As Craig Angelos’ 18-month tenure as University of Hawaii athletic director ends this Sunday, there still are several unchecked boxes on the to-do list. Here is what acting athletic director Lois Manin or the next permanent athletic director will face in the coming months:

FUTURE OF FOUR SPORTS

In July 2026, 15 UH sports — including both basketball programs and the women’s volleyball team —will join the Rainbow Warrior football team as members of the Mountain West Conference. But the MW does not sponsor men’s volleyball, beach volleyball, women’s water polo or men’s swimming. Meetings next month will help gauge whether those four programs remain in the Big West or will be forced to find another conference. Becoming an independent is not an option.

The general feel is volleyball coaches might object to the Warriors remaining because of their dominance in the sport, while Big West leaders would welcome the attention, rankings and sponsorships UH brings. Complicating the issue are the murmurs that some teams — Pepperdine? — are interested in jumping from the conglomerate Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to the Big West.

UH needs to secure future homes for those four programs.

APPAREL DEAL

In July 2021, Under Armour negotiated a buyout on a five-year, $10.2 million deal with UH that was set to expire the following June. Under Armour provided apparel, equipment and cash to UH.

UH then reached a deal with Adidas, in which the school would receive a discount on purchases of apparel and equipment. In what has become the standard for mid-major programs, UH did not receive any cash from Adidas. With the contract expiring in June, UH has negotiated with several companies,

It appears UH is close to a deal with BSN Sports, a wholesaler that distributes Nike products. The proposed deal calls for UH to purchase Nike apparel and equipment at a discounted price from BSN Sports. Similar to the Adidas deal, no cash would be paid to UH. Adidas also put in a bid that it claims matches the BSN Sports proposal. The lawyers and evaluators are figuring it out. But reaching an agreement soon would give an ample head start to manufacturing products for UH ahead of the 2024-25 academic year.

TV DEAL

In September 2020, UH and Spectrum agreed to terms on a five-year deal that would pay the school an average of nearly $3.1 million per year. The deal expires on June 30, 2025. If both sides agree, there is an option for a sixth year with a 3% increase in rights fees.

Angelos had said he wanted to activate the option, taking the contract through June 2026, which would coincide with the Mountain West’s expiration of its national-television contracts. The newly restructured league is seeking new national TV contracts.

The current deal requires UH to make at least seven football games and 60 overall events available to Spectrum. The cable network is due a rebate because it only aired six UH football games this season.

The Mountain West has protected UH’s Spectrum deal. UH has been allowed to keep its payout from Spectrum while receiving a small percentage of the league’s revenue from national TV deals. But beginning in the 2026-27 academic year, the Mountain West will maintain TV rights to UH football and basketball events. That would impact how many of those events will be available to Spectrum or whoever holds the local TV rights. The Mountain West also would like all the UH football and basketball games that are not aired on a national platform to be streamed on the league’s site. That would require a local rights holder or UH itself to produced those events.

Angelos has pushed the appeal of a UH football game as the last sporting event on Saturday, drawing nocturnal viewers from the East Coast and last-chance bettors. But while more late-night UH games would enhance national TV deals, it would decrease the number of events produced locally, leading to smaller local rights fees.

THE CHING COMPLEX

With the grass area being leveled and turned into a track/soccer complex, the football Warriors do not have a practice field. Instead, the Warriors jam their workouts into the Ching Complex, where they play their home games. Head coach Timmy Chang has had to strategically plan practices to allow the units enough space. For instance, the offense and defense each have about 50 yards — from the 40 to the back of the end zone. But the offense can’t fully extend their plays because the offensive linemen often are doing drills in the corner of the end zone. Special teams usually reports an hour ahead of practice to get in kicking and punting drills.

The wish is for the track surrounding Ching field to be covered with an artificial surface, allowing for more room for practice. Whenever Aloha Stadium’s replacement is built — 2028? — UH can turn Ching into two practice fields. For now, UH just needs to create more practice areas for the football program.