.

“This is about our fans, our community, and our student-athletes all coming together,” Elliott said. “Because we can pursue joy, we can pursue excellence together, and we can have an amazing time doing it.”

Elliott also emphasized that the gift provides a critical starting point, but not the finish line.

“We now know that we have a foundation to build our fundraising and other revenue-generating support,” Elliott said during the Q&A session. “Each year we’re going to set our goals, try to figure out what it takes to be competitive.”

Dods: “The Reality Is Already Here”

Former First Hawaiian Bank CEO Walter Dods delivered perhaps the most direct message of the morning regarding NIL and the changing realities of college athletics.

“People can certainly have different opinions about whether college athletes should be compensated,” Dods said. “But the reality is already here.”

Speaking off-script during the press conference, Dods challenged those still skeptical of NIL.

“We have great leadership. We have great coaches. We have a wonderful community. But we still need M-O-N-E-Y,” Dods said. “People say, ‘Why should we do this? Why should they get paid?’ Hey, this is the real world now.”

Dods also encouraged others to follow the example of the five lead donors.

“I’m going to speak out and beg the community to look at forming your own little teams of five people with five-year pledges,” Dods said. “I don’t care if it’s $5 or $50,000. Let’s get together and let’s make it happen.”

 

Chang: NIL Is About Retention

UH football head coach Timmy Chang was asked how NIL directly impacts his program and offered one of the clearest explanations of the current environment.

“Recruiting and retaining has a dollar value to it,” Chang said. “There is a free agency that happens every single year in every single sport.”

Chang noted that athletes who perform at a high level often become targets for other programs.

“The better they look, the dollar amount goes up,” Chang said. “There is a dollar amount to trying to help recruit them and also retain them.”

He later pointed specifically to local standouts who have chosen to stay home.

“Having players like Micah Alejado stay home and Pofele Ashlock come and play for us and to keep and retain those guys, it is a real thing,” Chang said.

UH Estimates $5 Million Annual Need

One of the more notable revelations from the event was confirmation that UH Athletics believes it needs approximately $5 million annually in NIL support to remain competitive within the Mountain West Conference and nationally.

During the Q&A session, Chang acknowledged that while exact NIL figures around the country are difficult to track, UH has identified roughly that amount as its target.

“We shot a goal as an athletic department to raise $5 million,” Chang said. “And that gets us there.”

The newly announced commitment provides $1 million annually toward that goal.

 

A Leadership Gift — And An Invitation

Several speakers stressed that Wednesday’s announcement should be viewed as a catalyst rather than a complete solution.

“This is just a start,” Matson Senior Vice President Leonard Isotoff said. “We hope more will join.”

First Hawaiian Bank Chairman and CEO Bob Harrison said timing was important.

“UH programs need the money now,” Harrison said. “Student-athletes are making decisions now.”

Elliott echoed that sentiment when asked whether the commitment could inspire additional support.

“That’s what a leadership gift does,” Elliott said. “It sets the tone and the stage for others who want to be a part of it and participate.”

Notable Quotes

Matt Elliott on local athletes staying home:

“When Micah and Lester and Luther and Dean and Pofele and Jamih and others chose that they wanted to be here at UH, they made the decision that they want to keep playing here. They didn’t want to go somewhere else.”

Walter Dods on UH’s role in Hawaiʻi:

“We don’t have professional teams. This is our professional team.”

Timmy Chang on representing Hawaiʻi:

“There is only one school that represents the state and all eight islands.”

Jim Polk, Bank of Hawaiʻi CEO:

“The landscape of Division I athletics has changed dramatically and communities that want their universities to compete at the highest level are going to have to find new ways to support our athletes.”

Bob Harrison, First Hawaiian Bank CEO:

“We have to respond to it. We have to support our local teams.”

 

Takeaway

Wednesday’s announcement does not solve UH’s NIL challenge overnight, but it provides something the department has been seeking since the NIL era began: a significant, multi-year foundation from respected leaders in Hawaiʻi’s business community.

Just as importantly, the donors repeatedly framed the commitment as a starting point rather than an endpoint.

The message from university leadership, coaches and donors was consistent throughout the morning: NIL is now part of college athletics, and if Hawaiʻi wants to retain local talent and compete at the highest levels, broader community support will be needed moving forward.

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