University of Hawaii asks Legislature for $5M a year to fund NIL pay to retain recruits

The University of Hawaii’s athletic director, Matt Elliott, formally asked a joint House and Senate higher education committee on Nov. 12 for $5,000,000 a year to seed an institutional fund that would allow the university to make direct name, image and likeness (NIL) payments to its student‑athletes.

Elliott framed the request as a baseline allocation to help coaches recruit and retain players as the NCAA settlement and new NIL rules shift how college athletics are financed. "We are requesting a $5,000,000 annual fund to create a foundation for NIL," he told legislators, saying institutional control of those dollars will let coaches "go out and then make your plan" for building competitive rosters.

That pitch followed testimony from coaches who described concrete roster losses. Women’s basketball coach Laura Beaman said the program has "already lost 6 to 10 kids" in recent recruiting cycles to other mid‑major schools that could offer money, and emphasized retention over recruiting. Football coach Timmy Chang described players juggling family and work and said NIL has raised the market value of some players — "one of my players ... is worth $300,000 on the market right now," he said — complicating efforts to keep local talent.

Why $5 million: the athletic director said the amount is an institutional baseline derived from revenue‑share analogies and conversations with coaches; it is well under the $20,000,000 institutional cap referenced in the NCAA settlement. Elliott described $5 million as a realistic figure for a mid‑major program that lacks the media and ticket revenue of power‑conference schools but needs a stable fund to compete in the Mountain West.

Lawmakers pressed for detail and transparency. Senator Donna Mercado Kim asked whether institutional payments could be used to help athletes with living expenses or must be strictly tied to name, image and likeness. Elliott replied that both channels exist: institutional dollars are distributed at the university’s discretion (and do not have to be routed through the NIL registry) while third‑party deals must be submitted to the NCAA system for review of market value and compliance. He committed to providing disclosure appropriate for public‑money requests: "I would be happy to share how we intend to break those dollars up," he said, while noting some distribution details had been developed with outside counsel.

Several legislators questioned fairness and the use of taxpayer money. One legislator warned against using public funds to "buy a roster" by attracting players from the continent, while coaches countered that the program’s recruiting will continue to emphasize local ties and long‑term community investment. Beaman said any institutional plan must respect Title IX; she and Elliott both said outside counsel is guiding distribution to avoid Title IX violations.

Implementation questions remain. Elliott said the department has set up a "Boost the Bose" foundation structure with separate team accounts, is actively fundraising (he said roughly $1.5 million has been committed so far this year), and is procuring a third‑party NIL manager (Elliott cited preliminary vendor cost estimates of about $60,000–$80,000). Coaches said institutional funds would not reach every athlete: Elliott said the institutional allotment would not go to all 500 student athletes and that outside deals will remain market driven.

Legal and budgetary context: The AD explained that part of the NCAA settlement provides back pay to former student‑athletes and that the department expects to lose an estimated ~$400,000 a year in conference distributions because of settlement allocations. The settlement also established an institutional cap referenced in the briefing; Elliott described the period since July 1 as a ‘‘new phase’’ in which institutions can exercise more control over NIL payments.

Next steps: Legislators said they will review the department’s written plan and may pursue legislation in the upcoming session to clarify state oversight, transparency, agent registration, and Title IX compliance. Senator Kim closed the hearing by thanking coaches, the AD and boosters and said the legislature will continue to digest the information in advance of any budgetary action.

Reporting note: Quotes and specific funding requests in this report are drawn from the university’s Nov. 12 briefing to the House and Senate higher education committees. The athletic director and coaches described current fundraising and budget figures as approximate and subject to further accounting and counsel review.