HONOLULU — Katie Novak is out as women’s basketball coach at Hawaii Pacific University less than a year after taking the job, Spectrum News has learned.

Novak was hired by athletic director Debbie Snell last July as a successor to a program that had risen to prominence under ex-coach Reid Takatsuka. Takatsuka was suspended by Snell in November 2021 while HPU initiated an investigation into alleged mistreatment of his student-athletes, and he was fired in April 2022.

What You Need To Know

  • After helping steady a Hawaii Pacific University women's basketball program in her first season, head coach Katie Novak recently decided to leave her position, sources told Spectrum News

  • The Sharks were 14-14 overall and 12-8 in the PacWest Conference under Novak, who brought in center Abby Spurgin, the eventual PacWest Player of the Year

  • Novak was hired by HPU athletic director Debbie Snell to replace Reid Takatsuka, who had built the program into a contender but was fired in April 2022 for alleged mistreatment of student-athletes

  • HPU must now replace its men's and women's basketball coaches; longtime men's coach Darren Vorderbruegge recently announced he is stepping down after 15 total seasons

Novak’s decision to leave the position and return to the mainland was her own, sources told Spectrum News. An HPU spokesperson confirmed to Spectrum News that Novak is no longer the head coach.

Novak, who was previously the coach at Division III Sul Ross State (Texas), was relatively successful in her short time in the islands. She took over a program that was in disarray after Takatsuka’s midseason suspension; the Sharks went 9-18 and 6-14 in the PacWest Conference in 2021-22.

She brought in center Abby Spurgin, who would become the 2022-23 PacWest Player of the Year, and led the Sharks to a 14-14 record, including 12-8 in the PacWest. HPU qualified for the PacWest women’s basketball tournament as the sixth and final team in the field.

Novak gave birth to a daughter late in the season. She was able to return to the team for its 55-48 loss to Concordia-Irvine in the first round of the tournament at Chaminade on March 2. She spoke afterward about the challenges that the mid-season pregnancy posed in a PacWest Conference video.

“There are a lot of little things behind the scenes that not everybody knows about but I’m really proud of the progress we made,” Novak said then. “I told (the team) I feel sad for the seniors, but when a program does really well, it’s going to start somewhere. They set the blocks this year for us to be better next year, and be better the year after that.

“I think the direction we can go in is really positive.”

The Sharks must now replace their men’s and women’s hoops coaches. Longtime men’s coach Darren Vorderbruegge announced March 31 he is stepping down to take a church position in Fresno, Calif.

HPU and Snell were named as defendants in discrimination lawsuits filed in Oahu First Circuit Court by Takatsuka and Sharks cross country coach Jackie Sgambati on March 6 and April 5, respectively.

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.