Top NIL Booster Pulling All Funds After Firing of Hawaii AD

The University of Hawaii's top booster and head of the Rainbow Warriors' NIL collective announced he will cut off all financial support to the athletic department following the firing Tuesday of athletic director Craig Angelos.

“Effective immediately, I'll be taking down all of my banners with my companies from UH. I'm cutting off all money going towards athletics immediately,” Mike Kawazoe said, as reported by Clutch Points and local news outlet KHON.

Angelos only held the position for 18 months. The former Florida Atlantic AD successfully negotiated full membership for Hawaii in the Mountain West Conference, removing travel subsidies that resulted in about $1 million of annual savings for the athletic department. He also got chartered flights for Rainbow Warriors football and raised over $600,000 for the department through a grassroots campaign, Clutch Points reported, adding that no reason was given for the firing.

“I think he was the right man for the job, I believe he had the vision,” Kawazoe said. “Now I don't know what the vision is, I don't know where UH is headed. Sometimes in life, you gotta recognize a bad investment when you see it, and this looks like a bad investment.

“Not everyone has all the facts, and we don't know. But on its surface, lack of response, what I've seen smelled. Craig's been doing a good job, maybe ruffled some feathers. I would be stunned for the university to give us an answer on why he was terminated. I think they're just gonna say ‘hey, we let him go.' I deserve an answer. I pour a lot of money into that, I want an answer from them as to the reason why.”