NCAA Division III college football may be experiencing a revival in Southern California.
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The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced the addition of Azusa Pacific and Whittier for the upcoming season, bringing the state’s only D3 conference back to its pre-COVID number with eight teams.
“I’m thrilled that more young men will get to experience the same kind of transformation I did,” said former National Football League Pro Bowl running back Christian Okoye, an Azusa Pacific alum. “I’m thrilled that Homecoming will include a football game again.”
Azusa Pacific dropped its football program in 2020 but maintained its standing in Division II with its other sports. After five years, the Cougars are bringing back football and moving to D3, having received a unanimous vote from the other SCIAC institutions’ presidents.
“The return of football is momentous,” APU president Adam J. Morris said. “We are confident that our membership in SCIAC and transition to Division 3 will allow us to continue our athletic excellence and build a successful and competitive football program.”
APU hired A.J. Parnell as head coach last June, allowing the first-time head coach time to hire assistants and hit the recruiting trail.
Most recently the quarterbacks and running back coach at D2 Winona (Minn.) State, Parnell previously spent seven seasons on staff at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn., helping the program to four NCAA D3 playoff appearances and two elite eight finishes.
“APU has a rich tradition, and I’m excited to contribute to its legacy,” Parnell said. “As we enter this new era of Division 3, we are committed to upholding the high competitive standard that Cougar football has always represented.”
Azusa Pacific sponsored football for more than 60 years and moved onto the national stage in the 1980s, nearly making the NAIA playoffs in 1985 with Okoye. The Cougars finally earned a playoff berth in 1998, running the table all the way to its only NAIA championship.
The Cougars advanced to the NAIA playoffs another seven times, including a pair of semifinal appearances, and also qualified for the NCAA D2 playoffs twice.
Whittier pulled football after the 2022 season for financial reasons. The Poets had played 115 years of football to that point, and it wasn’t until a groundswell of support raised more than $800,000 that the program was revived.
“We are thrilled to welcome football back to Whittier College,” Whittier College president Kristine Dillon said. “This program has been an integral part of our history, and its return will energize campus life, re-engage our alumni, and offer prospective students another compelling reason to join the Poet family.”
Whittier hired Cory White as head coach in February, confirming rumors of the program’s return. White was recently an assistant coach at Northern Illinois and holds a master’s degree from Whittier College. He also spent two seasons on the Whittier coaching staff from 2004-’06.
“It’s a major credit to our college leadership and the vision for the future of Whittier College,” White said. “My staff and I could not be more excited.”
With as rich of a football history as any D3 school on the West Coast, White follows all-time great coaches George Allen and Don Coryell, two Pro Football Hall of Famers. The first D3 program to sign an NIL deal, Whittier owns 27 SCIAC football championships.
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The conference will revert to a single table after adopting the three-team “Surf” and “Sun” divisions each of the last three seasons.
Last season’s SCIAC champion, Chapman, went on an unbeaten run through conference and beat Whitworth (Wash.) in the first round of the D3 tournament before falling in the second round at University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
Pomona-Pitzer (5-5 overall, 4-4 SCIAC) was yards ahead of La Verne (1-8, 1-7) but both were well behind Chapman (9-3, 8-0) in the Surf Division.
In the Sun Division, Redlands (6-4, 4-4) got a late-season 30-24 double-overtime win over Cal Lutheran but neither the Bulldogs nor Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (5-5, 3-5) could touch Chapman.
Founded in 1977, a SCIAC representative has yet to win a D3 football national championship
INLAND JUCOS SET FOR KICKOFF
Each of the local junior college teams start their seasons this Saturday.
Three-time state and national champion Riverside City College is preparing for Year 2 under head coach Kevin Craft.
Following RCC’s first four-loss season (7-4) in more than a decade, Craft reports that third-year sophomore Christopher Cooper (Beaumont High) will share time at quarterback with Tyler Lewis, an incoming freshman transfer from Colorado State.
“It’s been Chris and Tyler kind of battling it out this preseason,” Craft said. “Those two are a little bit above everybody else.”
The Tigers will play for the final time at soon-to-be-demolished Veteran’s Stadium against Long Beach City at 6 p.m.
Just a few months after finishing 7-4 and playing in a bowl game for the first time since 2019, San Bernardino Valley College had an influx of more than 200 potential players during summer workouts; a radical change from just 2 years ago when the program was shuttered after injuries decimated an already thin roster.
Sophomore receiver Derek Conn (King High) has emerged as a primary target for the Wolverines, who lost to Antelope Valley in last year’s Western State Bowl but get a rematch in the season opener in Lancaster at 6 p.m.
Sophomore 6-foot-3, 300-pound offensive lineman Noah Tandy (Etiwanda High) transferred from Idaho State and has Chaffey College looking to bounce back after losing eight consecutive games to end last year. The Panthers, just 1-9 in coach Ben Buys’ second season, host Citrus at 6 p.m.
The quarterback competition between former Southwestern League prep rivals Julian Silva (Murrieta Mesa High) and Cole Vasquez (Great Oak High) continues at Mt. San Jacinto College this season. The duo combined for more than 2,000 passing yards as freshmen and are likely to again split time.
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The Eagles, 1-9 last season, kick off at Golden West at 12 p.m.