1975 UC Riverside Highlanders football team

The 1975 UC Riverside Highlanders football team represented UC Riverside during the 1975 NCAA Division II football season.

1975 UC Riverside Highlanders football
CCAA champion
Conference	California Collegiate Athletic Association
1975 record	7–3 (4–0 CCAA)
Head coach	Bob Toledo (2nd season)
Home stadium	Highlander Stadium

1975 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
UC Riverside $	4	–	0	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Cal Poly	3	–	1	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Cal Poly Pomona	2	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Cal State Northridge	1	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Cal State Los Angeles	0	–	4	–	0			1	–	7	–	1
$ – Conference champion

UC Riverside competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The team was led by second-year head coach Bob Toledo. They played home games at Highlander Stadium in Riverside, California. The Highlanders finished the season as champion of the CCAA, with a record of seven wins and three losses (7–3, 4–0 CCAA). Overall, the team outscored its opponents 278–192 for the season.

Despite winning the conference championship for the second consecutive year, and in 3 of 4 seasons, on December 4, 1975 UC Riverside announced that they were discontinuing their football program. They primary reason given was lack of fan support (attendance).[1] The Highlanders played for 21 seasons (1955–1975).

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 13	at Northern Arizona*	Lumberjack Stadium Flagstaff, Arizona	L 30–34
September 20	UC Davis[note 1]*	Highlander Stadium Riverside, California	L 22–31	1,700[2]
September 27	at Whittier*	Memorial Stadium Whittier, California	W 41–0	2,000[3]
October 4	at Santa Clara*	Buck Shaw Stadium Santa Clara, California	W 25–24	6,710[4]
October 11	at Cal State Los Angeles	Campus Field Los Angeles	W 48–30	3,000[5]
October 18	at Cal State Fullerton*	Santa Ana Stadium Santa Ana, California	L 31–32	1,200[6]
October 25	Cal Poly Pomona	Highlander Stadium Riverside, California	W 24–20
November 1	Cal Poly[note 2]	Highlander Stadium Riverside, California	W 10–7
November 8	Cal State Hayward[note 3]*	Highlander Stadium Riverside, California	W 17–0
November 15	at Cal State Northridge	Devonshire Downs Northridge, California	W 30–14	2,900[7]
*Non-conference game

[8]

Team players in the NFL

The following 1975 UC Riverside players were selected in the 1976 NFL Draft or later. Dan Bunz & Calvin Sweeney transferred to other colleges as a result of the disbanding of the UC Riverside football program then were drafted out of that new school.[9][10][11]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL team
Russ Bolinger	Guard – Tackle	3	68	1976 Detroit Lions
Butch Johnson	Wide receiver	3	87	1976 Dallas Cowboys
Dan Bunz	Linebacker	1	24	1978 San Francisco 49ers
Calvin Sweeney	Wide receiver	4	110	1980 Pittsburgh Steelers

Notes

1. The University of California, Davis sports teams were commonly called the “Cal Aggies” from 1924 until the mid 1970s.
2. The official name of Cal Poly has been California Polytechnic State University since 1947. However, it is more commonly known as either Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or just Cal Poly.
3. California State University, East Bay was known as California State University, Hayward from 1972 to 2004.

References

1. "UC Riverside Quits Football". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. December 5, 1975. p. III-20. Retrieved March 19, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Long Beach Routs Fullerton". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. September 21, 1975. p. III-14. Retrieved March 15, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Aztecs Beat Utah State, 19-10". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. September 28, 1975. p. III-14. Retrieved March 15, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Lusk Scores Four TD's in Long Beach St. Win". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. October 5, 1975. p. III-16. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "UC Riverside 48, Cal State L.A. 30". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. October 12, 1975. p. III-15. Retrieved February 13, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Dave Distel (October 19, 1975). "Titans Get a Big Kick From Choukair". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. III-14. Retrieved February 7, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Brewer's 2 Touchdowns Spark 26-24 Win by 49ers". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. November 16, 1975. p. III-11. Retrieved February 23, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "1975 - California-Riverside". Retrieved March 17, 2017.
9. "1976 NFL Draft". Retrieved February 23, 2017.
10. "California-Riverside Players/Alumni". Retrieved March 17, 2017.
11. "Draft History: California-Riverside". Retrieved March 18, 2017.