VALLEY CITY, N.D. — For Chad and Champ Colburn, football has always been something they did together.

Now, thousands of miles from their Aiea home, the brothers are living out a shared dream at Valley City State University, an NAIA school in North Dakota.

Chad, a year older than Champ, arrived at Valley City State first. A sophomore defensive back, he helped open the door for his younger brother, who joined the Vikings this season as a freshman receiver.

“It feels great,” Chad Colburn said. “We’ve been playing together our whole life and it feels super good to be at the next level. We were always pretty overlooked our whole life and now we made it here together so it’s pretty good.”

For Champ, the opportunity represents another step in a journey that began on the football fields of Aiea.

“It’s just been a journey,” Champ Colburn said. “We made it this far and we just got to keep competing at the next level. It’s a blessing to be here and be able to play together.”

The Colburn brothers are part of a growing contingent of Hawai’i players at Valley City State. More than a dozen players from the islands are on the Vikings’ roster this season, providing a familiar connection for players making the transition from Hawai’i to the mainland.

The connection to home runs even deeper for the Colburn brothers.

Their father, Chad Colburn Sr., has been a constant source of motivation throughout their football careers. Their grandfather, Bobby Craig Keli’i Colburn, was a respected coach and member of the Aiea community before his passing in 2012.

The brothers still call him Papa.

“I think a lot of it goes to our dad,” Chad said. “He really pushed us our whole life. Every time, he tells us workout, three times a day. He never lets us rest and I feel like that’s a big reason to why we got here together.”

The brothers also credit Aiea coach Mika Li’ili’i for helping prepare them for the next level.

“Having coach Mika in high school, Coach Mika was really good for us,” Chad said. “He really helped us improve a lot.”

Representing Aiea remains important to both brothers, especially knowing what their grandfather meant to the community.

“We love to put Aiea on the map, that’s where my family is from,” Chad said. “My Papa did a lot for the community so it’s good to represent him.”

Champ remembers his grandfather in much the same way.

“Our Papa, he was a good guy,” Champ said. “He was always a good coach for everyone in the Aiea community and his goal was for us to make it to the next level and go college and represent our family so it means a lot for us to be here right now.”

Finding a path to Valley City State

Chad earned Second Team All-OIA honors at defensive back in 2024 before graduating from Aiea in 2025.

The 5-foot-10, 150-pound sophomore is majoring in software engineering at Valley City State.

His path to North Dakota came through Vikings offensive coordinator Dustin Yorek, who serves as the program’s primary recruiter in Hawai’i.

Chad said playing at an NAIA school was a goal as he approached his senior season.

“My senior year, I was really looking forward to getting to a NAIA at least, because D3 was kind of out of the price range,” Chad said. “Once I seen Valley City, I really liked how it looked so I was trying to get in contact with coach Yorek.”

Yorek eventually reached out, and the conversations led to an opportunity.

“I just been talking with him a lot and then he finally gave me the chance and just happy to have it,” Chad said.

That opportunity eventually extended to Champ.

When Yorek visited the Colburn family, he met Champ and began recruiting him as well.

“When coach Yorek came by to my house to meet my family, he met Champ and ever since, they’ve been in contact and it’s really good, thankful for him,” Chad said.

Champ arrived after putting together a standout senior season at Aiea.

The 5-foot-8, 150-pound receiver earned First Team All-OIA honors in 2025 after catching 70 passes for 950 yards and six touchdowns.

“It was great because coaches really believed in me and I just had to put in the work and put my name on the map,” Champ said. “It just feels good making it this far getting all this exposure. I just got to keep working.”

Adjusting to a new world

For Chad, getting to college football was only the beginning.

The transition from Hawai’i to North Dakota brought a new school, a new football system, new teammates and a climate dramatically different from home.

Valley City State coach Dennis McCulloch, known as “Coach Mac,” said the adjustment can be difficult for any freshman or first-year college player.

“Chad last fall, it was hard,” McCulloch said. “It’s not an easy adjustment to tell anybody that comes over here that this is a really easy adjustment to college. It doesn’t matter where you go to college, it’s homesickness, away from family, all the things that are going on, where you are on the depth chart early on, it’s hard.”

Chad experienced those challenges firsthand.

“For me, just playing with new people, playing in a new system and playing in different weather,” he said. “It’s a lot different in Hawai’i. Eventually it’s going to be like under 40 degrees when we practice. That was rough last year, it takes some getting used to, but it’s a good experience.”

Rather than allowing the adjustment to push him away, Chad embraced it.

“What Chad has done, he’s embraced it,” McCulloch said. “He’s stuck with it and taken a step in a positive way to working his way onto the field.”

And now, his younger brother gets to experience that same environment with him.

For McCulloch, Chad’s experience was an important part of Champ’s decision to follow.

“First of all, Chad has to have a good experience that Champ would want to come here, right, that he feels comfortable enough to have that happen,” McCulloch said. “So I think that’s a big positive piece.”

The brothers also provide each other with a familiar source of competition.

“It’s also fun to see those two go against each other,” McCulloch said. “That’s always a tough challenge when you have to go against your brother. It’s a fun little competition piece of it.”

For two players who have shared the field for most of their lives, the competition is nothing new.

What is different is the setting.

Instead of Aiea, they now line up in North Dakota, carrying their family name, their hometown and their grandfather’s legacy with them.

And they are doing it together.

For Chad, the message to other Hawai’i players hoping to make the same journey is simple.

“Don’t listen to what other people have to say,” he said. “Just focus on yourself and you’ll eventually get there when you believe yourself.”

Champ has a similar message.

“It just comes with believing in yourself and working hard as much as possible and you’ll get there when you get there,” he said. “Just keep trusting the process.”