2026-27 PACWEST HAWAI‘I CHALLENGE

ABOUT PACWEST HAWAI‘I CHALLENGE

In an effort to elevate the Hawai‘i-based rivalries within the Pacific West Conference and recognize the high level of competition between Hawai‘i Hilo, Chaminade and HPU, the member institutions have created the PacWest Hawaii Challenge, comprised of 10 sports that all three of the state's Division II schools participate in.

The PacWest Hawai'i Challenge can be traced back to the late 1970s to early 80s when BYU-Hawai‘i, Chaminade College, the University of Hawai'i Hilo, Hawai‘i Loa College and Hawai‘i Pacific College formed NAIA District 2, followed later by District 29.

Following Chaminade's departure from the NAIA in 1989, the Hawai‘i Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (HIAC) was formed three years later to keep the local rivalries between HPU (which merged with Hawai‘i Loa in '92), UH Hilo (which left the NAIA in '93) and BYUH intact. The HIAC dissolved in 1998 when BYUH and HPU joined the Pacific West Conference.