UC Riverside Highlanders football represented the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

from the 1955 through the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

college football seasons. The Highlanders originally competed as an Independent before they joined the

California Collegiate Athletic Association The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. All of its current members are public universities, and upon U ...

(CCAA) in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. They played their home game at Highlander Stadium in Riverside,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. During their 21 years of competition, the Highlanders compiled an all-time record of 84 wins, 83 losses and 8 ties (84–83–8).

History

In 1954, former

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

Rod Franz was hired to serve as the first head coach of the Riverside program. After only one season, Franz resigned, and Carl Selin was hired as head coach. Selin remained in his position through the 1958 season when he resigned to become an assistant coach at the Coast Guard Academy. After

Gil Allan Gil or GIL may refer to: Places * Gil Island (disambiguation), one of several islands by that name * Gil, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province, Iran * Hil, Azerbaijan, also spelled ''Gil, a village in Azerbaijan * Hiloba, also spelled ''Gil, ...

served as head coach for only the 1964 season, in March 1965, former Highlanders

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Pete Kettela was named head coach. Kettela resigned in 1970 after he compiled an overall record of 23 wins, 19 losses and 2 ties (23–19–2) during his five-year tenure. He resigned his position as he felt the school was not expending appropriate resources on the football program. After serving as an assistant coach for five seasons, in February 1970 Gary Knecht was promoted to head coach. He compiled an overall record of six wins, thirteen losses and one tie (6–13–1) from 1970 through the 1971 season. Knecht resigned as head coach in March 1972, just as coach Kettela had done previously, as the university had not placed enough resources into the football program.

Wayne Howard Wayne Wright Howard (March 29, 1949 – December 9, 2007) was an African-American comic book artist. He is best known for his 1970s work at Charlton Comics, where he became American comic books' first series creator known to be credited on cov ...

was hired in 1972, and prior to his resignation in December 1973 to become the head coach at Long Beach State, led the Highlanders to a record of seventeen wins and three losses (17–3). Under Howard, the 1972 squad finished the season with a record of nine wins and one loss (9–1) to capture a share of the first conference championship for the Highlanders. On December 21, 1973,

Bob Toledo Robert Anthony Toledo (born March 4, 1946) is an American former college football coach and player. Toledo served as the head coach at University of California, Riverside (1974–1975), the University of the Pacific (1979–1982), the Universit ...

was hired as the Highlanders' head coach. As head coach, Toledo led the Highlanders to an overall record of fifteen wins and six losses (15–6) and consecutive conference championships in 1974 and 1975.

Disestablishment of program

On December 4, 1975, the football program was discontinued by the university with a general lack of attendance and poor gate receipts cited for its being discontinued. Then-UCR chancellor Ivan Hinderaker noted that football used more than half of the athletic department's total $305,000 budget and averaged 3,869 fans in attendance for the four home games during the final season, unable to fill the 5,500-seat stadium. Toledo and his staff remained under contract until July 1, 1976.

Head coaches

All-time seasons

During their 21 years of competition, the Highlanders compiled an all-time record of 84 wins, 83 losses and 8 ties (84–83–8).

Highlanders in the NFL

UC Riverside has seven alumni that have played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL).

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:UC Riverside Highlanders Football 1955 establishments in California 1975 disestablishments in California American football teams established in 1955 American football teams disestablished in 1975