Pumas CU UNAM, also known as "Pumas Dorados", "Pumas", or "Universidad" is the
varsity American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
team representing the
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...
(Spanish: ''Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico'', or ''UNAM''). It is one of the oldest and most important teams in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. They maintain a fierce rivalry with teams from the
National Polytechnic Institute
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
(Spanish: ''Instituto Politécnico Nacional'', or ''IPN'') particularly with its
Miguel Hidalgo
Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican Wa ...
-based team from Santo Tomás,
Águilas Blancas
Águilas Blancas (), also known as Politécnico when representing the entirety of National Polytechnic Institute, founded as Águilas Blancas de la ESCA- ESIQIE, is a Mexican college football team based in the Casco de Santo Tomas neighborhood of ...
.
History
The team was founded in 1927 by a group of students led by the Noriega brothers, but it wasn't until 1931 when Pumas was officially the varsity team of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. In addition, American oil magnate
Harry Ford Sinclair
Harry Ford Sinclair (July 6, 1876 – November 10, 1956) was an American industrialist, and the founder of Sinclair Oil. He was implicated in the 1920s Teapot Dome scandal, and served six months in prison for jury tampering. Afterwards he return ...
sponsored the team with generous donations until 1935. In the early years, Pumas had a long string of consecutive championships from 1933 to 1945 (including an appearance in the
1945 Sun Bowl; this was followed by the so-called "Golden Age" of 1946 to 1957. Between the years 1958 and 1969 the team consolidated its position within ONEFA, Mexico's league of American football. For the period 1970–1980 the university authorities decided to disband the team and create three teams (Cóndores/Condors; Aguilas Reales/Royal Eagles; and Guerreros Aztecas/Aztec Warriors), from 1981 to 1990 only the Cóndores could reclaim the tradition of the Pumas and win championships. In 1998, the University government decided to reduce to one team per campus and created Pumas CU and Acatlan. Unfortunately, conditions within the league and the existence of other powerful newcomer squads undermined the strength and dominance of the team. Its first position tradition vanished rapidly during the seasons of 1998 to 2007. From 1969 until 2002, the Pumas Dorados team consisted of a selection of the best players of all UNAM teams. These teams didn't play any regular season games, but rather the Pumas Dorados used to play a Classic game against the Burros Blancos at the end of season, until 2002 when this event was suspended.
Championships
National championships
ONEFA championships
* In 2008 was created another league for the major category in Mexico (Liga Mayor) and the National Championship is shared in 2 leagues since then.
+ This is not the same team as previous Pumas Dorados teams. Championships in 2008 and 2010 were won by the Main Campus (CU). There is another Pumas team located in Acatlan Campus. Pumas Dorados currently represents a selection of the best players of both Pumas teams and the last selection was made in 2002 and played against a selection of the best players of the
IPN.
Rivalry
The team has an historic rivalry with
Aguilas Blancas IPN, due to both of them being the biggest public universities in the country. More recently, major rivalries arose with
Borregos Salvajes ITESM,
Borregos Salvajes CEM
The Borregos Salvajes CEM (English: ''CEM Wild Rams''), or simply Borregos CEM, was an American football team representing the State of Mexico campus of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM). The Borregos Salvajes co ...
,
Aztecas UDLAP
Aztecas UDLAP is the name of the sports teams that represent the Universidad de las Américas Puebla (UDLAP).
American football
History
In 1947 the team began its life as the American football squad of Mexico City College with the nickname ''lo ...
and
Auténticos Tigres UANL
The Auténticos Tigres UANL (English: ''UANL Authentic Tigers'') team represents the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL) in college football. The Auténticos Tigres compete in the Jacinto Licea Conference, ONEFA's top division.
UANL has w ...
.
Venue
The team plays at the
Estadio Olímpico Universitario
Estadio Olímpico Universitario is a multi-purpose stadium located inside Ciudad Universitaria in Mexico City. It was built in 1952 and at that time was the largest stadium in Mexico. This stadium has a capacity of 72,000. The first major event ...
in Mexico City, inaugurated in 1952 with the game between Pumas and Burros Blancos. Capacity: 72000.
Players
Players in the CFL
As of January 2020, the following players have played at least one game with a
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
team.
*
Andrés Salgado
Andrés Salgado Gómez (born December 2, 1991) is a Mexican professional gridiron football wide receiver who is a free agent. He most recently played for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at ...
, WR,
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...
External links
*
tackleo.com American Football in Mexico
References
{{National Student Organization of American Football
National Autonomous University of Mexico
National Autonomous University of Mexico athletics
American football teams in Mexico
Sports teams in Mexico City
1927 establishments in Mexico
American football teams established in 1927