The UC Riverside Highlanders football program represented the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...

from the

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

through the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

seasons. The Highlanders originally competed as an Independent before they joined 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 ...

(CCAA) in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

. They played their home games at Highlander Stadium in Riverside,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. During their 21 years of competition, the Highlanders compiled an all-time record of 84 wins, 83 losses and 8 ties (84–83–8).

History

In 1954, former

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Rod Franz Rodney Thomas Franz (February 8, 1925 – November 27, 1999) was an American football player and coach. He played college football as a guard at the University of California, Berkeley from 1946 to 1949. As a senior, he was a unanimous selection o ...

was hired to serve as the first head coach of the Riverside program. After only one season, Franz resigned, and Carl Selin was hired as head coach. Selin remained in his position through the 1958 season when he resigned to become an assistant coach at the

Coast Guard Academy The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), located in New London, Connecticut, is the U.S. service academy specifically for the United States Coast Guard. Founded in 1876, the academy provides education to future Coast Guard officers i ...

. After Gil Allan served as head coach for only the 1964 season, in March 1965, former Highlanders

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Pete Kettela Peter P. Kettela (May 28, 1938 – September 29, 2013) was an American gridiron football player, coach, and executive. He served as the head football coach at the University of California, Riverside from 1965 to 1969 and as the head coach for the ...

was named head coach. Kettela resigned in 1970 after he compiled an overall record of 23 wins, 19 losses and 2 ties (23–19–2) during his five-year tenure. He resigned his position as he felt the school was not expending appropriate resources on the football program. After serving as an assistant coach for five seasons, in February 1970 Gary Knecht was promoted to head coach. He compiled an overall record of six wins, thirteen losses and one tie (6–13–1) from 1970 through the 1971 season. Knecht resigned as head coach in March 1972, just as coach Kettela had done previously, as the university had not placed enough resources into the football program.

Wayne Howard Wayne Wright Howard (March 29, 1949 – December 9, 2007) was an American comic book artist. He is best known for his 1970s work at Charlton Comics. Although many other artists had signed their cover artwork, he became American comic books' fir ...

was hired in 1972, and prior to his resignation in December 1973 to become the head coach at

Long Beach State 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 ...

, led the Highlanders to a record of seventeen wins and three losses (17–3). Under Howard, the 1972 squad finished the season with a record of nine wins and one loss (9–1) to capture a share of the first conference championship for the Highlanders. On December 21, 1973,

Bob Toledo Robert Anthony Toledo (born March 4, 1946) is an American former college football coach and player. Toledo served as the head coach at University of California, Riverside (1974–1975), the Pacific Tigers football, University of the Pacific (197 ...

was hired as the Highlanders' head coach. As head coach, Toledo led the Highlanders to an overall record of fifteen wins and six losses (15–6) and consecutive conference championships in 1974 and 1975.

Disestablishment of program

On December 4, 1975, the football program was discontinued by the university with a general lack of attendance and poor gate receipts cited for its being discontinued. Then-UCR chancellor Ivan Hinderaker noted that football used more than half of the athletic department's total $305,000 budget and averaged 3,869 fans in attendance for the four home games during the final season, unable to fill the 5,500-seat stadium. Toledo and his staff remained under contract until July 1, 1976.

Head coaches

All-time seasons

During their 21 years of competition, the Highlanders compiled an all-time record of 84 wins, 83 losses and 8 ties (84–83–8).

Highlanders in the NFL

UC Riverside has seven alumni that have played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL).

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:UC Riverside Highlanders Football 1955 establishments in California 1975 disestablishments in California American football teams established in 1955 American football teams disestablished in 1975