Senate committee advances UH NIL endowment bill amid questions over fundraising and disclosure

A joint Senate committee on Feb. 11 recommended passage of Senate Bill 3,263, a bill that would create a state-supported endowment to generate ongoing income for University of Hawaii athletics’ name, image and likeness (NIL) program.

Matt Elliott, director of athletics at the University of Hawaii, testified the department supports the bill and described NIL as ‘‘a new challenge for college athletics across the country and in the state’’ that requires a range of solutions. ‘‘We are in support of Bill SB 3,263,’’ Elliott said. He asked the committee to consider modifications: allowing the endowment to start at a lower state match (‘‘maybe 2,000,000 total amount instead of 10,000,000’’), permitting reporting by team rather than by individual student-athlete, and allowing students to decline an agent or to use a certified agent.

The bill, as explained by the chair during questioning, would create an endowment corpus that cannot be spent; the draft contemplates a one-time $5 million state appropriation with a $5 million university match to create a $10 million corpus whose interest would fund NIL support. ‘‘Instead of giving $5,000,000 every year to them, it would be a one time $5,000,000 ... the requirement is that they match the $5,000,000, so there would be $10,000,000 in the corpus,’’ the chair said.

Members pressed Elliott on whether the university could raise matching funds and on the effect of state involvement on privacy and disclosure. Senator Fevella warned of constituent backlash over using limited local tax dollars for athletics, saying, ‘‘We're a small island with poor taxpayers with little money... How are we gonna compete with the bigger colleges?’’ Elliott said the athletics office is pursuing near-term private fundraising ($3 million this year for NIL obligations) while building a longer-term endowment and that donor conversations take time.

Privacy and disclosure were a central concern. Senators asked whether state funds would require disclosure of individual student-deal amounts. Elliott said he prefers aggregated, team-level reporting to protect student privacy but acknowledged that if state funding required individual disclosure, the university would comply.

Committee members also pressed for more detail about existing media-rights and revenue-sharing arrangements. Elliott said the current Learfield multimedia-rights guarantee is roughly $2.8 million for the year and agreed to provide a breakdown of revenue splits and negotiated deals in follow-up.

The Committee on Education voted to pass SB3263 with an SD1 amendment; recorded voices in the committee included the chair and vice chair voting ‘‘aye,’’ with Senator Fukunaga excused and other named members recorded as ‘‘aye.’’ The Committee on Economic Development and Tourism registered a similar recommendation; one senator recorded a vote ‘‘with reservation.’’ The committee removed the specific appropriation amount on the bill’s page 4 and left the precise dollar to Ways and Means to set.

What happens next: the committee’s recommendation advances the bill to further fiscal review and to Ways and Means for appropriation decisions. The measure includes a match requirement and reporting provisions that senators asked the university to clarify before final legislative action.

Provenance: The committee heard testimony introducing SB3263 at SEG 028 and took the committee recommendation and recorded votes at SEG 857–SEG 892.

Speakers quoted in this article are drawn from the committee record and include Matt Elliott (director of athletics) and multiple senators who questioned the witness.