Scholarship established at UH Hilo to honor former basketball Vulcan Paul Matsuda

Athletic Director Pat Guillen: “Paul Matsuda’s legacy will live while benefiting our student-athletes and program.”

An endowment has been established at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo athletic department to honor the late Paul Matsuda, a former Vulcan who passed away in 2017. Friends and family of the basketball player have established the Paul Y. Matsuda Endowed Scholarship for UH Hilo Men’s Basketball in memory of Matsuda, who is remembered as a kind friend and thoughtful teacher to all who frequently reminded others that the most important thing in life is to be the “two h’s, happy and healthy.”

“Paul was smart, funny, and humble,” says Dr. John Uohara, a physician in Hilo who led the effort to establish the fund to keep Matsuda close to the hearts and minds of the community he loved. “He was my best friend for more than 50 years.”

Uohara, who created a permanently endowed scholarship for Vulcan women volleyball players in 2011, says he and Matsuda came from “modest beginnings,” but Matsuda later founded and presided over The Service Group, Inc., a food brokerage company. Matsuda was a devoted father, partner, businessman, friend, brother, uncle, and a 1967 Hilo High School graduate.

Paul Y. Matsuda Endowed Scholarship for UH Hilo Men’s Basketball

Vulcan recipients of the scholarship will receive support for tuition, books, fees, and other costs related to attendance.

“From now and forever, Paul Matsuda’s legacy will live while benefiting our student-athletes and program,” says Patrick Guillen, UH Hilo athletic director. “We are incredibly grateful for Dr. Uohara’s generosity and kindness. This scholarship support is vital to our students as they look to achieve their educational goals. What a wonderful testament this is to an enduring friendship.”

To support the fund, visit the UH Foundation website.