Gov. Neil Abercrombie has reaffirmed his support for lessening the University of Hawaii athletic department’s financial travel burden, but UH says it doesn’t yet know whether any help with be forthcoming for the approaching fiscal year.

Abercrombie talked about the department’s plight last week in a speech at the men’s basketball banquet.

"He’s advocating that we get some help," said athletic director Ben Jay. "When you add everything up, our (travel) costs are significant."

Travel costs account for UH’s third-largest expense in a $33 million program after salaries and benefits, and scholarships.

An independent auditor’s report listed "travel and subsistence" as a nearly $4 million expense in 2013. That does not include the approximately $1.2 million UH annually pays to subsidize travel to Hawaii by opponents from the Mountain West Conference and Big West as a condition of membership in those conferences, officials said.

UH’s 21-team athletic department is projected to have a deficit of nearly $2 million when the current fiscal year ends June 30.

"The governor restated his long-standing position that funding for travel is a key element for supporting Division I athletics at the University of Hawaii," press secretary Justin Fujioka wrote in an email. "Due to our unique geographic circumstances, 2,500 miles from the mainland, this needs to be addressed."

Abercrombie did not offer any firm proposals for funding the support.

"He hasn’t really talked about the details of that," Jay said. "He has just been very supportive of trying to get us funding for at least our travel subsidies, if not more for our travel. It is something he and I have talked about."