1975 UC Riverside Highlanders football team

The 1975 UCR Highlanders football team represented the University of California, Riverside as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) during the 1975 NCAA Division II football season. Led by second-year head coach Bob Toledo, UC Riverside compiled an overall record of 7–3 with a mark of 4–0 in conference play, winning the CCAA title. The team outscored its opponents 278 to 192 for the season. The Highlanders played home games Highlander Stadium in Riverside, California.

1975 UC Riverside Highlanders football
CCAA champion
ConferenceCalifornia Collegiate Athletic Association
Record7–3 (4–0 CCAA)
Head coach
Home stadiumHighlander Stadium
Seasons
← 1974
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

Despite winning the conference championship for the second consecutive year and for the third time in four seasons, UC Riverside announced, on December 4, 1975, 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

edit
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 13at Northern Arizona*L 30–348,000
September 20UC Davis*
L 22–311,700–4,000[2][3]
September 27at Whittier*
W 41–01,000–2,000[4]
October 4at Santa Clara*W 25–246,710[5]
October 11at Cal State Los Angeles
W 48–301,500–3,000[6][7]
October 18at Cal State Fullerton*L 31–321,000–1,200[8]
October 25Cal Poly Pomona
  • Highlander Stadium
  • Riverside, CA
W 24–203,200
November 1Cal Poly
  • Highlander Stadium
  • Riverside, CA
W 10–74,779–4,975[9]
November 8Cal State Hayward*
  • Highlander Stadium
  • Riverside, CA
W 17–03,000
November 15at Cal State NorthridgeW 30–142,450–2,934[10][11]
  • *Non-conference game

[12][13]

Team players in the NFL

edit

The following 1975 UC Riverside players were selected in the 1976 NFL draft or later. Dan Bunz and 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.[14][15][16]

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

References

edit
  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. ^ "Final 1975 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  4. ^ "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. 
  5. ^ "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. 
  6. ^ "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. 
  7. ^ "Final 1975 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  8. ^ 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. 
  9. ^ "Final 1975 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  10. ^ "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. 
  11. ^ "Final 1975 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  12. ^ "Final 1975 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  13. ^ "1975 - California-Riverside". Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  14. ^ "1976 NFL Draft". Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  15. ^ "California-Riverside Players/Alumni". Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  16. ^ "Draft History: California-Riverside". Retrieved March 18, 2017.