Hawaii Pacific University launches states first collegiate surf team

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) announced on Wednesday that next Spring the university will welcome its inaugural surf team to campus.

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This marks the first university to officially make surfing a sport in Hawaii.

The Surf Team will compete under HPU Athletics and will participate in the 2027 National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) Championship.

“This is a historic moment for HPU Athletics and for surfing in Hawaii,” said HPU Executive Director of Athletics Debbie Snell, Ed.D. “Modern surfing was born here, and until now our own athletes have had to leave home to compete at the college level. We launched women’s flag football this year, and surfing comes with that some conviction. When Hawaii high school students are already excelling at a sport, they should not have to go to another state to keep competing.”

HPU says nearly every established college surf program in the country sits in the continental U.S. Surfers who grew up competing in the islands have had to leave home to keep competing in college.

The team carries eight slots for competition: four men’s shortboard, two women’s shortboard, one men’s longboard, and one women’s longboard. Shortboarders may enter either division.

The HPU Surf Team will compete primarily in Hawaii, entering local events on Oahu and across the islands through the season, with the NSSA Championship as the capstone of the year.

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The Championship runs June 11-13, 2027, at Salt Creek in Dana Point, California, where HPU expects to compete in the college division against programs from California, Florida, the Carolinas, and Utah. HPU surf practices will be held across the island, primarily on the south shore of Honolulu.

The HPU program grew out of a decade of work by surf advocates Davin Kazama, state coordinator for high school surfing in Hawaii, and his daughter Sunny Kazama. Sunny attends and surfs for the University of San Diego where she competed in the 2026 NSSA Championships. She is one of the surfers from Hawaii who had to leave the state to compete in college.

Last year, Davin and Sunny were instrumental to surfing becoming a statewide-sanctioned interscholastic sport in Hawaii under Act 141, which had its first championship season in spring 2026.

Recruiting will begin with Oahu high schools, with campus visits and a prospect form for interested students. Student-athletes interested in joining the inaugural team should contact Snell at: [email protected] for more information.

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The HPU Surf Team head coach announcement is forthcoming.