The Cal State Northridge Matadors (branded as the CSUN Matadors) are the athletic teams that represent

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

Northridge, Los Angeles, California Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center. Originally named Zelzah by settlers in 1908, the com ...

. The Matadors field 17 teams in nineteen sports. The Matadors compete in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

and are members of the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

. CSUN has been a member of the Big West Conference since the summer of 2001 for most sports. The men's and women's indoor track and field teams compete in the

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the western United States, although it now has members as far east as Pennsylvania. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I ...

instead. Men's volleyball also competed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, but began to compete in the Big West beginning in 2018.

Nickname

The Matador nickname was suggested in 1958 by student submissions, and was chosen over four other finalists. These included the Apollos, Falcons, Rancheros and Titans. The Matador is said to reflect the region's Spanish heritage.

History

CSUN had previously been a member of the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

from 1996 to 2000. The Matadors won 34 NCAA Division II National Titles before moving up to Division I in 1990. That still ranks third all time in Division II.

Sports sponsored

Baseball

The CSUN Matadors baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of California State University, Northridge in Northridge, California, United States. The team is a member of the Big West Conference, which is part of the NCAA Division I. Cal State Northridge's first baseball team was fielded in 1959. The team plays its home games at 1,200-seat

Matador Field Matador Field is a baseball Baseball field, venue located on the campus of California State University, Northridge, Cal State Northridge in Los Angeles, California, United States, more specifically in the San Fernando Valley district of Northrid ...

. During its time in Division II, the Matadors baseball team won two national championships (1970, 1984).

Basketball

Men's basketball

The CSUN Matadors men's basketball team represents California State University, Northridge in Northridge, California, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Big West Conference, which is part of the NCAA Division I. Cal State Northridge's first men's basketball team was fielded in 1958–1959. The team plays its home games at the 2,400-seat

Premier America Credit Union Arena Premier America Credit Union Arena, formerly Matador Gymnasium, and formerly known by its nickname the Matadome, is a 2,500 seat, indoor multi-purpose stadium on the campus of California State University, Northridge in Northridge, California. T ...

Women's basketball

The CSUN Matadors women's basketball team represents California State University, Northridge in Northridge, California, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Big West Conference, which is part of the NCAA Division I. Cal State Northridge's first women's basketball team was fielded in 1958–1959. The team plays its home games at the 2,400-seat

Soccer

Men's soccer

The CSUN Matadors men's soccer team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 1–7 through seven appearances.

Women's soccer

The CSUN Matadors women's soccer team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 0–1 through one appearance.

Softball

The Matadors softball team has appeared in two

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States. Eight teams participate in the WCWS, which begins with a double-elimination tournament. In other wo ...

in 1993 and

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, advancing to the title game in

before falling to Arizona. During its time in Division II, Matadors softball won four national championships.

Women's volleyball

The CSUN Matadors women's volleyball team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 1–5 through five appearances.

Former varsity sports

Cal State Northridge Matadors football The Cal State Northridge Matadors football team represented California State University, Northridge in the sport of American football from the 1962 through 2001 seasons. Between 1962 through 1992, Cal State Northridge competed at the NCAA Divis ...

(discontinued 2001) * Swimming (men's and women's) (discontinued 2010)

Non-varsity sports

Rugby

CSUN women's rugby began as a university recognized club team in 2011, after a 17-year hiatus. CSUN women's rugby played in the Collegiate SoCal Division 2 in 2012, and finished ranked first in Southern California and 14th in the Nation in Division 2. In 2013, the team finished first in California and sixth in the Nation in Division 2.

Championships

Appearances

The CSUN Matadors competed in the NCAA Tournament across 13 active sports (6 men's and 7 women's) 58 times at the Division I level. * Baseball (6): 1965, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2002 * Men's basketball (2): 2001, 2009 * Women's basketball (4): 1999, 2014, 2015, 2018 * Men's soccer (7): 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2016 * Women's soccer (1): 2012 * Softball (14): 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2015 * Women's tennis (1): 2001 * Men's indoor track and field (2): 1998, 2008 * Men's outdoor track and field (3): 1992, 2007, 2010 * Women's indoor track and field (3): 1996, 1996, 2000 * Women's outdoor track and field (8): 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2008 * Men's volleyball (2): 1993, 2010 * Women's volleyball (5): 1992, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2013

Team

CSUN has never won a national championship at the NCAA Division I level. CSUN won 30 national championships at the Division II level. * Baseball (2): 1970, 1984 * Men's golf (3): 1969, 1973, 1974 * Men's gymnastics (2): 1968, 1969 * Women's gymnastics (1): 1982 * Men's outdoor track and field (1): 1975 * Softball (4): 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987 * Men's swimming and diving (9): 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 * Women's swimming and diving (4): 1982, 1987, 1988, 1989 * Men's tennis (1): 1969 * Women's tennis (1): 1982 * Women's volleyball (2): 1983, 1987 Below are four national championships that were not bestowed by the NCAA: * Women's outdoor track and field – Division I (3): 1978, 1979, 1980 (

AIAW The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...

) * Women's volleyball – Division II (1): 1980 (AIAW)

Individual

CSUN had 6 Matadors win NCAA individual championships at the Division I level. At the NCAA Division II level, CSUN garnered 163 individual championships.

References

External links

* {{Mountain Pacific Sports Federation navbox 1958 establishments in California Sports clubs established in 1958