SR 160: REQUESTING THE OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT AN AUDIT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII at MANOA ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT'S USE AND MANAGEMENT OF ITS FUNDS.

SENATE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT AN AUDIT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII at MANOA ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT'S USE AND MANAGEMENT OF ITS FUNDS.

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Manoa Athletics Department (Athletic Department) is responsible for the operations of various student sports teams, their training and performance, travel as necessary, and for providing educational and mental health support for their athletes; and

     WHEREAS, the Athletics Department includes student athletes as well as department support staff to coordinate domestic and national events, manage operations, and provide assistance to student athletes; and

     WHEREAS, the Athletics Department receives funding through private donors, the university, legislative appropriations, and various sport-specific distributions for the purpose of supporting department operations and programs; and

     WHEREAS, the effective use and management of funds and resources to promote increased interest and participation in collegiate sports should be a priority of the department; and

     WHEREAS, ensuring that existing support programs are effective in encouraging student athletes' continued improvement and success in both the educational and athletic sectors should also be a priority of the department; and

     WHEREAS, the Athletics Department does not have a master plan to address the various needs of the Athletics Department; and

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii does not have a clear plan to address the potential of, nor implement, the Name, Image, and Likeness Program for the purposes of department and athlete exposure or as a new source of revenue; and

     WHEREAS, an audit conducted in fiscal year 2024 shows a $2,100,000 deficit between revenues and expenditures for the Athletics Department; and

     WHEREAS, the Athletics Department does not have a sustainable funding plan to address the deficit nor the overall needs of the Department; and

     WHEREAS, evaluation of the Athletics Department's use of its funds is necessary for the improvement and efficiency of the Department as a whole; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Office of the Auditor is requested to conduct an audit of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Athletics Department's use and management of its funds, including assessing:

     (1)  Whether the Department's actual expenditures are consistent with its policies and procedures; and

     (2)  The Department's Name, Image, and Likeness Program; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor and Director of Athletics of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Report Title:

Office of the Auditor; University of Hawaii at Manoa Athletics Department; Audit; Use and Management of Funds; Name, Image, and Likeness Program

SENATE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT A FINANCIAL AND PERFORMANCE AUDIT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII at MANOA ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT.

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Manoa Athletics Department is responsible for the operations of various student sports teams, their training and performance, travel as necessary, and for providing educational and mental health support for their athletes; and

     WHEREAS, the Athletics Department includes student athletes as well as department support staff to coordinate domestic and national events, manage operations, and provide assistance to student athletes; and

     WHEREAS, the Athletics Department receives funding through private donors, the university, legislative appropriations, and various sport-specific distributions for the purpose of supporting department operations and programs; and

     WHEREAS, the effective use and management of funds and resources to promote increased interest and participation in collegiate sports should be a priority of the department; and

     WHEREAS, ensuring that existing support programs are effective in encouraging student athletes' continued improvement and success in both the educational and athletic sectors should also be a priority of the department; and

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Manoa Athletics Department does not have a master plan to address the various needs of the Athletics Department; and

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii does not have a clear plan to address the potential of, nor implement, the Name, Image, and Likeness program for the purpose of department and athlete exposure, as well as development of a new source of revenue; and

     WHEREAS, an audit conducted in Fiscal Year 2024 shows a $2,100,000 deficit between revenues and expenditures for the University of Hawaii at Manoa Athletics Department; and

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Manoa Athletics Department does not have a sustainable funding plan to address the deficit nor the overall needs of the department; and

     WHEREAS, evaluation of the department's operations, program offerings, and effectiveness is necessary for the improvement and efficiency of the department as a whole; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2025, that the Office of the Auditor is requested to conduct a financial and performance audit of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Athletics Department to ensure that the department is operating in an effective, fiscally responsible, and comprehensively supportive manner for the success of the program and its student athletes; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor and Director of Athletics of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Report Title: 

Office of the Auditor; University of Hawaii at Manoa Athletics Department; Financial and Performance Audit

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1354

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.R. No. 160

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred S.R. No. 160 entitled:

"SENATE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT A FINANCIAL AND PERFORMANCE AUDIT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA ATHLETICS DEPARTMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to request the Office of the Auditor to conduct a financial and performance audit of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Athletics Department.

     Your Committee received comments on this measure from the University of Hawaiʻi System.

     Your Committee finds that the University of Hawaii at Manoa Athletics Department (Athletics Department) receives funding through private donors, the University of Hawaii, legislative appropriations, and various sport-specific distributions for the purpose of supporting its operations and programs.  Your Committee further finds that effective use and management of funds and resources to promote increased interest and participation in collegiate sports should be a priority of the Athletics Department.  However, your Committee also finds that the Athletics Department does not have a master plan to address its various needs, nor does it have a clear plan to implement the Name, Image, and Likeness Program, under which student-athletes may earn compensation form third parties using their personal brand, subject to institutional policies, without affecting their eligibility to receive athletic scholarships, for the purposes of department and athlete exposure, or as a new source of revenue.  This measure requests the Office of the Auditor to conduct a financial and performance audit of the Athletics Department to ensure that it is operating in an effective fiscally responsible, and comprehensively supportive manner for the success of the program and student athletes.

     Your Committee notes the concerns raised by the Office of the Auditor regarding the scope of the requested audit; specifically, that it does not have the expertise or the funds to contract with independent firms to conduct financial audits and that it cannot audit the breadth of the areas identified in the resolution in the requested time frame.  Therefore, there is a need to amend this measure to narrow the scope of the requested audit.

     Accordingly, your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting language that would have requested the Office of the Auditor to conduct a financial and performance audit of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Athletics Department to ensure that the Department is operating in an effective, fiscally responsible, and comprehensively supportive manner for the success of the program and its student athletes;

     (2)  Inserting language requesting the Office of the Auditor to conduct an audit of the University of Hawaii at Manoa Athletics Department's use and management of its funds, assessing:

          (A)  Whether the Department's actual expenditures are consistent with its policies and procedures; and

          (B)  The Department's Name, Image, and Likeness Program;

     (3)  Amending its title accordingly; and

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Higher Education that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.R. No. 160, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached hereto as S.R. No. 160, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Higher Education,