Bakersfield College (BC) is a public

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

. BC serves about 22,000 students each semester or 31,000 annually, and offers

Associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

s, certificate programs, and is one of fifteen California Community Colleges offering a Baccalaureate Degree. It is part of the

Kern Community College District Kern Community College District is a community college district in Kern County, California. Colleges a part of the district are: Bakersfield College, Porterville College, and Cerro Coso Community College Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain ...

(KCCD), which is itself part of the California Community Colleges system.

History

Founded in 1913 as Bakersfield Junior College, the school was initially housed on the campus of

Bakersfield High School Bakersfield High School (BHS) is a public four-year high school located in Bakersfield, California, United States. Opened in 1893, Bakersfield High School serves grades ninth through twelfth within the Kern High School District. Notable alumni ...

(then Kern County Union High School). In 1947, the school dropped "Junior" from its name. In 1956, Bakersfield College moved to its current location "on the hill" in northeast Bakersfield on the "Panorama Bluffs" that overlook the prolific

Kern River oil field The Kern River Oil Field is a large oil field in Kern County in the San Joaquin Valley of California, north-northeast of Bakersfield in the lower Sierra foothills. Yielding a cumulative production of close to of oil by the end of 2006, it is ...

Campus

The main campus is located on a plot in Northeast Bakersfield, and it also operates three

satellite campus A satellite campus or branch campus or regional campus is a campus of a university or college that is physically at a distance from the original university or college area. This branch campus may be located in a different city, state, or countr ...

es: the Weill Institute in downtown Bakersfield, shared by the

, the SouthWest Campus also located in Bakersfield, and the Delano Campus in

Delano, California Delano ( ) is a city in Kern County, California, United States. Delano is located north-northwest of Bakersfield at an elevation of . The population was 51,428 in 2020, down from 53,041 in 2010. It is Kern County's second-largest city after Ba ...

, approximately north of Bakersfield.

Organization and administration

BC is part of the Kern Community College District (KCCD).

Academics

BC serves about 22,000 students each semester.

Student life

Newspaper

''The Renegade Rip'' is the student-run newspaper within the journalism department at BC. Published biweekly, ''The Rip'' currently has a circulation of approximately 4,000. An online edition is also available. ''The Rip'' is a regular contender and recipient of JACC (Journalism Association of Community Colleges) awards at both the state and regional levels and in 2003-2004 won the Associated Collegiate Press National Pacemaker Award. They are a member of the Journalism Association of Community Colleges and compete in the Southern California region. Rip reporters and photographers cover the campus. The students cover topics ranging from crime on campus, to student profiles, sports and local entertainment. The tradition of ''The Renegade Rip'' has always been to chase news stories and focus on what affects the student body at BC and the community of Bakersfield as a whole.

Performing arts

The Renegade Pep Band supports the college's athletic teams. Golden Empire Performing Arts is a non-profit

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

account of the Bakersfield College Foundation that supports the Bakersfield College Drumline and the

Golden Empire Drum and Bugle Corps The following is a list of current Drum and bugle corps (modern), drum corps competing as members of Drum Corps International (DCI). Member corps World Class members † = One of the thirteen charter members of Drum Corps International. O ...

Athletics

The college's athletic teams are known as the Renegades ('Gades). competes as a member of the

California Community College Athletic Association The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) is a sports association of community colleges in the U.S. state of California. It oversees 108 athletic programs throughout the state. The organization was formed in 1929 as the Calif ...

(CCCAA) in the

Western State Conference The Western State Conference (WSC) is a college athletic conference that is affiliated with the California Community College Athletic Association. The conference was established in 1950, making it the oldest community college conference in Califo ...

(WSC) for all sports except football and wrestling, which compete in

Southern California Football Association Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, ...

(SCFA) and

Southern California Wrestling Association Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

(SCWA). The college has an extensive athletics program with 20 varsity teams, including men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, football, soccer, volleyball, wrestling, baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, and men's and women's swimming. Renegades football has a long tradition of success in Junior College-level competition, and plays out of the 20,000-seat, on-campus Memorial Stadium.Bakersfield Memorial Stadium
. ''Bakersfield Magazine''. October 2010. Accessed: 11-01-2011.

Notable people

* Rishard Matthews, NFL wide receiver *

Brandon Banks Brandon Desean Banks (born December 21, 1987) is an American Canadian football wide receiver and return specialist who is currently a free agent. He was most recently a member of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He wa ...

CFL 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 ...

wide receiver for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

Robert Beltran Robert Adame Beltran (born November 19, 1953) is an American actor, known for his role as Commander Chakotay on the 1990s television series '' Star Trek: Voyager''. He is also known for stage acting in California, and for playing Raoul Mendoza ...

, film and television actor, best known for playing

Chakotay Chakotay is a fictional character who appears in each of the seven seasons of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Voyager''. Portrayed by Robert Beltran, he was First Officer aboard the Starfleet starship USS ''Voyag ...

on Star Trek: Voyager *

Vern Burke Vernon Eugene Burke (born April 30, 1941) is a former American football tight end who played five seasons in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, and the New Orleans Saints. High school career Burke attended North High Scho ...

, former NFL tight end,

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

r *

Tyrone Crawford Tyrone Crawford (born November 22, 1989) is a Canadian former American football, professional defensive end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He was selected in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. H ...

, NFL defensive end * Chris DeFrance,

wide receiver *

Ric Drasin Richard Alan Drasin (July 12, 1944 – August 30, 2020) was an American bodybuilder, personal trainer, actor, stuntman, author, and professional wrestler. He wrestled professionally and sporadically between 1965 and 2001, while also winning tit ...

, former professional wrestler, designer of the original Gold's Gym logo and the World Gym gorilla logo. *

Phil Dumatrait Phillip Anthony Dumatrait (born July 12, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Minnesota Twins. He also played for the LG Twins of the K ...

, former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher *

David Dunn David John Ian Dunn (born 27 December 1979) is an English former professional football player and manager; he is now a coach at club Port Vale. Dunn played as an attacking midfielder and spent the majority of his playing career representing ...

, former NFL wide receiver *

Jean Fuller Jeannie Lynn "Jean" Fuller ( née Guenther; born April 16, 1950) is an American educator and politician who served as the minority leader in the California State Senate. A Republican, she was previously a member of the California Assembly and t ...

, politician serving in the California State Senate *

Frank Gifford Francis Newton Gifford (August 16, 1930 – August 9, 2015) was an American football player, actor, and television sports commentator. After a 12-year playing career as a halfback and flanker for the New York Giants of the National Foo ...

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

and sports commentator *

Dallas Grider Dallas Grider (December 5, 1944 - May 11, 2022) is a former American American football, football player and Coach (sport), coach. He played two seasons as linebacker for the UCLA Bruins football, UCLA Bruins, including the 1966 Rose Bowl victory o ...

, former high school and college football coach * Liz Gorman, football player in the Lingerie Football League *

Gerald Haslam Gerald William Haslam (March 18, 1937 – April 13, 2021) was an author focused on rural and small towns in California's Great Central Valley including its poor and working-class people of all colors. A native of Oildale, California, Haslam has ...

, News and book author * Joe Hernandez, former NFL and CFL wide receiver * George Jones (American football), former NFL running back. *

Junior Kennedy Junior Raymond Kennedy (born August 9, 1950) is an American former professional baseball second baseman, who played during seven Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons. Junior's older brother, Jim Kennedy, played for the 1970 St.Louis Cardinals. ...

, 1968-1975 MLB second baseman with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

* Colby Lewis, former

pitcher *

Guy Madison Guy Madison (born Robert Ozell Moseley; January 19, 1922 – February 6, 1996) was an American film, television, and radio actor. He is best known for playing Wild Bill Hickok in the Western television series ''The Adventures of Wild Bill Hicko ...

, film and television actor *

Billy Mamaril John Billy San Luis Mamaril (born June 25, 1980) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who last played for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He plays the forward and center positions. ...

, Filipino professional basketball player * Richard Miles, former ambassador * Spain Musgrove, former NFL defensive tackle *

Brennan Newberry Brennan Newberry (born February 9, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. Racing career Newberry began his racing career in go-karts in 2000; later moving to full-bodied stock cars, he competed in the SRL Southwest Tour in 200 ...

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

driver * Mark Nichols, former NFL wide receiver *

Charles Noland Charles Noland is an American actor, appearing in many TV shows and films, including '' Blow'' and '' Wayne's World''. He was a supporting character on ''ER'' for 2 seasons and ''The West Wing'' for 7 seasons. Noland also has a lengthy stage ca ...

, professional actor * Rocky Rasley, former NFL guard * Greg Robinson, former head coach,

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

football; two-time Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator of Denver Broncos *

Michael Rubio Michael J. Rubio (born August 24, 1977) is a former California State Senator representing the 16th Senate District before resigning on February 22, 2013. He previously served as Fifth District Kern County Supervisor representing the communities ...

, politician * Carl Smith, former offensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars *

Taj Smith Tajiddin M. Smith-Wilson (born September 30, 1983) is a professional gridiron football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He recently played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the Green ...

wide receiver for the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

Andre Spencer Andre Devell Spencer (July 20, 1964 – August 4, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He was a 6' 6" (198 cm) 210 lb (95 kg) forward and played collegiately for Bakersfield College, a junior college, and the Nor ...

(1964–2020), basketball player, former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player *

Jeremy Staat Jeremy Ray Staat (born October 10, 1976) is a former American football defensive lineman and offensive lineman who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1998 and the St. Louis Rams for two games in 2003. He also played for the Los Angeles Aven ...

, former NFL defensive end * Walter W. Stiern, former

California State Senator The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

* Jim Stiger, former NFL running back * John Tarver, former running back for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

* Mike Waufle, NFL defensive line coach *

Dick Witcher Dick Vernon Witcher (October 10, 1944February 22, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). Witcher was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the eighth round (119th overa ...

, former NFL wide receiver * Jake Woods,

pitcher * Delbert E. Wong, first Chinese-American judge in the continental United States * Louis Wright, former NFL cornerback

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website
{{authority control 1913 establishments in California California Community Colleges Education in Bakersfield, California Educational institutions established in 1913 Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Universities and colleges in Kern County, California