Athletics at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa have contributed nearly $753 million to the state economy over the last four years, according to a newly released study.
Gov. Josh Green and other state officials unveiled the results of the study Thursday, with the governor pointing to the numbers as a reason to continue to invest heavily in UH and UH athletics.
“I’m proud of these teams, I’m proud that they inspire families,” Green said. “I’m grateful that it’s an economic boon, and really what I want us to do going forward is to make informed decisions about how we invest in UH and how we invest in UH sports.”
The report was funded by private donors, one of whom was retired businessman Larry Rodriguez. Rodriguez said Thursday that it was self-evident to him that UH Athletics has a significant impact to the state’s economy, but the exact scope of that impact was not well documented, and so he and other partners put together a study to quantify it.
The study assessed four different areas of economic impact: direct spending associated with athletic events, spending associated with UH athletes or employees of UH’s athletic programs, broader athletic revenue from sources such as sponsorships, and revenues generated by athletic-related construction and improvement projects.
All told, the study found that, since the 2022-2023 academic year, UH Athletics have generated about $752.8 million in economic impact. The average year generates about $187.7 million, although the 2024-2025 year saw an economic impact of more than $200 million.
UH Mānoa’s annual athletics budget is approximately $66 million.
UH Football brings in the most revenue on game days, about $53 million over the last four years, with men’s basketball a close second at $51 million and men’s volleyball in third at $41 million.
Meanwhile, construction projects at athletic facilities resulted in $24.9 million in UH spending, which generates jobs and income throughout the state.
Furthermore, the study estimated that the exposure of UH Mānoa athletics through national broadcasts and social media is equivalent in value to $1.73 billion in advertising spending.
For example, the study looked at the number of Instagram impressions generated by all UH Athletics profiles in the 2025-2026 school year, approximately 192 million impressions. Based on the study’s calculations — which attributed a $9.17 value per 1,000 impressions — those impressions had an equivalent value to $352 million in advertising.
UH Athletics Director Matt Elliott said the money coming in from athletics represents an opportunity for additional investment, particularly in a highly competitive environment where Hawai‘i needs to retain visibility among college athletic programs the nation over.
“For UH Athletics to be successful and to have a long-term plan, we need to be the top of the conference we’re in,” Elliott said. “Us being in the Mountain West [Conference] is a new investment. It’s a new level of competition, and we need to keep up with the teams that are in that conference so that we can continue to have the success that we have.”
Green added that “the NIL era is upon us,” referring to an ever-increasing number of colleges and athletic programs allowing students to receive compensation for use of their name, image and likeness.
“Big universities are out there investing millions and millions of dollars in some athletes based on their name and likeness, and that, in turn, drives enormous revenue when they get on primetime TV all the time,” Green said. “So we can’t allow ourselves to be out-competed.”
A bill that would have established a framework for NIL rules at UH failed to pass the state Legislature this year. But Green said he would support the measure a second time around, adding that most bills take multiple attempts to pass.
“If I have to use some emergency asks, I’ll be happy to do that humbly with the legislature,” Green said.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, himself a former UH football player and assistant coach, said he would likely not have become mayor if not for his time on the field here. But, he added, the business of college sports has changed dramatically since his day.
“I had a lot of romantic stuff from my past, but I know it was exactly that: it was the past,” Blangiardi said. “We’re in a different world order right now.”
However, Blangiardi and Green emphasized that investing in UH Athletics does not mean a lack of investment in UH academics.
“We’re already out there as an academic institution,” Blangiardi said. “What we don’t want to have is a disparity between that academic excellence and potential for athletic excellence.”
“It’s not just about finding a giant pile of money and giving it to one athlete,” Green said. “It’s about making sure we have good meals for our student athletes, so that they can be nourished, so they can thrive, so they can do well on the playing field. It’s about making sure that we have the wherewithal to give them a great education.
“But also some could become mayors and leaders,” Green went on. “Others will become heads of industry here … We see them becoming young executives after being successful athletes. So there is really a ton of synergy that occurs when we thrive in sports.”
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