Chico State Wildcats

Chico State Wildcats
Logo
UniversityCalifornia State University, Chico
ConferenceCCAA (primary)
NCAADivision II
LocationChico, California
Varsity teams13 (6 men's, 7 women's)
Football stadiumUniversity Stadium
Basketball arenaArt Acker Gymnasium
Baseball stadiumNettleton Stadium
Softball stadiumWildcat Softball Field
Soccer stadiumUniversity Soccer Stadium
NicknameWildcats
Fight songChico State Fight Song
ColorsCardinal and white[1]
   
Websitechicowildcats.com
Team NCAA championships
7
Individual and relay NCAA champions
65

The Chico State Wildcats (also CSU Chico Wildcats and Cal State Chico Wildcats) are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Chico, located in Chico, California, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Wildcats compete as an associate member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association for all 13 varsity sports. Since 1998, Chico State’s athletic teams have won 99 NCAA Championship berths, 40 CCAA titles, 24 West Region titles and 15 National titles.[2] The school finished third in the 2004–2005 NACDA Director's Cup.

Varsity sports

Men's sports Women's sports
Baseball Basketball
Basketball Cross country
Cross country Golf
Golf Soccer
Soccer Softball
Track and field† Track and field†
Volleyball
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor.

Baseball

The Chico State baseball team plays at the 4,100–seat Nettleton Stadium, known as Ray Bohler Field until its 1997 renovation. The Wildcats won the NCAA Division II national title in 1997 and 1999, and was runner-up in 2002 and 2006; all four appearances in the finals were under head coach Lindsay Meggs.[3] The head coach since 2007 is Dave Taylor.[4] Big Blue Bird is the 2019 All Star.

Softball

The Wildcats softball team won the first AIAW Division III national championship in 1980, led by pitcher Kathy Arendsen.[5]

Men's soccer

The men's soccer reached the Division II College Cup final in 2003, losing 2–1 to Lynn University.

Championships

Appearances

Former visual image
Logo 2015–2020
Wordmark 2015–2020

The Chico State Wildcats competed in the NCAA Tournament across 13 active sports (6 men's and 7 women's) 220 times at the Division II level.[6]

  • Baseball (20): 1978, 1987, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018
  • Men's basketball (14): 1958, 1974, 1981, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
  • Women's basketball (13): 1987, 1988, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014
  • Men's cross country (24): 1969, 1972, 1973, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
  • Women's cross country (21): 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
  • Men's golf (17): 1963, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016
  • Women's golf (1): 2009
  • Men's soccer (13): 1972, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1986, 1992, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2018
  • Women's soccer (8): 1992, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2017, 2018
  • Softball (12): 1982, 1983, 1984, 2002, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
  • Men's outdoor track and field (45): 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
  • Women's outdoor track and field (27): 1982, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993• 1994, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
  • Women's volleyball (5): 1992, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2016

Team

The Wildcats of Chico State earned 6 NCAA championships at the Division II level and one NCAA championship at the Division III level.[7]

Results

School year Sport Opponent Score
1965–66 Men's golf Lamar 1,206–1,207
1972–73 Men's swimming and diving UC Irvine 262–212
1973–74 Men's swimming and diving UC Davis 285–227
1974–75 Men's swimming and diving Johns Hopkins 465-209
1975–76 Men's swimming and diving CSU Northridge 428–283
1996–97 Baseball Central Oklahoma 13–12
1998–99 Baseball Kennesaw State 11–5

Chico State won 1 national championship at the Division III level.[7]

  • Men's swimming and diving: 1975

Below is one national championship that were not bestowed by the NCAA:

  • Softball – Division III (1): 1980 (AIAW)

Below are five national club team championships:

Individual

Chico State had 59 Wildcats win NCAA individual championships at the Division II level.[7]

At the NCAA Division III level, Chico State garnered 6 individual championships.[7]

Former varsity sports

Football

Chico State ended its football program in 1997, citing rising insurance costs, in addition to an increased bias in favor of other athletic programs.[15][16]

College Football Hall of Fame

College Football Hall of Fame
Name Position Year Inducted Ref
Mike Bellotti Head Coach 1984-1988 2014 [17]

Swimming & diving

CSU Chico won the NCAA Division II national championships in men's swimming and diving in 1973, 1974 and 1976. In 1975, the program was moved to Division III despite objections by the team, its coach and the community at large. The team responded by winning the Division III Championship with a record number of points (465), and the largest margin of victory to that point by an NCAA Swimming program. In 1976, back in Division II, the team set a record for total points scored by a Division II swim team (428) while winning their 4th straight NCAA team championship. The program was eliminated after the 1991 season. At that time, the team had finished in the top 7 at the NCAA championship meet for 19 straight years, 16 of those finishes being top 4 or better.

Other sports

Rugby

Chico State's team plays college rugby in Division I-AA in the California Conference, playing alongside Fresno State, Stanford, San Jose State, UNR, and Sacramento State.

In 2001, the women's rugby team won a Division I national championship.

In 2019, the men's rugby team won the Pacific West Conference and went on to the Division I-AA national championship game.

References

  1. ^ "2016–17 Chico State WBB Media Guide" (PDF). March 22, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  2. ^ "Competing with NCAA Elite - Best of Chico State - CSU, Chico". Csuchico.edu. Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
  3. ^ "Taylor takes the reins at Chico State". Chico Enterprise-Record. July 26, 2006. Retrieved January 4, 2007.
  4. ^ "Baseball media guide" (PDF). Chico State Athletics. 2014. pp. 1–8.
  5. ^ "The Hall of Fame Committee Salutes the 1980 Softball Team" (PDF). Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  6. ^ "NCAA Championships Statistics". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d "Championships Summary" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag "NCAA Division II Men's Swimming and Diving Championships Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "NCAA Division II Men's Outdoor Track Championships Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  10. ^ a b c d "NCAA Championships Records (Discontinued Sports)" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  11. ^ "NCAA Division II Women's Swimming and Diving Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "NCAA Division II Women's Outdoor Track Championships Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  13. ^ a b c "NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  14. ^ "NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Championships Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  15. ^ Murphy, Sean; Kinmartin, Patrick (February 3, 2007). "Chico State football: 10 years gone, and not likely to..." Chico Enterprise-Record. Retrieved January 4, 2007.
  16. ^ Murphy, Sean (February 3, 2007). "Final coach looks back at the end". Chico Enterprise-Record. Retrieved January 4, 2007.
  17. ^ "Mike Bellotti (2014) - Hall of Fame".
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