When Hawai‘i Community Foundation's previous senior director of policy and public affairs departed for another position on the Big Island, HCF CEO Micah Kāne reached out to his network for potential candidates.
Kāne's sister-in-law gave him the name of a former colleague: Matt Elliott, the chief strategy officer in UCLA's athletics department. Elliott had previously lived in the Islands following law school and had also met his wife, Allison, on O‘ahu. Perhaps the allure of moving back to Hawai‘i would appeal to Elliott, someone Kāne called "way overqualified" for the position.
"Coming back to Hawai‘i, I know you got some experience, but I think it could a great opportunity for you," Kāne recalled telling Elliott.
Elliott accepted the position and moved his family to Hawai‘i. Because he was still in the middle of spearheading UCLA's move from the Pac-12 Conference to the Big Ten, he started off at HCF as a part-timer.
Elliott's days at HCF are now numbered. He is set to officially become the University of Hawai‘i's new athletics director, pending Board of Regents approval on June 16, emerging as new UH president Wendy Hensel's choice on Thursday morning.
Judging by his first staff meeting at HCF, maybe it was destiny for Elliott to get the UH AD gig.
"He came with a UCLA shirt on, and we did an introduction of him," Kāne recalled. "And he went up and he took his UCLA shirt off, and he had his UH shirt on and he said, 'This is me now.' He was just so proud to be home and to be affiliated with the green and, yeah, he's all in, man. He's all in."
Over the course of Elliott's year and a half at HCF, Kāne found himself constantly impressed by Elliott's ability to lead and collaborate with others, traits that he believes will translate well in Mānoa.
"I'm really excited about the future of Hawai‘i Athletics with Matt's leadership coming forward. I mean, you're getting a first class leader, someone who I think would qualify as a unicorn," Kāne said. "I've had to work directly with him over the past year and a half, and I've really saw someone I think in my career, I would say he's one of the top leaders that I've ever had the opportunity to work with."
Elliott will not be made publicly available to the media until he is officially appointed as UH's next athletics director. His first day, according to UH, is no later than July 1. Whenever he begins, Kāne believes he will hit the ground running.
"He's someone that can really deconstruct complex environments. He's comfortable being uncomfortable. He's someone that doesn't blink and definitely cares deeply about Hawai‘i and the role that the university can play in Hawai‘i, the role the university athletic program can play in the university system, and really getting Hawai‘i out there," Kāne said. "We're very, very fortunate that we have a talent like that, and someone with that level of integrity and skills to be in the position. So, I'm excited for Hawaii and all of the athletes that are going to get to to be under his leadership."
During his time at UCLA, Elliott was part of a team that negotiated a 15-year, $280 million deal with Under Armour, the biggest apparel deal in the history of college sports.
Although UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington all migrated from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten in 2024, UCLA and USC joined as fully vested members, while Oregon and Washington will receive half-shares of the conference's revenue distribution to members until 2030. The Big Ten had $928 million in revenue for the 2024 fiscal year, according to USA Today.
With HCF, Elliott led the organization's efforts in the House Maui Initiative, aimed at helping Maui families live in more affordable homes.
"Quite frankly, Matt led that work for us, and so in many ways, he was the orchestrator behind the scenes, and this is a multi hundred million dollar initiative," Kāne said. "The guy is not afraid of mixing it up and doing it in a way where you feel like it's the right thing."
Kāne, who earned his undergraduate degree at Menlo College and got his master's degree from UH-Mānoa's Shidler College of Business, remains a staunch UH sports fan. Because of a tip he received from his sister-in-law, he's ready to see his friend ascend and attempt to elevate the athletic program he roots for.
"Probably the best thing that happened to HCF. He made a quick imprint on this place, and I thank my sister-in-law, of course," Kāne said.
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
