On Thursday, key members of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa's athletics department made their final public appearance in support of Senate Bill 3263.
Recently retired UH women's basketball coach Laura Beeman attended on behalf of athletics director Matt Elliott, who was in California traveling with the UH softball team. Head football coach Timmy Chang was also present, briefly testifying on behalf of the dozens of UH players and coaches who accompanied him in person.
"I just want to give you my aloha. Thank you for listening on this bill in a challenging time of college athletics," Chang said during his testimony in front of the House finance committee. "It is an unbelievable, momentous time for us as a university. ... This bill will help us. It'll help us retain and recruit a lot of the members that you see here standing here in this room — our players and our staff as we move forward, their support is definitely needed. So, thank you guys for listening."
Since November, figures in UH's athletics department such as Elliott, Beeman, Chang, women's soccer head coach Michele Nagamine and football associate head coach Chris Brown have been among the names that have attended hearings and informational briefings about the bills that the school is seeking.
Ahead of the 2026-2027 fiscal year, which begins on July 1, UH-Mānoa is seeking $5 million in NIL support, as well as $11 million in capital improvements.
The 2025-2026 academic year was the first in which NCAA schools could begin sharing revenue with student-athletes. Many schools in Power Four conferences distributed the limit of $20.5 million. In the 2026-2027 academic year, that figure will jump to approximately $21.3 million.
In a joint informational briefing between the house and senate last November, UH revealed that of the $5 million in NIL, $2.5 million would go to the football team, while approximately $450,000 would go to the women's basketball team. In the current 2025-2026 fiscal year, UH has $3 million committed in NIL to student-athletes raised through the private sector.
UH's $11 million capital improvements request includes safety and modernization upgrades to current sports facilities on campus in order to keep them functional for a longer period of time. It will not involve new stadium construction.
A $10.08 million request for core student-athlete needs remains a part of UH's asks, but the $10.08 million is not part of the House budget that the Senate is currently considering in crossover. The core student-athlete needs request involved funds for daily nutrition and meals, medical care and insurance, new staff members for support roles, and more.
The school is anticipating an outcome regarding its $5 million NIL request and $11 million capital improvements ahead of the July 1 start of the fiscal year.
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
