Azusa is a city in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains and located 20 miles (32 km) east of downtown Los Angeles.
Michael Anthony Powell is an American former track and field athlete, the holder of the long jump world record, and a two-time world champion as well as two-time Olympic silver medalist in the event. His world record of 8.95 m was set on August 30, 1991.
Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private evangelical research university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The university's seminary, the Graduate School of Theology, holds to a Wesleyan-Arminian doctrinal theology. APU offers more than 100 associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs on campus, online, and at seven regional locations across Southern California.
Bryan Ezra Tsumoru Clay is an American decathlete who was the 2008 Summer Olympic champion for the decathlon and was also World champion in 2005.
Innocent Ejima Egbunike is a former sprinter from Nigeria.
David Allen Johnson is a former Olympic decathlete from the United States. A native of Montana, he grew up in Missoula and Corvallis, Oregon. He was part of Reebok's "Dan & Dave" advertising campaign, with fellow decathlete Dan O'Brien, leading up to the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where he won a bronze medal in the decathlon. After retiring from competitive athletics he became a school teacher and administrator, serving as athletic director of Corban University in Salem, Oregon starting in 2009. Johnson accepted a position as Director with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Oregon in June 2012. On November 14, 2012, Johnson resigned from Corban to devote more time to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He now coaches pole vault & hurdles at South Salem High School.
Jackie Ray Slater, nicknamed "Big Bad Jackie", is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played his entire career with the Rams franchise: 19 seasons in Los Angeles, from 1976 to 1994, and one game in St. Louis in 1995. Slater holds the record amongst all offensive linemen who have played the most seasons with one franchise.
Joseph Donald Barnett is an American retired college basketball coach. He was a former head basketball coach at several Division I institutions, the most high-profile being Virginia Commonwealth University, where his most notable win consisted of a buzzer-beater NCAA Tournament win over Jim Calhoun's Northeastern Huskies. He is also well known for being a mentor of Tubby Smith. Most notably, Barnett taught Smith the philosophy of ball-line defense, which is a strategy that requires all defenders to stay between the line of the ball and the baseline. His last head coaching position was in 2004–2005, when Barnett was both the head coach and athletic director at Division II Hawaii Pacific.
Douglas Shirl Barnett Jr. is a former American football center in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, the Los Angeles Rams, and the Atlanta Falcons. He played college football at Azusa Pacific University.
Victor Dalmuth Shealy is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach at Houston Christian University. He was previously the defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach at the University of Kansas. From 1995 to 1998, Shealy served as the head football coach at Azusa Pacific University, compiling a record of 27–14–1. In 1998, he coached the team to the NAIA Football National Championship. For his efforts that season, Shealy was named the NAIA Coach of the Year and the American Football Quarterly Schutt National Coach of the Year.
Pete Shinnick is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at the Towson University in Towson, Maryland. As the head coach of West Florida, Shinnick won the school's first football national championship in 2019. The football team began play in 2016. 2017 was a big year for Shinnick, as he led the University of West Florida Argonauts to the NCAA Division II playoffs, making them the fastest team to do so. He broke the record he held at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, that being three years. Shinnick also won the 2017 AFCA Region 2 Coach of the Year. He later won the 2017 AFCA Division II Coach of the Year. On December 21, 2019, Shinnick won the NCAA D-II National Championship with the UWF Argos in just the program's 4th year of existence.
The Azusa Pacific Cougars are the athletic teams that represent Azusa Pacific University, located in Azusa, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Pacific West Conference (PacWest) for most of its sports since the 2012–13 academic year; while its women's swimming & diving team competes in the Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference (PCSC) and its women's water polo team competes in the Golden Coast Conference (GCC). The Cougars previously competed in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1986–87 to 2011–12. On July 11, 2011 Azusa Pacific began the three-year transition process to becoming a member of the NCAA. Azusa Pacific University decided to end its football program in December 2020 due to financial restructuring.
The Azusa Pacific Cougars football program was a college football team that represented Azusa Pacific University. From 2012 to 2020, the team was a member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference of NCAA Division II. Prior to the 2012 season, the Cougars had been an independent program in the NAIA. The Cougars had 10 head coaches since their first recorded football game in 1965. Azusa Pacific University decided to end its football program in December 2020 due to financial restructuring. The most famous player to play for the Cougars is Christian Okoye.
Victor Santa Cruz is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for JSerra Catholic High School, a position he has held since 2023. He was the defensive ends coach at Hawaii in 2021. Prior to that, he was the head football coach at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California from 2006 to 2019.
Jerry Sconce is a former American football coach and convicted criminal. He was the fifth head football coach at Azusa Pacific College—now known as Azusa Pacific University—in Azusa, California, serving for six seasons, from 1972 to 1977. and compiling a record of 24–31.
Robert David Damewood was an American football coach. He was the fourth head football coach at Azusa Pacific College—now known as Azusa Pacific University—in Azusa, California, serving for two seasons, from 1970 to 1971, and compiling a record of 7–10.
David Drake was an American football coach. He was the second head football coach at Azusa Pacific College—now known as Azusa Pacific University—in Azusa, California, serving for one season, in 1966, and compiling a record of 5–4.
Terrell Anthony Watson is a former American football running back. He played college football at Azusa Pacific. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2015.
David Canales is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Azusa Pacific and served as a longtime assistant coach with the Seattle Seahawks under Pete Carroll. Canales also was an assistant strength coach with the USC Trojans and offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The 1998 Azusa Pacific Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Azusa Pacific University as an independent during the 1998 NAIA football season. In their fourth and final season under head coach Vic Shealy, the Cougars compiled a 12–2 record and won the NAIA national championship.
United States
