Defunct College Teams

[SJAnfield]

Only Humboldt St (a CCAA member) is the only D-II and non-FBS Cal school to sponsor that sport (currently playing as an affiliate of the GNAC, which ironically was a former full member of that said conference); while Cal Poly, UC-Davis & San Diego are the only D-I schools to sponsor football in the FCS level (the last one in the PFL, non-scholarship).

CSU-Sacremento wants to have a word with you

Oops! My bad. I almost forgot about them. I thought Sacramento State are in issues of having its football program to be endangeredly extinct. But thanks for sharing it.

On the other hand, Morris Brown College and Northeastern Illinois University at one point sponsored an athletic program until the became defunct in 2003 and 1997 respectively.

A sample of Morris Brown football (1940's), back in the their times at the NAIA now D-II SIAA:

A sample of Northeastern Illinois baseball (1990's), back in the their times at the Summit League:

Last I heard our program wasn't in any danger of extinction, but with a new president and athletic director being sought, who knows what the future holds. I was young when the California schools all lost thier football programs, and I remember being extremely sad (I think I cried). I was raised at SJSU football games, and I couldn't understand why they were going away, and had become attached to my rivals, and the thought the Spartans could do he same was just too much for my little mind to take. If Sac or SJSU dropped football if be absolutely crushed.

[TheRicSlick]

A more recent photo of UMass Lowell football:

Those uniforms are very ugly.

[FiddySicks]

Cal State Hayward (now East Bay) Football

Ah the Pioneers. I grew up in Hayward. I remember the rash of California schools dropping their football programs: Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, Pacific, Cal State Northridge, Saint Mary's, Cal State Hayward, Chico State and San Francisco State.

My mom graduated from Hayward State back when we lived in Castro Valley. Cool little school. I used to run on their track when I was a kid. I vaguely remember going to their games and them being just AWFUL.

[queso fundido]

Iona College- last season 2008

[Bmac]

Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha football

It's sad to see one of the greatest and most traditional sports programs in D-II football history like those of Nebraska-Omaha. Several conference titles in the defunct D-II North Central Conference (19831984, 1996, 1998, 2000, 20042007), where also ALL 4 Dakota schools played at one time as well; as well as UNO wrestling with several national titles (991, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2011, its final season). To me, that was not a smart move to drop these sports while moving to D-I and the Summit League. For football, the Mavs would play in the MVFC, while for wrestling, they would be D-I Independents.

The effects of this decision are still up for debate. Yes, we lost wrestling and football. Wrestling should not have gone, especially with it's prominence at the high school level in this state. But honestly, football was not that huge of a loss. Any interest in football on Saturday is directed towards the Cornhuskers. Despite on-field success, the team wasn't as well-run off the field as it should be for the conference it would have joined. Granted, they could have devoted more time and money to the program with the conference change, but honestly we're not missing out on much.

More importantly, the change has resulted in more attention to other sports. We're building a brand new hockey arena on campus, and have increased attention to the hockey program. The baseball team has now won back to back conference titles. The men's soccer team has earned several respectable wins and now plays at one of the best fields in the country (or so I've been told, I no nothing about the sport).

Long story short, losing football sucks, but it was probably for the better. Wrestling should have stayed.