Cal Lutheran Kingsmen and Regals

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Cal Lutheran Kingsmen and Regals
Cal-lutheran logo from NCAA.svg
University California Lutheran University
Conference SCIAC
NCAA Division III
Location Thousand Oaks, California
Varsity teams22
Football stadiumWilliam Rolland Stadium
Basketball arena Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center
Baseball stadiumGeorge Sparky Anderson Field
Softball stadiumHutton Softball Field
Aquatics centerSamuelson Aquatic Center
NicknameKingsmen (men)
Regals (women)
ColorsPurple and Gold
Website www.clusports.com

The Cal Lutheran Kingsmen and Regals are the athletic teams that represent California Lutheran University, located in Thousand Oaks, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) since the 1991–92 academic year. The Kingsmen and Regals previously competed in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) 1986–87 to 1988–89; and as an NAIA Independent from 1989–90 to 1990–91.

Contents

Varsity teams

Cal Lutheran competes in 22 NCAA-sanctioned intercollegiate varsity sports: [1] Men's sports (Kingsmen) include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, football, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball and water polo; while women's teams (Regals) include basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and water polo.

Football

The Los Angeles Rams use CLU for training in 2016-19. CLU Rolland Stadium.jpg
The Los Angeles Rams use CLU for training in 2016–19.
Kingsmen at the Memorial Field (formerly Mt Clef Field), 2010 Kingsmen memorial field 2010 california lutheran university.jpg
Kingsmen at the Memorial Field (formerly Mt Clef Field), 2010
Kingsmen football team, 2015 Cal Lutheran Kingsmen football team at William Rolland Stadium, California Lutheran University (CLU).jpg
Kingsmen football team, 2015

The football team won the NAIA National Championship in 1971, its only national championship to date. Head coach Bob Shoup was named NAIA Coach of the Year that season. He led the Kingsmen to 13 NAIA District 3 Championships and the 5 playoffs in his 17 years as coach. [4]

CLU joined the NCAA in 1991 and began playing at the Division II level as a member of the Western Football Conference. [5] As a SCIAC member, the Kingsmen won the conference championship in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. Running back Brian Stuart received the Player of the Year award in 2009. [6] 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. [7] [8]

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. [9] Other notable football players and coaches of CLU include Tom Herman, Rod Marinelli, Eric Rogers, Cory Undlin, Phil Frye, 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. [10] [11]

History

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. [12]

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. [13]

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. [14]

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. [15]

YearTeamOverallConferenceStandingBowl/playoffs
Cal Lutheran Kingsmen (Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)(2007–present)
2007 Cal Lutheran5–45–1T–1st
2008 Cal Lutheran7–25–12nd
2009 Cal Lutheran8–26–01stL NCAA Division III First Round
2010 Cal Lutheran8–26–01stL NCAA Division III First Round
2011 Cal Lutheran8–26–01stL NCAA Division III First Round
2012 Cal Lutheran8–27–01stL NCAA Division III First Round
2013 Cal Lutheran4–54–3T–3rd
2014 Cal Lutheran4–54–3T–3rd
2015 Cal Lutheran4–52–56th
2016 Cal Lutheran4–54–3T–5th
2017 Cal Lutheran5–33–3T–3rd
2018 Cal Lutheran4–63–4T–5th
2019 Cal Lutheran5–54–3T–3rd
2020 Season canceled
2021 Cal Lutheran6–33–34th
2022 Cal Lutheran3–71–56th
2023 Cal Lutheran3–72–66th
Cal Lutheran:86–6565–40
Total:86–65
      National championship        Conference title        Conference division title or championship game berth

Cradle of Coaches

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]

  • Glen Alford
  • Pete Alamar
  • Kurt Amundson
  • Kevin Anderson
  • Roy Anderson
  • Richard Andrade
  • Andy Andreolli
  • Dave Aranda
  • David Banuelos
  • Andy Bartsch
  • Kyle Barrett
  • Hank Bauer
  • Jim Bauer
  • Scott Beattie
  • Mark Beckham
  • John Blakemore
  • Warren Bloomquist
  • Steve Bogan
  • Don Boothe
  • Mark Bridgewater
  • Richard Carter
  • Carl Clark
  • Doug Clark
  • Jake Clayborn
  • Bryan Cook
  • Chris Culig
  • Bill Cullpepper
  • Sam Cvijanovich
  • Steve Dann
  • Rod Dearborn
  • Sean Demmon
  • Kirk Diego
  • Mark Duffy
  • Tom Ecklund
  • George Engdahl
  • Jeff Engilma
  • Ed Esrada
  • Gary Fabricius
  • Kelly Felix
  • Chris Forbes
  • Phil Frye
  • Joe Fuca
  • Bob Fulenwider
  • Andy Garman
  • Randy Gloyd
  • Steve Graf
  • Eddie Gran
  • Sid Grant
  • Artie Green
  • Doni Green
  • Bart Gudmundson
  • David K. Gunn
  • Mike Hagen
  • Steve Hagen
  • Gary Haman
  • Ron Harris
  • Bill Harrison
  • Dan Hartwig
  • Harry Hedrick
  • Chris Heintz
  • Bon Hendricks
  • Tom Herman
  • Jon Hickey
  • Brad Hoffman
  • R.T. Howell
  • Mike Hunkins
  • Russ Jones
  • Al Jones
  • Kent Jorgenson
  • Richard Kelley
  • Fred Kemp
  • Al Kempfert
  • Chase King
  • Jim Kunau
  • Bernie Kyman
  • Jeff Lampos
  • Danny Langsdorf
  • Andy Levy
  • Tim Lins
  • Jack Lugo
  • Greg Lord
  • Rod Marinelli
  • Ed Martinez
  • Chris Matteson
  • Bob McAllister
  • Mark McElroy
  • Ben McEnroe
  • Bruce McFadden
  • Tom McGarvin
  • Gary McGinnis
  • Casey McLaughlin
  • Joe Monnarez
  • Craig Moropoulos
  • Dan Morrow
  • Bruce Nelson
  • Tom O’Brien
  • Paul Odden
  • John Paris
  • Tom Pellegrino
  • Skip Piechocinski
  • Will Piemons
  • Tom Proffit
  • Dave Regalado
  • Don Reyes
  • Scott Rich
  • Keith Richards
  • Clay Richardson
  • Eric Riegert
  • Doug Rihn
  • Dennis Ritterbush
  • William Robinson
  • Robbie Sachs
  • Rich Sanchez
  • Ernie Sandlin
  • Tim Savage
  • Bill Schwich
  • Rick Scott
  • Doug Semones
  • Ray Shadid
  • Mike Sheppard
  • Rick Shoup
  • Rueben Solorio
  • Al Staie
  • Kent Sullivan
  • Tony Sullivan, Jr.
  • Geno Sullivan
  • Steve Sutherland
  • Mark Sutton
  • Tom Sweeney
  • Bill Turner
  • Gene Uebelhardt
  • Cory Undlin
  • Jim Van Hoesen
  • Bryan Wagner
  • Tony Paopao
  • Jim Walker
  • Cary Washburn
  • Rich Watkins
  • Mark Weber
  • Tom West
  • Joel Wilker
  • Bill Wilson
  • Tad Wygal
  • Rick Yancy
  • Roger Young
  • John Zisko

Women's volleyball

Community volleyball field Callutheran volleyball field.jpg
Community volleyball field
Thompson Pederson Recreation Area Thompson Pederson Recreation Area.jpg
Thompson Pederson Recreation Area

In 2015, Regals volleyball won the national championship in NCAA Division III women's volleyball, defeating Wittenberg University 3–0 on November 21 in the team's third appearance in the final round. They were led by head coach Kellee Roesel. [22] [23] In 2016 the team made their ninth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the 17th in school history. The team was ranked number two in the nation as of 2016. [24]

The women's volleyball team has for decades periodically been the strongest competitive women's sport at CLU. Already in the early 1960s, the team played schools such as UC Santa Barbara, Westmont College and Cal State-Northridge. Handling most of the coaching for women until 1970 was Nena Amundson, who joined the faculty in 1961, hired by Orville Dahl to organize the women's athletic programs. California Lutheran College (CLC) joined the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) when formed in 1971, and was a member until 1982 when women joined the men in the NAIA. In 1970, the female athletes adopted the name Regals for all women's sports. [25] The team was the runner-up for the 1995 NCAA Division III women's volleyball tournament. [26] [27]

Notable players include Joyce Parkel, who was the captain of the volleyball team when it became a runner-up in Southern California in the late 1960s. Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Patty Kempner was the team captain when they qualified for the AIAW Regionals in 1976. The coach while Kempner played was Diana Hoffman, a volleyball player who played on six national volleyball teams and was a member of the 1964 and 1968 U.S. Olympic teams. Guiding the team from last in the league to an AIAW qualifier in two years, Hoffman is recognized for having laid the foundation for continued success for the Regals volleyball team. [28]

Men's basketball

Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center Gilbert sports and fitness center clu.jpg
Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center
Cal Lutheran Kingsmen vs Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens, 2017. Cal lutheran basketball team.png
Cal Lutheran Kingsmen vs Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens, 2017.

Luther Schwich coached the CLC basketball team from 1961–63 before John R. Siemens of Westmont College became the college basketball coach and also assumed the role of Athletic Director upon Schwich's resignation. The first doctorate member of the department was Robert Campbell in 1966, who helped the academic status of the Physical Education Department. Notable individual contributions to the sport have included Al Kempfert in the 1960s, who held a 1967 record that stood for years before being toppled by Steve Jasper during the 1972–73 season. Don Bielke, a former professional NBA player from the San Francisco Bay Area and a standout at Valparaiso, joined the staff as an instructor and coach in the 1970s. Two winning years are attributed to him: the 1977–78 and 1979–80 seasons. CLC hired Ed Anderson in 1983, a coach from Pacific Lutheran University. [29] Mike Dunlap was the head coach from 1989–1994 and guided the Kingsmen to an 80–55 record. Notable CLU players include Derrick Clark, Tim LaKose, and Jason Smith. [30]

Tim Fusina, former head coach at Centenary University in Hackettstown, New Jersey, became head coach for the team in 2017. Fusina took over after Geoff Dains, who was named interim head coach after the resignation of Rich Rider, the winningest basketball coach in CLU history. Rider had a record of 345–207 in 22 seasons at Cal Lutheran. In the 2016 season, the Kingsmen basketball team went 20–7 past season and placed second in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a 12–4 record, advancing to the Postseason Tournament for the seventh time. [31] The team got a new head coach in 2019 when Russell White was hired. A former coach at Crespi High School, White has coached players such as London Perrantes and De'Anthony Melton. [32]

The Los Angeles Lightning is a professional basketball team based at the Gilbert Sports Arena.

Women's basketball

The Regals basketball team plays its home contests at the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center.

Wrestling

In the mid-1960s, the college became known throughout the NAIA District III as a wrestling power. Coach Don Garrison had a group of nineteen wrestlers who in 1969 won 12 and lost 3 matches and thereby capturing the NAIA District III championship. Upon Garrison's resignation, the team began losing more than it won, the sport subsided and funding became uncertain. Former Olympic wrestler Buck Deadrich took over as coach in 1975 and the team consequentially began to move upwards again. Deadrich, who also served as the Sports Information Director, began recruiting wrestlers to the college. During his tenure, several of the CLC wrestlers competed in national events. Ed Fleming won silver in the Pan American Games in 1980. Kim Coddington won 16 of 20 matches in 1977 and qualified for the national champion. Upon Deadrich’ resignation, the wrestling program struggled for about two years before being eliminated as a competitive sport. [33] Football player Brian Kelley was named the NAIA District III heavyweight wrestling champion in 1970. [34]

Baseball

George Sparky Anderson Field. George sparky anderson field.jpg
George Sparky Anderson Field.
Players Drafted By MLB Teams [35]
2014Jake Petersen Los Angeles Angels
2009David Iden Los Angeles Dodgers
2007Lee Ellis Baltimore Orioles
2005 Matt Hirsh Houston Astros
2003Taylor SlimakLos Angeles Dodgers
2003 Jason Hirsh Houston Astros
2003Brian SkaugHouston Astros
2002Justin Keeling Minnesota Twins
2000Tom Canale Cleveland Indians
1999Adam Springston Atlanta Braves
1997Richard BellLos Angeles Dodgers
1997Tom McGeeBaltimore Orioles
1996Andrew Barber Colorado Rockies
1994Marc Weiss Cincinnati Reds
1992Darryl McMillin Kansas City Royals
1990Blake Babki New York Mets
1989Daren Cornell Milwaukee Brewers
1985Todd DeweyAtlanta Braves
1982John Westmoreland San Diego Padres
1981Mark ButlerBaltimore Orioles
1981 Kevin Gross Philadelphia Phillies
1977Gary Ledbetter New York Giants
1977Steve TrumbauerLos Angeles Angels
1969Robert Fulewider St. Louis Cardinals

On May 30, 2017, the Kingsmen won their first NCAA Division III baseball title under coach Marty Slimak. Cal Lutheran defeated Washington & Jefferson College 12–4 and 7–3 in the final two games of a best-of-three series, marking the team's sixth appearance in the championship round. [36] [37] [38] Slimak has been the head coach since 1994 and is the winningest coach in CLU's history. The team has earned seven Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) titles during his tenure and has never placed lower than fourth in the league standings. The team has recorded over twenty wins in all but one season and has not had a single losing season during Marty Slimak's tenure. He has guided three of his teams to the Division III College World Series, where they were the runner-up in 1996 and the third-place finisher in 1999. The Kingsmen have played in three West Regionals. Eleven players have been drafted by Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations during Slimak's tenure. [39] Besides the NCAA Division III national championship, Slimak has guided CLU to twelve conference championships, thirteen regional appearances and four World Series appearances. [40] He was selected as the American Baseball Coaches Association/Diamond National Division III Coach of the Year in 2017. [41] As of 2014, 24 players have been drafted for MLB organizations. [42]

Although Baseball Hall of Famer Sparky Anderson never attended CLU, he helped raise money for the baseball team. Anderson, the only manager in history to have won World Series championships in both the American and National Leagues, was approached by the team's coach in 1979 and came up with the idea of golf tournaments to raise money for scholarships. Anderson visited the campus regularly and the university baseball team plays their home games at George Lee "Sparky" Anderson Field, named in honor of the MLB coach. [43] [44] The university was a five-minute walk from Anderson's residence in Thousand Oaks. After his retirement, he became a frequent visitor to CLU games. [45]

Anderson has also used his influence to attract top names in the sport to the team. Several CLU players have been drafted for professional teams, including Kevin Gross who was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillis in 1983. [46] [47] Jason Hirsh was drafted by the Houston Astros in the second round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft. MLB baseball player Ron Stillwell was the baseball coach from 1972–1978, and had a record of 139–100–1 (.581) and was named "NAIA Coach of the Year" in 1976. [48] [49] Rich Hill was the head coach from 1983–1985, and Lindsay Meggs was the assistant baseball coach in 1988–89. [50]

A local baseball team, Conejo Oaks, which competes in the California Collegiate League (CCL), play their home games at the university's Ullman Stadium (George Lee "Sparky" Anderson Field). [51] [52] [53]

Men's track and field

The athletics facilities Athletics facilities cal lutheran university.jpg
The athletics facilities

Under the coaching of Don Green, men's track and field remained a perennial winner in the NAIA. A former coach at Pomona High School, Don Green joined CLC staff in 1970 as both a track coach and defensive football coach. In 1981, the team won the NAIA District III championship, and the track runners annually competed in nationwide events. 1984 was one of the college's best years in the national championship: Matt Carney finished sixth in the decathlon and earned an All American honor with 6,269 points. In sprint relays, the team finished in sixth place with a time of 42,2 fielding a team of Ken Coakley, Roger Nelson, Maurice Hamilton and Troy Kuretich all earning All American honors. [54] Green coached 44 All-Americans during his 21 years as coach of the track and field team. He has been inducted into the Mt. San Antonio Relays and Southern Section halls of fame. Besides a coach, he was also the college athletic director for five years in the 1970s. He retired in 1991. [55]

Under the guidance of three different head coaches from 2000–2010, Kingsmen track and field has sent multiple representatives to compete at the NCAA national championships. Over that decade, five athletes have earned individual SCIAC titles and sixteen have made All-SCIAC with a top-six finish at conference finals. [56]

Other sports

Poulson Tennis Center Poulson tennis center cal lutheran.jpg
Poulson Tennis Center
Samuelson Aquatics Center served as a training site of the 2008 and 2012 US Olympic Men's Water Polo teams. Samuelson Aquatics Center in California Lutheran University.JPG
Samuelson Aquatics Center served as a training site of the 2008 and 2012  US Olympic Men's Water Polo teams.

Other sports include golf, cross-country, water polo, lacrosse, softball, tennis, as well as swim and dive. The men's volleyball team experienced one of its best years in 1978 when it recorded a 15–3 season and entered the NAIA national playoffs, where the team placed fourth in the nation under Coach Bob Ward and his assistant Don Hyatt. One of the best seasons for the men's golf team was in the 1982–83 season when CLC finished seventeenth in the national competition in Texas. During the next season, Coach Bob Shoup sent Greg Osbourne to compete in the national competition in Michigan, where he ultimately finished fourth. [59] Osbourne captured the NAIA District III individual championship in 1984 and picked up All-America honors, and raised the bar for the program. [60] He later became a member of the PGA and President of United States Golf Corporation. [61] [62]

Men's soccer, which began as a club sport in the 1970s, was organized by Rolf Bell who wanted soccer to become an official sport at CLC. The team first gained recognition when Peter Schraml took over the program in 1978 and the team first recorded their 10–8 victory. Among the standout soccer players were Bruce Myhre, NAIA All Far West Honorable Mention and All District Second Team. Jack Carroll made All District First Team in 1984, while Chris Doheny earned Second Team All District Honors. Another notable player was Foster Campbell, who was named to the SCISA Northern League First Team. [63] Per Ivar Roald, a former member of the Norwegian national youth team, played soccer for the Kingsmen in 1993. In the fall, he led the team with nine goals and seven assists. [64] [65] Another player, Dave Salzwedel, later played in Major League Soccer and the American Professional Soccer League. In women's soccer, the Regals have won ten straight league championships. [66] Regals soccer was ranked No. 8 in the 2018 NCAA Division III Western regional poll. [67] It was also ranked No. 19 in the United States Soccer Coaches' national III. coaches poll in 2018. [68] On December 2, 2023 with the women’s soccer team 1-0 win over Washington University at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, Regals soccer won their first ever national championship in program history.

In women's cross-country, Cathy Fulkerson set a school record in 1982 and was the captain of the team for three years and a national AIAW qualifier for three years. Fulkerson won All-American honours at the AIAW nationals of 1979, and the women's team won the AIAW Regionals in 1981. Another standout in track and field was Beth Rockliffe who in 1981 won several school records, including in the high jump and javelin. The women's softball team hosted the NAIA District III championships in 1984 and Kim Peppi won All District honors for her pitching. [69] The head coach for the softball team is Debby Day, who also is the pitching coach for the Israeli National Team. [70] [71] A Regals lacrosse team will be added in the spring of 2020, making CLU the seventh university in SCIAC to compete in women's lacrosse. [72] [73]

The men's tennis team has captured NCAA singles (1996) and doubles (1997) titles. [74] Coach John Siemens Jr. helped the team achieve a number two ranking in the NAIA District III race, the highest tennis achievements for the college. Mike Gennette has been the women's and men's tennis head coach for 25 seasons and has coached players such as Kayla Day and Claire Liu. He received the 2016 Player Development Coach of the Year and received recognition from the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the United States Olympic Committee during the 2017 US Open. Gennette has coached 11 All-America honorees for the Kingsmen. [75]

A tryout by the Olympic USA Team Handball was held at the university in 2009. With over sixty athletes attending, it was the fourth such tryout organized by the sport's governing body and saw the biggest turnout. [76]

NCAA Championships

Since joining the SCIAC in 1991 until 2002, Cal Lutheran won 26 conference championships, averaging more than five per season. [77] As of 2019, CLU has won 55 league championships. [78]

As of April 28, 2024, Cal Lutheran has won four NCAA team national championships. [79]

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The 1977 NAIA Division II football season was the 22nd season of college football sponsored by the NAIA and the eighth season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football.

The 2017 NCAA Division III baseball tournament was played at the end of the 2017 NCAA Division III baseball season to determine the 42nd national champion of college baseball at the NCAA Division III level. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wisconsin for the championship. Eight regional tournaments were held to determine the participants in the World Series. Regional tournaments were contested in double-elimination format, with four regions consisting of six teams, and four consisting of eight, for a total of 56 teams participating in the tournament. The tournament champion was Cal Lutheran, who defeated Washington & Jefferson in the championship series in three games.

Robert F. Shoup is a retired American football coach and former player. He was the head coach at California Lutheran University from 1962 to 1989, compiling a career coaching record of 185–87–6. Shoup led Cal Lutheran to the NAIA Division II Football Championship in 1971. 186 of his players would later become coaches. He also helped to bring the Dallas Cowboys NFL team to the university. He was able to spend time around the team's players and coaches, including Tom Landry, and was able to pick up techniques for his team. Landry and Shoup also put together two major events each summer: a coaching clinic that drew as many as 500 people and a charity function known as the Christian Businessmen's Club Day. He was also the head coach for the college's golf program for ten years, 1976-1986.

Ben McEnroe is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at Thousand Oaks High School in Thousand Oaks, California, a position he had held since 2023. McEnroe served as the head football coach at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, from 2007 to 2021, compiling a record of 74–48. Prior to coaching at Cal Lutheran, he was the head football coach at Chaminade College Preparatory School in West Hills, California from 2003 to 2006.

Marty Slimak has been the head coach of the baseball team at California Lutheran University since 1994 when he replaced Rich Hill. During his tenure, he has guided the university to twelve conference championships, thirteen regional appearances, four World Series appearances and as of 2017, one NCAA Division III national championship. He has set a record for the most victories in school history. He is the winningest coach in CLU history and received his 700th win during his 25th season in 2018. Slimak has seen thirteen of his players drafted to the Majors. His playing days date to the 1970s when he played for former USC skipper Mike Gillespie at College of the Canyons. He also played football at the school before spending one season as a tight end on the UTEP Miners football team. Slimak then played two years for Dave Gorrie at UC Santa Barbara, where he earned his bachelor's degree. He earned his master's degree at Cal Lutheran in 1996. A Los Angeles native, he attended St. Genevieve High School.

Rich Rider is an American basketball coach. A men's coach at California Lutheran University, with 345 wins and three SCIAC championships. He has also been the assistant athletic director at the university. He retired in November 2016, after 22 years at Cal Lutheran. He accumulated a record of 345-207 in his 22 seasons at CLU with three conference championships and one NCAA Division III tournament appearance. His total record as head coach is 481-311 (.607). Prior to his tenure at Cal Lutheran, Rider coached in the Boise School District. Before that, he was an assistant coach at Boise State, serving under Bobby Dye. He was the head coach at Chapman University from 1973–82, accumulating a 136-104 record and earning an NCAA berth in 1978.

Donald Robert Green was the architect of the track and field team at California Lutheran University. Green coached 44 students that received All-American honours during his 21 years at Cal Lutheran. He has also coached football and track at Pomona High School, leading the track team there to an 117-meet winning streak. After twenty years at Pomona, he became head coach for California Lutheran's track team, which had never won a meet. He brought the team to 98 wins in a row over the next fifteen seasons while competing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Besides being the head track coach at California Lutheran, he was also an assistant football coach at there for nine years and the athletic director for five years in the 1970s. He filed an age-discrimination claim after he was forced to retire in 1991.

Greg Osbourne is an American actor and golfer who currently serves as the Director of Golf at Cal State Bakersfield. He was the head coach for the golf program at Glendale Community College from 2008-2013. Osbourne is a PGA Pro, a member of the Professional Golfers Association, and also the head pro at Chevy Chase Country Club. He is the head pro at De Bell Golf Club in Burbank. He was the president of United States Golf Corporation in 1992-95 and the president of Wisdom Golf Inc. from 1995-97. He is an actor recurring in the role as Greg on the NBC series Las Vegas.

The 1971 Cal Lutheran Kingsmen football team was an American football team that represented California Lutheran University as an independent during the 1971 NAIA Division II football season. In their tenth season under head coach Bob Shoup, the Kingsmen compiled an undefeated 8–0–2 record and won the NAIA Division II national championship, defeating Westminster (Pennsylvania), 30–14, in the championship game.

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