1961 San Francisco State Gators football team

The 1961 San Francisco State Gators football team represented San Francisco State College[note 1] during the 1961 NCAA College Division football season.

1961 San Francisco State Gators football
FWC co-champion
Conference	Far Western Conference
1961 record	8–2 (4–1 FWC)
Head coach	Vic Rowen (1st season)
Home stadium	Cox Stadium

1961 Far Western Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 16 UPI Humboldt State +	4	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
San Francisco State +	4	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
UC Davis	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Nevada	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Sacramento State	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Chico State	0	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from College Division poll

San Francisco State competed in the Far Western Conference (FWC).[note 2] The Gators were led by first-year head coach Vic Rowen. They played home games at Cox Stadium in San Francisco, California. The team finished the season as co-champion of the FWC, with a record of eight wins and two losses (8–2, 4–1 FWC). For the season the team outscored its opponents 261–102.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 16	UC Santa Barbara*	Cox Stadium San Francisco, CA	W 59–0
September 23	Long Beach State[note 3]*	Cox Stadium San Francisco, CA	W 14–9
September 30	at Cal Poly Pomona[note 4]*	L.A. State Stadium Los Angeles, CA	W 26–19
October 7	Humboldt State[note 5]	Cox Stadium San Francisco, CA	L 6–7	6,200[1]
October 14	at Los Angeles State[note 6]*	L.A. State Stadium Los Angeles, CA	L 21–28
October 21	Nevada	Cox Stadium San Francisco, CA	W 48–0
October 28	UC Davis[note 7]	Cox Stadium San Francisco, CA	W 13–8
November 4	at San Diego*	Torero Stadium San Diego, CA	W 25–6
November 11	at Sacramento State[note 8]	Charles C. Hughes Stadium Sacramento, CA	W 7–0
November 18	at Chico State[note 9]	College Field Chico, CA	W 42–25
*Non-conference game

[2]

Team players in the NFL / AFL

No San Francisco State players were selected in the 1962 NFL Draft.[3][4][5]

The following finished their college career in 1961, were not drafted, but played in the AFL.

Player	Position	First NFL Team
Willie Simpson	Fullback	1962 Oakland Raiders

Notes

1. San Francisco State University was known as San Francisco State College from 1935 to 1971.
2. The Northern California Athletic Conference (NCAC) was known as the Far Western Conference (FWC) from its founding in 1925 to 1982.
3. California State University, Long Beach was known as Long Beach State College from 1950 to 1963.
4. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) was known as Cal Poly Kellogg-Voorhis Unit from 1957 to 1965. However, it was more commonly known as Cal Poly (Pomona).
5. Humboldt State University was known as Humboldt State College from 1935 to 1971.
6. California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) was known as Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts and Sciences from 1947 to 1963.
7. The University of California, Davis sports teams were commonly called the “Cal Aggies” from 1924 until the mid 1970s.
8. California State University, Sacramento was known as Sacramento State College from 1947 to 1971.
9. California State University, Chico was known as Chico State College from 1935 to 1971.

References

1. Don Terbush (October 9, 1961). "Humboldt State Nips San Francisco In FWC Opener". Eureka Humboldt Standard. Eureka, California. p. 10. Retrieved April 4, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "1961 - San Francisco St. (CA)". Retrieved March 4, 2017.
3. "1962 NFL Draft". Retrieved January 12, 2017.
4. "San Francisco St. Players/Alumni". Retrieved July 5, 2017.
5. "Draft History: San Francisco State". Retrieved April 3, 2017.