{"id":217273,"date":"2025-06-06T15:59:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T01:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=217273"},"modified":"2025-06-06T15:59:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T01:59:25","slug":"leaders-offer-perspectives-new-ad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/06\/06\/leaders-offer-perspectives-new-ad\/","title":{"rendered":"Local leaders offer perspectives on Matt Elliott\u2019s appointment as UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa AD<\/abbr>"},"content":{"rendered":"
Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Matt Elliott<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Two prominent local leaders provided insights into the selection and leadership abilities of Matt Elliott, following the announcement of his appointment as the next University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa athletics director.<\/p>\n[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/jJvmB1ZeFWE” el_aspect=”916″ align=”right” el_id=”wrap-video-right”][vc_column_text]\n

Micah K\u0101ne, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Community Foundation (HCF<\/abbr>) president and CEO<\/abbr>, reflected on Elliott\u2019s leadership and impact. Elliot has served as the senior director of policy and public affairs at HCF<\/abbr> since 2024.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m really excited about the future of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> athletics with Matt\u2019s leadership coming forward,” K\u0101ne said. “You\u2019re getting a first class leader—someone who I think would qualify as a ‘unicorn.’ \u2026He\u2019s someone that can really deconstruct complex environments, he\u2019s comfortable being uncomfortable, he\u2019s someone that doesn\u2019t blink and definitely cares deeply about Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and the role that the university can play in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>.”<\/p>\n

“He might not be a common name today, but he will be very quickly, and it\u2019s not going to be just because he\u2019s in that position. It\u2019s because of the things he\u2019s going to tackle and the collaboration that he’s going to bring, and he already has a strong following of leaders in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> now. This organization, me personally and a lot of my colleagues are all in on this guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack Tsui, co-chair of the search committee and chair of the Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation, outlined the priorities of the national search and emphasized the qualities the committee sought in a candidate.<\/p>\n

“He just comes across as a very bright, articulate, honest individual who we think will uphold our standards and really lead us hopefully to the promised land,” Tsui said.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve served on a number of UH<\/abbr> search committees over the years, and this is by far the best one I\u2019ve ever served on—most organized, great caliber of people on this committee, we had a national search firm partner that was actively engaged, UH<\/abbr> President Wendy Hensel was actively engaged, and those things made all the difference in the world.”<\/p>\n

K\u0101ne shared a lighthearted moment during Elliott\u2019s first meeting at HCF<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

“The first staff meeting that he attended, he came with a UCLA<\/abbr> shirt on. We did an introduction and he went up and he took his UCLA<\/abbr> shirt off and he had his UH<\/abbr> (shirt), and he said, ‘This is me now.’ He was just so proud to be home and to be affiliated with the green.”<\/p>\n

More about Elliott<\/h2>\n

Elliott brings 13 years of experience in athletics administration at UCLA<\/abbr>. Most recently, he served as the Bruins\u2019 chief strategy officer, where he led the department\u2019s transition from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten Conference. At UCLA<\/abbr>, he was part of the team that negotiated a $280 million shoe and apparel deal, the largest in college athletics history. Elliott and his ʻohana<\/span> moved back to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> in 2022. At HCF<\/abbr>, he led advocacy strategies and worked closely with state and local leaders during the last legislative session.<\/p>\n

Elliott\u2019s appointment is pending approval by the UH<\/abbr> Board of Regents at a special meeting scheduled for June 16. He is expected to begin no later than July 1.<\/p>\n

Read more about Elliott on UH<\/abbr> News<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leaders say Matt Elliott brings rare leadership skills and deep ties to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> as he prepares to lead UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Athletics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":217195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1362,12],"tags":[58,714,9,550,56],"class_list":["post-217273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","category-video","tag-athletics","tag-student-athlete","tag-uh-manoa","tag-manoa-athletics","tag-video-2","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t