Saddleback College is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

Mission Viejo, California Mission Viejo ( ; language change, corruption of ; ) is a Commuter town, commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest Planned community, master-planned commu ...

. It is part of the California Community College system and awards over 300

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

academic certificate An academic certificate or tech certificate is a document that certifies that a person has received specific education or has passed a test or series of tests. In many countries, a certificate is a qualification attained in secondary education. ...

s, and occupational skills awards in 190 programs. Established in 1968, Saddleback is the oldest and southernmost institution governed by the South Orange County Community College District. Saddleback College is named for the

saddle A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not know ...

between the twin peaks of Santiago Peak and Modjeska Peak in the

Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest is a National forest (United States), U.S. national forest in Southern California that encompasses 460,000 acres/ of inland Montane ecosystems, montane regions. It is approximately 60 miles from the Pacific Ocean, withi ...

Academics

Saddleback College is the largest member of the South Orange County Community College District. The college awards associate degrees ( A.A., A.S) and academic certificates in over 100 areas of study. Not-for-credit Community Education classes are also available through Saddleback College. Saddleback College provides a Veterans Education Transition Services (VETS) Center. The program is devoted to helping veterans transition from combat to the classroom. VETS supports transitioning combat veterans through an extensive network of care givers in the civilian community, government, and non-profit organizations.

Accreditation

Saddleback College is accredited by the

Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) is an accrediting organization in the United States. It accredits private and public colleges that provide students two-year education programs and confer the associate deg ...

. The

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

nursing program is accredited by the

National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission The National League for Nursing (NLN) is a national organization for faculty nurses and leaders in nurse education. It offers faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiativ ...

and the paramedic program is accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Emergency Medical Services Programs.

Campus and surroundings

Saddleback College is located in

Mission Viejo Mission Viejo ( ; language change, corruption of ; ) is a Commuter town, commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest Planned community, master-planned commu ...

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

. A notable site on the campus is the Saddleback College Veterans Memorial, which was officially completed in 2010. A dedication ceremony was held on April 29, 2010, and was attended by representatives for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, lawmakers, active and former members of the armed services, college students and staff. This memorial stands as a symbol of sacrifice, freedom and honor on the Saddleback Campus. An on-campus bus terminal/transfer point for the

Orange County Transportation Authority The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is the transportation planning commission for Orange County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. OCTA is responsible for funding and implementing transit and capital projects for ...

85, 91, and MV Shuttle 182 is located on the north end of campus.

Student life

The campus is populated with many student clubs and organizations. The Associated Student Government (ASG) plans, organizes, promotes, sponsors and finances a comprehensive program of activities and services for all Saddleback College students. ASG is made up of three branches which are Inter-Club Council, the Associated Student Senate, Events Cabinet. The Inter-Club Council manages various college clubs that have included the Model United Nations, the Chicano Latino Studies Student Association, College Democrats, College Republicans, Class Action, Students for a Free Tibet, Wilderness Adventure Club, and the Anime Club.

Athletics

Saddleback College is home to 19 intercollegiate athletic teams. *Men's intercollegiate teams **

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

** Cross Country **

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

** Swimming & Diving **

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

Track and Field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

Water Polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

*Women's intercollegiate teams **

Beach Volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

** Cross Country **

**Fastpitch

Softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

and

Diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

Cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

Media

*The ''Lariat'': Since opening in 1968, Saddleback College has had a student-run

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

, the ''Lariat''. It is distributed most Wednesdays of the regular school year. It is printed at the

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

, facility of the ''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily List of newspapers in California, newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digit ...

'', where 5,000 copies are made. During the fall 2005 semester, the ''Lariat'' chose to change its masthead to include Saddleback's sister college in Irvine,

Irvine Valley College Irvine Valley College (also known as IVC or Irvine Valley) is a public community college in Irvine, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges system. The college inherited its name from the Irvine family and the Irvine Compan ...

, to appeal to a broader reader base and increase circulation. The change was met with opposition from members of Saddleback's administration as well as from the Associated Student Government since Irvine Valley College did not contribute funds to the Lariat. Irvine Valley College now gives an allotted sum and the masthead continues to include both colleges. The Lariat was a National Newspaper Pacemaker winner in 1994 and a finalist in 1993, 1997, 2005, and 2006. *

KSBR KSBR (88.5 FM, "88.5 The SoCal Sound") is a non-commercial educational radio station licensed to Mission Viejo, California, and broadcasting to the Orange County area. The station, owned by Saddleback College, airs adult album alternative (AAA ...

''Saddleback Radio'': KSBR is a commercial-free jazz radio station broadcast throughout the LA area on the HD2 secondary channel of 88.5fm. This is done via a partnership with KCSN whose audio appears on 88.5's primary channel. KSBR's format is contemporary jazz but it also has weekend specialty shows featuring other musical styles like reggae, folk, ragtime, rock, Latin jazz, blues, and hip-hop. :In addition to training Saddleback College's Communication Arts students, KSBR has received the Associated Press "Instant News" citation, AP's Certificate of Excellence for overall coverage, and is the only California station to be a four-time winner of the American Heart Association's C. Everett Koop, M.D. award. *''Saddleback College Television'': Cox Communications Cable Television - Saddleback College - Channel 39 - Mission Viejo :Saddleback College Cable Television serves cable subscribers with educational and school based programming from all of Saddleback's public and private educational institutions.

Notable people

Alumni

* Heather C. Allen, research chemist * Colt Brennan, professional football player * Mike Bullock, writer * Anthony Carter, professional basketball player * Richard Crawford, professional football player * Deborah Driggs,

Playboy Playmate A Playmate is a female Model (person), model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biograph ...

of the Month for March 1990, once married to gymnast

Mitch Gaylord Mitchell Jay Gaylord (born March 10, 1961) is an American gymnast, actor, and 1984 Los Angeles Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team. Early life and education Gaylord w ...

* Barbara Edwards, Playboy Playmate of the Month for September 1983 and

of the Year for 1984 * Kevin Fagan, creator of

Drabble A drabble is a short work of fiction of precisely one hundred words in length."Winner ...

comic strip * Cade Gaspar, professional baseball player *

Mark Grace Mark Eugene Grace (born June 28, 1964) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who spent 13 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League (NL). He was a member of t ...

, professional baseball player *

Brandon Hammond Brandon La Ron Hammond (born February 6, 1984) is an American former child actor who appeared in several movie and television roles mainly during the 1990s. He appeared in the feature films ''Waiting to Exhale'' (1995), ''Mars Attacks!'' (1996) an ...

, actor * Jackson Hinkle, commentator * Yolanda Hughes-Heying, professional bodybuilder * Bill Kenney, professional football player and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

* Kyle Long, professional football player * Kevin Magee (1959–2003), professional basketball player * Ben Maller, sports radio personality and Internet sports columnist *

Sandun Wijemanne Nissanka Sandun Wijemanne Nissanka (born 6 May 1998: ) is a Sri Lankan-American record industry executive, label executive and entrepreneur. He is the CEO and founder of Serandip Music Group, Serandip Records, Serandip Publishing, and Bonfire Distributi ...

, music and technology entrepreneur *

Stephone Paige Stephone Paige (born October 15, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). An undrafted free agent after playing college football for the F ...

, professional football player * Chris Parker, professional football player * Kasey Peters, professional football player * Mike Piel, professional football player *

Nick Punto Nicholas Paul Punto (born November 8, 1977) is an American former professional baseball infielder and current coach (baseball), coach for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Philadelphia Phillies, Minneso ...

, professional baseball player * Chris Sulages, professional football coach * T. J. Shorts, professional basketball player *

Bob Thornton Robert George Thornton (born July 10, 1962) is an American basketball coach and former player who played nine seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He last served as the lead assistant coach for the Perth Wildcats in the Austral ...

, professional basketball player and coach *

Ashley Wagner Ashley Elisabeth Wagner (born May 16, 1991) is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2016 World Figure Skating Championships, 2016 World silver medalist, a Figure skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics, 2014 Olympic bronze medali ...

(born 1991), figure skater * Menelik Watson, professional football player *

Tim Wallach Timothy Charles Wallach (born September 14, 1957), nicknamed "Eli", is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played seventeen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman, most notably for the Montreal Expos ...

, professional baseball player *

Victor Webster Victor Webster (born February 7, 1973) is a Canadian actor. He is known for being the second actor to play Nicholas Alamain on the NBC daytime soap ''Days of Our Lives''"Ex-Calgarian Victor Webster never misses a Stampede" by Lilana Novakovich, ...

, Canadian actor * Gregory Widen, screenwriter and director

Faculty

* Jonelle Allen, Actress-(Generations - Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman), Singer, Dancer, Director * Amy Sterling Casil (born 1962), science fiction writer * John Cederquist (born 1946), American sculptor * Simon Arkell (born 1966), Olympic pole vaulter / entrepreneur * Helen Feyler-Switz (1925–2006), artist, sculptor

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Universities and colleges in Orange County, California California Community Colleges Universities and colleges established in 1968 Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Mission Viejo, California Two-year colleges in the United States