UH Athletics Launches Shoji Society to Strengthen Support for Student-Athletes

The University of Hawai‘i Athletics Department is putting one of the most recognizable names in its history behind a new initiative aimed at building greater financial support for its student-athletes.

UH Athletics, in partnership with the UH Foundation, officially launched the Shoji Society on Wednesday, a new leadership giving society named in honor of legendary Rainbow Wahine volleyball head coach Dave Shoji.

The initiative comes as the financial landscape of college athletics continues to change, with schools facing increasing costs associated with supporting, recruiting and retaining student-athletes.

According to UH Athletics Director Matt Elliott, Shoji’s name continued to surface as the department considered how to identify its new major giving society.

“Dave’s name and his legacy and what his family has accomplished and contributed to this place just kept coming back,” Elliott said. “It really was a symbol of not just excellence, but of integrity.”

Membership in the Shoji Society begins with a minimum pledge of $50,000 over up to five years, with four giving levels ranging from $50,000 to $1 million. Contributions can support scholarships, NIL opportunities, student-athlete development, facility improvements and other priorities within UH Athletics.

The society launches with 10 charter members whose leadership commitments or lifetime giving have reached at least $1 million. Collectively, the group has committed more than $38.3 million over the past 46 years to support UH student-athletes.

The Shoji Society also serves as the major-giving component of the newly launched ‘Bows Athletics Club, which was created to provide a broader avenue for fans and supporters to financially support UH Athletics at all giving levels. A $100 donation provides membership in the ‘Bows Athletics Club.

For Shoji, who led the Rainbow Wahine for 42 seasons and won four national championships, lending his name to the initiative is another way to encourage the community to support the program he helped build.

“The landscape of athletics has changed,” Shoji said. “Back then we were worried about raising scholarship money. Well, scholarship money is minimum now. We have to keep up.”

Shoji said that support is increasingly important to provide student-athletes with what they need to compete with programs across the country.

“If my name can just propel somebody to give 50, maybe 100 dollars, I am so honored by that,” Shoji said. “If you check the box score on Sunday morning, then I think you should give whatever you can give to UH because we need the support and we need to stay up with the rest of the country.”

Women’s basketball head coach Khalilah Mitchell offered another perspective on what increased investment can mean beyond wins and losses, pointing to areas such as recruiting, nutrition, sports psychology and facilities.

“It doesn’t just help us win games. It builds the experience a championship program requires, and it lets us keep promises to the families who trust us with their daughters,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell added that the investment goes beyond what happens on the scoreboard, helping programs develop student-athletes throughout their time at UH.

“You’re helping us raise leaders. You’re helping us raise young women who show up, who speak up, who lift up, who graduate, who go into their communities and carry it in a very specific way,” Mitchell said. “Basketball is the vehicle. It was never the destination.”

Elliott said donor support can be directed toward a wide range of areas, including academics, physical and mental health, nutrition, performance technology, NIL and individual teams or the athletic department as a whole.

Men’s volleyball head coach Charlie Wade, who spent 11 seasons working alongside Shoji, said the increased investment is critical as the cost of competing in college athletics continues to rise.

“We’re not trying to be Ohio State or Texas,” Wade said. “We’re trying to be the best version of the University of Hawaii.” Wade said the increased level of support from the community can help put UH on a pathway to remain competitive nationally.

For Shoji, that ability to compete remains especially relevant to the Rainbow Wahine program he led for more than four decades.

Asked what it will take for Hawai‘i to return to the national championship conversation, Shoji pointed directly to recruiting and the resources available to attract players.

“We have to be able to provide what other schools are providing and maybe more,” Shoji said. “That’s what this is all about.”