Univ. of Hawaii AD Ben Jay on Thursday "outlined the basics of a strategic plan aimed at making UH 'an NCAA top-50 (athletic) program,'" according to a front-page piece by Ferd Lewis of the HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER. Jay said the plan is necessary to "address the urgency of a program in decline" amid a "rapidly changing national landscape." Lewis notes the "pillars of the plan include raising the annual operating budget" to $40M from the current $32M in five years, embarking on a $60M fundraising campaign in collaboration with the UH Foundation and executing a $40M capital projects improvement initiative to "significantly improve" facilities. Data from the UH Board of Regents, athletics has received an average of $6.2M annually in donations over the past five years. Jay said his plan "is aggressive and audacious and everything, but that's what we're about right now." Jay: "We have to be. If we don't try, where are we gonna be the next three to five years?" Meanwhile, Jay said that his department is "aiming to raise ticket revenue" from $5.95M in FY '12 to $6.95M this year and "bring in $700,000 in new revenue from donations and entrepreneurial activities." Jay on Thursday announced Hawaii Pacific Health as a major sponsor to "kick off his strategic plan" in a deal valued at $425,000 annually (HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER, 9/13).
