Author name: jsweeneycz

California State University Long Beach Sharks CSU Long Beach or Long Beach State started playing football in 1955 and canceled the program in 1991 due to budget issues. An attempt to vote for student funds to reinstate the programs failed in 2008.  In 2020, the 49ers name was dropped, and CSULB became the Sharks. The […]

California State University Northridge Matadors CSU Northridge, or San Fernando Valley State, began football in 1962 and was canceled in 2001 due to budget concerns. Their campus is located in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. One of the largest colleges without football.  DI 19 Sports teams Total students: 36,368 (Fall 2023), undergraduate 32,172,

California State University San Francisco Gators CSU San Francisco, or San Francisco State, started football in 1931, ending the program in 1994. The program was dropped based on the CAL-NOW decree, which required women’s sports participation had to be within three percentage points of their population in the school relative to the number of male

California State University Sonoma Seawolves CSU Sonoma, or Sonoma State, played football from 1969-1972 and 1980-1996, canceled due to budget problems. CSUS used to be the Cossacks, perhaps because the campus is near where the Russians once had a colony at Fort Ross. Now, they are known as the Seawolves. DII In 2025, it was

Loyola-Marymount University Lions Loyola-Marymount University began football play in 1921 and canceled it in 1951 due to the loss of students going to the Korean War and other factors, including budget. That same year, like USF, they canceled a trip to play Texas El Paso because of Jim Crow laws and not allowing LMU’s Black

Occidental College Tigers Occidental College started football in 1894. With limited opponents to play, they had games with Los Angeles High School and a reform school in Whittier. In 1895, they won all six games, including one against USC, 10-0, and began a century-long rivalry with Whittier and Pomona. In 2017, 47 players started the

Pepperdine University Waves Pepperdine University began its football program in 1946 and canceled it in 1961. The budget and poor-performing teams were the excuses. The Wave’s first season in 1946 took them to a bowl game, and in the second season, they went undefeated and were considered the Small College National Champions. Location: Los Angeles

Saint Mary’s College of California Gaels Saint Mary’s College began playing football in 1892, dropping the program in 1899 and reviving it in 1915. They were a powerhouse team from the late 1920s to 1950, when it was dropped during the Korean War due to budget issues until it started as a club in 1967.

Cal Western Westerners/USIU Gulls USIU/Cal Western began its football program in 1956, playing a single game and losing against Cal Baptist. They continued to build a program, enlarging their schedule and playing a mix of NAIA and NCAA teams. Their last iteration was as a DII program. They moved to a new campus from the