A bill that could have required University of Hawaii athletics to turn over self-generated revenues from tickets, broadcast rights and other sources to the state general fund and, in return, made its operation “entirely dependent” on state support has been amended in the Legislature.

House Bill 62, which grew out of a state auditor’s report, would have repealed a number of special funds, including a 35-year-old account for UH athletics.

In 1985 the Legislature mandated a special fund for athletics due to the enterprise nature of the operations. But when the latest auditor’s report came out suggesting defunct accounts be repealed, Rep. Sylvia Luke (D, Makiki-Nuuanu) said, “We were in the middle of COVID-19 and it makes sense why athletics didn’t have the money in the fund (at the time). So, this (bill) is something that we are working on with UH to address.”

In testimony opposing the original bill, Kalbert Young, UH vice president for budget and finance/chief financial officer, wrote, “Although the fund is not self-sufficient and therefore was recommended for repeal in the auditor’s report, the fund still provides a useful function. Repealing the fund would mean that the athletics program at UH Manoa would be entirely dependent on the general fund.”

Young said that would mean, “All expenditures related to the athletics program, including travel, conference guarantees, salaries, student meals, student-athlete health and wellness, etc., would be paid by the state general fund. Additionally, the revenues that are collected for athletics purposes, including ticket revenue, broadcast distribution deals, concession agreements, and facilities rentals would be captured by the state general fund. This would significantly reduce the transparency of the athletics program and create an unnecessary burden on the athletics program, without improving the self-sufficiency of the program.”

In fiscal year 2020, which ended June 30, UH received approximately $16 million in direct revenues from the state and university and an additional $1.78 million from student support. They totaled about 37% of the department’s revenue in a year in which a deficit of $2.9 million was reported by outside auditors.

Young said, “If you eliminate the basis for why athletics needs to generate revenue, what is the incentive for athletics to generate its revenue? All of the revenues would just get dumped into the general fund or taken away. There would be no prioritization or incentive to generate your own funds at that point.”