Cal Lutheran Kingsmen football

The Cal Lutheran Kingsmen football team represents California Lutheran University, located in Thousand Oaks, California, in NCAA Division III college football.

The Kingsmen, who began playing football in 1962, compete as members of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Cal Lutheran have won one national championship, in 1971.

Luther Schwich made plans to establish the school's first football team in 1962. This was also the same year the sports’ moniker Kingsmen was chosen, which was a compromise between those favoring "Condors" and "Shepherds". Schwich selected Shoup to start the team, a recruiter who had garnered fame at University of California, Santa Barbara, in the mid-1950s. Shoup had also compiled an impressive record at North High School in Torrance prior to his career at CLU. His first assignment was to create a team and recruit players, as well as developing a schedule and securing facilities. The home games were first played at Camarillo High School field. Their first win soon followed, 20–12 over Los Angeles-Pacific. After having played at Thousand Oaks High School for a limited time, Kingsmen football was playing at their own Mount Clef field starting in 1963, a football field on campus which had been readied for the Dallas Cowboys' summer camp. The first game took place in 1964 against University of La Verne, which the Kingsmen won 13–8.^[5]

A winning streak began in 1965 and lasted for several years, bringing in an 8–1 record in 1965 ("Year of the Champions"), 8–2 in 1966 ("Year of the Victors"), and 7–2 in 1967 ("Year of the Conquerors"). In 1968, punter Gary Loyd was named an NAIA All-America and the college appeared for the first time in the national rankings, coming in 9th. Robbie Robinson's seventeen field goals in 1969 ("Year of the Warriors") set an NAIA record and the team moved up to 7th place. From its 8–1 record in 1970, the team moved into its greatest season to date in 1971, and captured the NAIA Division II National Championship, winning against Montana Tech and Westminster College in the playoffs. A college celebration was staged in conjunction with the Dallas Cowboys that won Super Bowl VI of January 1972. Shoup was named NAIA Coach of the Year and also Lutheran Coach of the Year. Following the championship, numerous players were drafted by professional teams, including Brian Kelley by the New York Giants and Sam Cvijanovich who played in the Canadian Football League. Another key performer in the championship game was Mike Sheppard, who later became a professional player at various NFL teams and head coach at California State University Long Beach. Successful years followed the championship, and the team soon appeared three times in the NAIA playoffs: in 1975, 1977 and 1982. As of 1984, Kingsmen football was among the top small college teams in the U.S.^[6]

In 1987, three players signed free-agent contracts with NFL teams. Mike Miller and John Hynes, both defensive tackles, signed with the Oakland Raiders, and Darren Gottschalk, a tight end, signed with the New Orleans Saints.^[7]

CLU joined the NCAA in 1991 and began playing at the Division II level as a member of the Western Football Conference.^[8]

In 1995, Cal Lutheran’s football had three players from Sweden: tailback Fredrik Nanhed, wide receiver John Tynell, and defensive back Mattias Wikstrom. Defensive end Christian Paulsboe was from Norway.^[9]

As a SCIAC member, the Kingsmen won the conference championship in 1997,2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. Running back Brian Stuart received the Player of the Year award in 2009.^[10] The team has a SCIAC rivalry with the Redlands Bulldogs; the teams battle each other annually for the trophy known as the Smudge Pot, a perpetual trophy introduced to the rivalry in 2012.^[11][12]

• 1962–1991: Independent
• 1992–present: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

The Kingsmen made five appearances in the NAIA playoffs, with a combined record of 4–4 and one national championship.

The Kingsmen made four appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs, with a combined record of 0–4.

Notable players include Brian Kelley and Sam Cvijanovich, who were drafted for professional football teams after the 1971 NAIA Championship win. Other notable players include Hank Bauer, who retired from the San Diego Chargers in 1982, and Jerry Palmquist who played for the Denver Broncos. Gary Loyd was drafted by the New Orleans Saints, William “Robbie” Robinson by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Gary Hamm by the Toronto Argonauts, Charlie McShane by the Seattle Seahawks, and Russ Jensen by the Los Angeles Express.^[13] Other notable football players and coaches of CLU include Tom Herman, Rod Marinelli, Eric Rogers, Cory Undlin, Phil Frye, Pete Alamar, Scott Squires, and Dave Aranda. Ralph Miller became a founding member of the National Football League Players Association and has played for the New Orleans Saints, Houston Oilers, Philadelphia Eagles, San Diego Chargers, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers.^[14][15]

Cal Lutheran has been called the West Coast’s “Cradle of Coaches”; nearly 1 in 4 of football coach Bob Shoup’s players would go on to coach at some level. 144 players have become football coaches, and several have been drafted to the NFL.^{[16][17][18][19][20]}

List of notable coaches:^[21]

• Official website