The Long Beach State 49ers football team represented

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

from the 1955 through 1991 seasons. The 49ers originally competed as an Independent before joining the

California Collegiate Athletic Association The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level. All of its current m ...

in 1958. By the 1969 season, the 49ers joined the

Pacific Coast Athletic Association 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 ...

(now the Big West) as a founding member, where they remained until the program was suspended following the 1991 season. Long Beach played its home games at multiple stadiums throughout their history with the most recent being Veterans Memorial Stadium, in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

. During their 37 years of competition, the 49ers compiled an all-time record of 199 wins, 183 losses and 4 ties. Three members of the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

were associated with the program during its last two years of existence: coaches George Allen and Willie Brown, as well as running back

Terrell Davis Terrell Lamar Davis (born October 28, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2001. He is the Broncos all-time leading rusher and ...

History

The Long Beach State football team traces its roots to 1955 when, looking to capitalize on the boosters for both

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

residing in

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, the 49ers program was established. The program would see modest success, culminating with conference titles following both the 1970 and 1971 seasons, including the 49ers' lone bowl, the 1970 Pasadena Bowl. Between the

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

and 1982 seasons, Long Beach played the majority of their home games at

Anaheim Stadium Angel Stadium is a ballpark in Anaheim, California, United States. Since its opening in 1966, it has been the home venue of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), who relocated from Los Angeles to Anaheim following the 1965 seas ...

prior to moving back to Veterans Memorial Stadium for the 1983 season. The 49ers would again win the PCAA championship following the 1980 season. Before the 1990 season, the legendary George Allen came out of retirement to coach the 49ers. Allen led the team to an undefeated home schedule, although the overall won-loss record was 6-5. He recruited another future member of the

, a running back from San Diego Lincoln High named

. Allen died on December 31, 1990, leaving the future of the program in doubt. The program continued for one more season, under rookie head coach Willie Brown, a former NFL star who like Allen and Davis is now a member of the

. The team went 2-9 in its last season. On December 10, 1991, university president Curtis McCray announced the 49ers football program would be disbanded immediately. The decision to disband the football team was prompted by financial shortfalls resulting from California's budget crisis, coupled with increased costs of operating the program and declining fan support. Although the 49ers have not played a game since 1991, Long Beach is still the NCAA record-holder in several categories. These records include: the most passes caught by a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for both a single game and season with 18 and 99, respectively, by Mark Templeton, during the 1986 season,Receiving
"Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Records," NCAA, July 2008. p. 17. Accessed 2008-12-28 and leading the nation in total offense with an average of 326.8 yards per game for the 1982 season.Annual Offense Champions
"Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Records," NCAA, July 2008. p. 63. Accessed 2008-12-28 The 49ers also led the nation in total offense with 529 yards per game while members of the college division in 1965.

Conference championships

Long Beach won three conference championships during their tenure as a program, two outright and one shared. † Co-champion

Recovery of game films

As many as 150 Long Beach State football games of full and partial game film have been located and are stored in Los Angeles. The majority of the games are on 16mm film, while some of the later games are on U-matic and Betamax format tapes. Many of the games have been transferred to digital video and are listed on th
Long Beach State 49ers Football Game Film Archive
website. The story of the discovery and preservation of the game film was documented in the April 2015 issue of DIG Magazine in an article titled
Salvaged Memories
.

Bring back 49er football effort

Student efforts to revive a Division I-AA level football program (today known as NCAA Division I-FCS) began in April 2008 and led to a referendum in March 2011. The referendum took place from March 21 to March 24 online, with only current CSULB students able to cast a vote. Overall, 3,084 people voted, with 52% of the student body voting "no" and 48% voting "yes".

Head coaches

Long Beach had 9 head coaches through 36 years of play, with a total record of 199–183–4 (.520).

National award winners

All-Americans

* Leon Burns, RB- 1970 (NEA-1st; PFW-1st) * Herman Parker, DT- 1979 (AP 3rd) * John Hendy, DB- 1984 (AP All American; PFW-1st)

Seasons

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long Beach State 49ers Football 1955 establishments in California 1991 disestablishments in California American football teams established in 1955 American football teams disestablished in 1991