Changing The Tide

Those who have been there will tell you with certainty that Pepperdine University is among the most stunning college campuses in the United States. Placed on 830 acres of the Santa Monica Mountains, overlooking the inky blue Pacific below, this slice of Malibu paradise is home to a small private Christian school that has fewer than 4,000 undergraduates.

There is no football team, or at least there hasn’t been since 1961. The men’s basketball team hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament in 20 years. Coming into last year, the Waves hadn’t won a team or individual NCAA Championship in any sport in 15 years, with most of the university’s athletic success coming a few decades ago when the men’s volleyball team won four national championships in 14 years.

Pepperdine University's lower campus and the Pacific Ocean Photo: Barry Winiker

This doesn’t scream “golf school,” especially in the modern age of blueblood programs seemingly becoming more powerful through the transfer portal, NIL and larger recruiting budgets. Pepperdine’s golf history...