Hall of Fame
Dan Surface devoted 37 years at Chowan University, an amazing feat by any standard to remain loyal to one place of business for so many years. He has served two stints at Chowan University; the first was from 1970-1975. He returned to Chowan in 1979 where he has remained in various capacities until he passed away in 2011. Surface had been an integral part of the overall success of the Chowan University Athletic and Sport Science and Physical Education departments during his tenure.
Surface grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia and attended Blacksburg High School. After graduation from BHS, Surface went on to the College of William & Mary to continue his education and athletics career. At W & M he played football and baseball. In 1965, he left W & M to join the Army Reserve. After training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina Surface enrolled fulltime at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina where continued with his football and baseball career. He graduated from Guilford College with a degree in Physical Education in 1967 and began his career in education with the Fairfax County School system in Northern Virginia. He taught for one year at Irving Intermediate School before being hired as a teacher and coach at Mendenhall Junior High in Greensboro. Surface found time to complete his MS in Physical Education from the University of Tennessee.
In 1970, Surface began his first stint with Chowan when he was hired as an instructor for the Health and Physical Education Department, Head Track Coach, and Assistant Football Coach. He helped to coach some very successful junior college athletic programs while at Chowan from 1970 to 1975. As a result, he was sought after by Floyd County Schools in Virginia and in 1975 began a four-year stint with Floyd County High School. At FCHS he served as a Biology teacher, Head Football Coach, Assistant Basketball Coach, Tennis Coach.
Surface came back to Chowan in 1979 where he has remained for 30 years in various capacities. He served as the Defensive Coordinator under Jim Garrison helping to coach some very successful teams and individual players including George Knootz, Mike Grant, and Robert Brown to name a few. In 1995 he was offered the opportunity to take over head coaching duties for the football program, where he spent two seasons. In 1998, he gave up coaching football and was hired as an Assistant Athletics Director and oversaw operations and event management. He held the rank of Associate Professor at Chowan and retired from fulltime teaching duties in 2007. He then taught part-time as a member of the Sport Science and Physical Education Department.
Surface served as a Faculty Marshall for Chowan University and is a member of the Guilford College Hall of Fame (c/o 2005). He was a 12 year member of the Murfreesboro Exchange Club and in 2005 was named Exchange Club “Exchangite of the Year”.
Dan Surface and his wife, Sallie Pait Surface, resided in Murfreesboro. Dan passed away in December of 2011 and is missed by the whole Chowan University community. Dan is survived by his wife, Sallie, and their three children, Eric, Julianne, and Brian.
