The Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks are the 11 varsity athletic teams that represent

California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt also known as Cal Poly Humboldt, Humboldt or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California or California State Polytechnic Universi ...

, located in

Arcata, California Arcata (; Wiyot: ''Goudi’ni''; Yurok: ''Oket'oh'') is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, Arcata's population was 18,857. Arcata was first ...

, in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

intercollegiate sports. The Lumberjacks compete as an associate member of 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 ...

for all sports except women's rowing, which competes in the

Great Northwest Athletic Conference The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It has historically operated in the northwestern United States, but al ...

Varsity sports

Basketball

Recently the men's basketball team achieved its first-ever West Region title and advancement to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II for the first time in the program's 81-year history. The men's head coach is Tae Norwood, and the women's head coach is Michelle Bento-Jackson.

Softball

CPH's softball team has qualified for the NCAA post-season 18 times between 1990 and 2008, capturing the national championship in 1999 and in 2008.

Rowing

The women's rowing team claimed the NCAA Division II national rowing championship title in 2012 and 2014. In 2012 they took first in both the varsity 8 and varsity 4 boats. In 2014 the varsity 8 was first, and the varsity 4 took third. In 2011 the team finished third overall at the national championships, placing second in the varsity 4 and third in the varsity 8. The women's rowing program advanced both its varsity 4 and varsity 8 boats to the NCAA Championships in 2004, with the varsity 4 earning the individual boat national title and the varsity 8 placing second at nationals. Women's rowing became an intercollegiate sport at Humboldt State in 1994. 1994 Club Sport Emerges as an NCAA Division II Intercollegiate Team 2003 NCAA Division II National Championships ~ Finalist 2004 Division II National Championships ~ Finalist / National Champions 4+ 2010 WIRA Team Champions 2011 NCAA Division II National Championships ~ Finalist 2012 NCAA Division II National Champions 2014 NCAA Division II National Champions 2015 NCAA Division II National Championships ~ Finalist 2017 WIRA Team Champions 2018 WIRA Team Champions 2019 WIRA Team Champions

Track and field

The Lumberjacks have produced national champions and

All-Americans 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 ...

in cross country and track and field. In 1980, the school's first year in Division II, the CPH men's cross country team claimed a national title. A year later, cross country runner Mark Conover earned the individual crown and later represented the US as a marathoner in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. The women's track and field team, led by future 1928 Olympic sprinter, Elta Cartwright, won the 1926 national championship meet conducted in telegraphic form by the Women's National Collegiate and Scholastic Track Association.

Football

Humboldt State won the

in 2011 and 2015. The championship in 2015 led them to the Division II playoffs, during which they made it to the second round before losing to eventual champion Northwest Missouri State. The Lumberjacks played their home games in the

Redwood Bowl Redwood Bowl is the main stadium on the campus of Humboldt State University in Arcata, California. It is used for Humboldt State Lumberjacks football games and track and field meets, as well as local high school contests. Construction began in the ...

. Their biggest rivals in football were

Western Oregon Western Oregon is a geographical term that is generally taken to mean the part of the U.S. state of Oregon within of the Oregon Coast, on the west side of the crest of the Cascade Range. The term is applied somewhat loosely, however, and is somet ...

and

Azusa Pacific Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The uni ...

. The university dropped football in 2018.

Head coach

Humboldt State has been coached by Rob Smith since the 2008 season. Coach Smith has accumulated 55 wins as the head coach of the Lumberjacks.

2015 season

The 2015 season was one of the most successful in Humboldt State history. The Lumberjacks won 10 games, 9 in the regular season, en route to a perfect 6–0

GNAC gnac is a pseudonym used by songwriter and music producer Mark Tranmer.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 766 The name is derived from a short story by Italo Calvino in Marcovaldo titled ''Luna e GNAC'' ...

record, and the conference championship. For the first time in school history, CPH hosted an

home playoff game, played against

Augustana University Augustana University is a private Lutheran university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The university identifies 1860 as the year of its founding, the same as its Rock Island, Illinois Swedish-heritage sister school, Augustana College. It derives ...

. The Lumberjacks defeated Augustana by a score of 45–31 to secure the first DII playoff victory since 1960. They lost their second round matchup with top seed and eventual champion Northwest Missouri State 54–7. The season saw individual success as well, as running back Ja'Quan Gardner was named an All-American and finished as the runner-up in the

Harlon Hill Trophy The Harlon Hill Trophy is an award in American college football given to the individual selected as the most valuable player in NCAA Division II. The award is named for former University of North Alabama and National Football League player Har ...

, the Division II version of the Heisman Trophy. Gardner rushed for 2,266 yards on 337 carries, both

records. Gardner also led the country in rushing yards per game (188.8) and rushing touchdowns (25). Gardner won the

Offensive Player of the Year award, and set a school record for single-game rushing yards by running for 305 yards against

. Offensive Lineman Alex Cappa was named the conference Offensive Lineman of the Year award for the second straight season, and was a second-team All-American.

Conferences

*1924–1939: Independent *1940–1996:

Northern California Athletic Conference The Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC) was an NCAA Division II college athletic association that sponsored American football that was founded in 1925. It disbanded in 1998 after the majority of its member schools were forced to drop fo ...

*1997: Division II Independent *1998–2000:

Columbia Football Association The Columbia Football Association was intercollegiate athletic football-only conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). It was composed principally of member schools from the states of Oregon and Was ...

*2001–2005:

*2006–2007: Division II Independent *2008–2018:

Discontinuation of football program

In July 2018, the university announced that the football program would be discontinued after the 2018 season.

Championships

NCAA appearances

The Humboldt State Lumberjacks competed in the NCAA Tournament across 12 active sports (5 men's and 7 women's), 113 times at the Division II level. * Men's basketball (14): 1983, 1990, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016 * Women's basketball (6): 1995, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2018 * Men's cross country (12): 1969, 1974, 1980, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2012 * Women's cross country (5): 1994, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2012 * Football (1): 2015 * Rowing (5): 2004, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 * Women's soccer (1): 1996 * Softball (24): 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 * Men's indoor track and field (1): 2000 * Women's indoor track and field (2): 1995, 1999 * Men's outdoor track and field (27): 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2018 * Women's outdoor track and field (15): 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2017

Team

NCAA

During the program's existence as Humboldt State, the Lumberjacks earned 5 NCAA team championships at the Division II level. * Men's (1) ** Cross country (1): 1980 * Women's (4) **

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

(2): 2012, 2014 **

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

(2): 1999, 2008 Results

Other national

* Women's Track & Field (1): 1926, at the highest level Below is one national club team championship: * Women's disc golf (1): 2014 ( NCDGU)

Individual

Cal Poly Humboldt has had 18 athletes win NCAA individual championships at the Division II level.

References

External links

* {{Great Northwest Athletic Conference navbox