Before Matt Elliott was a dynamic innovator and problem solver at UCLA, and before he was the nominee for University of Hawaii athletic director, there was the chance encounter on a New York street corner 15 years ago.
Dan Guerrero, who was UCLA’s athletic director at the time, was attending meetings in the Big Apple.
“I was walking down the street on Fifth Avenue when I heard someone call my name across the street,” Guerrero recalled. “It was Dennis Coleman, who was leading the sports practice at Ropes &Gray, a prestigious law firm in Boston. He crossed the street said, ‘I’ve got to talk to you, Dan. I’ve got this guy who works for me. His name is Matt Elliott. He is really interested in talking to someone about getting into college athletics. He’s making great money. He’s a brilliant attorney. He handles compliance and infraction cases. He negotiates contracts. He works with agents. He’s great, but he tells me he wants to work on a campus.’”
Guerrero and Elliott connected. “I told him the tough news,” Guerrero said. “Since he was making big money at the time as a successful attorney, he probably was going to have to take a massive pay cut if he was going onto a campus because he never worked on a campus before. He didn’t have campus experience.”
Six months later, the Bruins’ compliance officer left, and an assistant was promoted. Guerrero offered Elliott the vacated assistant director’s job.
“He balked a little bit only because that was an entry-level position,” Guerrero said. “He negotiated and said, ‘If you can work that thing a little more north, I would really want to do this.’ We did that, and I brought Matt in. We bet on each other. He bet I would mentor and provide him with all the experiences he needed to grow in the profession. And I bet he was exactly who I thought he was.”
After a year as an assistant, Elliott was promoted to associate athletic director for compliance. In 2016, Elliott was named senior associate AD of internal operations. Guerrero said Elliott worked with every “stakeholder” in UCLA athletics — coaches, student-athletes, department staff, donors, campus administration and the media. “Matt was relatable to all of them,” Guerrero said.
Guerrero often had to testify before the state legislature or meet with officials about college athletics. “Matt was with me when we did that,” Guerrero said, referencing Elliott’s background in government relations. “Sometimes he represented me and the campus in front of the legislature.”
In 2016, Elliott was UCLA’s lead negotiator in securing a 15-year, $280 million shoe and apparel deal with Under Armour. Guerrero trumpeted the deal as the “largest shoe/apparel contract in the history of college athletics. … He was involved in that process from Day One. Matt was the attorney on our staff, and he worked closely as we negotiated that deal.”
(In June 2020, Under Armour, which was trying to cut back on sponsorships, informed UCLA it would terminate the deal. UCLA received about $67.5 million as part of the settlement.)
Elliott also helped settle a dispute over UCLA’s use of Jackie Robinson Stadium for the Bruins’ home baseball games. A U.S. District judge ordered UCLA to show how the field, owned by the Department of Veterans Affairs, could benefit military veterans.
“It required someone with tact and the ability to negotiate, build consensus, to compromise where necessary,” Guerrero said. “Matt showed he was capable of doing that.” The lease was extended through this year.
Two years ago, Elliott was set to move to Hawaii to become the senior director of public policy and public affairs with the Hawaii Community Foundation when UCLA officials asked for one more assignment: finalizing the Bruins’ move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten.
“Matt was front and center,” said Guerrero, who retired in June 2020 but still followed UCLA athletics. “He provided the leadership with (athletic director Martin Jarmond’s) guidance, and did an incredible job in putting them in a landing spot that allowed them to be able to move forward seamlessly.”
At UCLA, Guerrero hired seven first-time head coaches who eventually won national championships. Guerrero said Elliott also had that “It” factor despite his previous lack of experience as a university administrator.
Elliott and UH president Wendy Hensel, who made the recommendation, cannot comment on the position until the appointment is confirmed. UH’s Board of Regents will discuss the matter during a special session on Monday. Guerrero said Elliott is the correct choice to lead UH athletics.
“Matt wants to win, he’s a competitor,” Guerrero said. “Hawaii will do things right. How they do things will be just as important as what it produces. … He was around excellence all the time at UCLA. Every day he worked with coaches that won numerous national championships. He knows what that looks like. He brings that experience and vision for excellence to the Hawaii campus and the program.
“There’s a quote from that famous American philosopher from ‘Peanuts’ fame. … ‘There’s no heavier burden than a great potential’,” Guerrero said, referring to a line uttered by Linus and written by creator Charles M. Schulz. “I think when it comes to potential, that is really where rubber meets the road in so many respects. That is where Matt is going to prove his worth. He’s not only going to reach his potential as the leader of the program, he’ll get Hawaii to reach its potential as a program, as well.”
