California Lutheran University is a private university in Thousand Oaks, California. It was founded in 1959 and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, but is nonsectarian. It opened in 1960 as California Lutheran College and was California's first four-year liberal arts college and the first four-year private college in Ventura County. It changed its name to California Lutheran University on January 1, 1986.
Ronald Jack Mix is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle. He is a member of the American Football League All-Time Team, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. Mix played college football for the USC Trojans, where he was named to the All American team. He played at right tackle and guard for the Los Angeles / San Diego Chargers of the American Football League (AFL) and also played for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). While playing in Oakland for the Raiders he was a part of the only offensive line in NFL history to be composed entirely all Hall of Famers. Art Shell, Gene Upshaw, Jim Otto, Ron Mix, and Bob Brown from left to right. An eight-time AFL All-Star (1961–1968) and a nine-time All-AFL (1960–1968) selection, he is also a member of the Los Angeles Chargers Hall of Fame.
Joseph Robert Garcia Kapp was an American football player, coach, and executive. He played college football as a quarterback for the California Golden Bears. Kapp played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Calgary Stampeders and the BC Lions and then in the National Football League (NFL) with the Minnesota Vikings and the Boston Patriots. Kapp led the BC Lions to their first Grey Cup Championship victory in 1964. With the Vikings, he led them to victory in the 1969 NFL Championship Game, the only league championship in team history. Kapp returned to his alma mater as head coach of the Golden Bears from 1982 to 1986. He was the general manager and president of the BC Lions in 1990.
Robert King Beathard Jr. was an American professional football executive who was the general manager for the Washington Redskins (1978–1988) and the San Diego Chargers (1990–2000) of the National Football League (NFL). His teams won four Super Bowls and competed in three others during his 38 years in the NFL, doing so with the Kansas City Chiefs (1966), Miami Dolphins, Redskins, and the Chargers (1994). Beathard was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Sam Cvijanovich is a former linebacker in the Canadian Football League. Cvijanovich was a notable player for the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen during the 1971 NAIA Division II Football National Championship. He has been named “the hardest hitter I’ve ever coached” by head coach Bob Shoup. Nicknamed "Jawbone", Cvijanovich was six foot and 205 lbs. He was later named NAIA District III Player of the Year in both his junior and senior years at Cal Lutheran. He was later drafted to the Canadian Football League after his collegiate career and was selected as the CFL Rookie of the Year in 1974 as a middle linebacker with the Toronto Argonauts. He set a record for interceptions by a linebacker as a rookie and played three seasons for Toronto before being traded to Vancouver. He ended his 1977 season and retired due to foot injuries.
Mike Sheppard is an American football coach and former player.
Brian Lee Kelley is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as a linebacker for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from 1973 to 1983. He was selected by the Giants in the 14th round of the 1973 NFL draft.
Henry John Bauer is an American sports broadcaster and former professional football player. He was a running back for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He was named NFL Special Teams Player of the Year three times. After his playing career, he became a television and radio broadcaster.
The 1971 NAIA Division II football season was the 16th season of college football sponsored by the NAIA and the second season of play of the NAIA's lower division for football. The season was played from August to November 1971 and culminated in the 1971 NAIA Division II Football National Championship, played on December 11, 1971 in Thousand Oaks, California, on the campus of California Lutheran University.
The 1971 Fresno State Bulldogs football team represented Fresno State College—now known as California State University, Fresno—as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Darryl Rogers, the Fresno State compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 3–2 in conference play, placing third in the PCAA. The Bulldogs played their home games at Ratcliffe Stadium on the campus of Fresno City College in Fresno, California.
The 1971 Pacific Tigers football team represented the University of the Pacific (UOP) in the 1971 NCAA University Division football season as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association.
The 1971 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos football team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Led by Andy Everest in his second and final season as head coach, the Gauchos compiled an overall record of 3–8 with a mark of 2–3 in conference play, tying for fourth place in the PCAA. The team played home games at Campus Stadium in Santa Barbara, California.
The 1975 Cal Poly Mustangs football team represented California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) during the 1975 NCAA Division II football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Joe Harper, Cal Poly compiled an overall record of 6–4 with a mark of 3–1 in conference play, placing second in the CCAA. The Mustangs played home games at Mustang Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California.
The 1971 UC Riverside Highlanders football team represented the University of California, Riverside as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) during the 1971 NCAA College Division football season. Led by Gary Knecht in his second and final season as head coach, UC Riverside compiled an overall record of 2–7–1 with a mark of record of 0–2 in conference play, placing last out of five teams in the CCAA. The team was outscored by its opponents 256 to 120 for the season. The Highlanders played home games at Highlander Stadium in Riverside, California.
The 1971 Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football team represented California State Polytechnic College, Kellogg-Voorhis—now known as California State Polytechnic University, Pomona—as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) during the 1971 NCAA College Division football season. Led by third-year head coach Roy Anderson, Cal Poly Pomona compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 1–3 in conference play, placing fourth in the CCAA. The team was outscored by its opponents 260 to 246 for the season. The Broncos played home games at Kellogg Field in Pomona, California.
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.
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.
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.
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.
