An Introduction to the SCIAC

The future of small conference scheduling lives here

The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC - "Sky-ack") is the most LA conference you've probably never heard of.

Operating at the Division 3 level, the full conference consists of 9 members, but beginning this fall, only 6 programs will be playing football. It's so LA that none of the programs will actually be playing football *in* LA, but in the surrounding cities that most people would just assume are part of Los Angeles.

It is worth mentioning that 4 of the member schools (Cal Lutheran, La Verne, Redlands, and Whittier) are designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). This is a federal designation defined as an accredited, degree-granting, public or private non-profit institution with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time equivalent student enrollment. It is not surprising that the majority of these institutions would be along the southwest border across California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, though there are a surprisingly number of HSI schools in Connecticut and Illinois.

We will begin out school overview with the SCIAC members that won’t be playing football this fall.

California Institute of Technology Beavers - Pasadena

2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 987

2020 Census Population - 138,699

Founded in 1891, this school is probably most notable in pop culture as being the named university setting of The Big Bang Theory. They did briefly have a football program from 1973-1977 [I have discovered that the Wikipedia article was very much wrong about the football program. I regret the error and those responsible have been sacked] The Caltech football program began all the way back in 1893 and continued playing varsity ball through the 1968 season. From 1969 to 1993 the program existed in a more casual capacity as they were not official SCIAC members and played an assortment of Junior Varsity, club level, and recreational teams.

Their Men's Basketball program is probably best known for losing 207 consecutive D3 matchups and failing to win a single conference game from 1985 until February of 2011. But these athletic failings are not really a concern for the prestigious academic institution.

They still operate a full athletic program outside of football with 266 of 987 undergraduates participating in the 2021-22 school year.

Whittier College Poets - Whittier

2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 1,273

2020 Census Population - 87,306

Founded in 1887, Whittier College began its life as a Quaker-associated institution, named for Quaker abolitionist and poet John Greenleaf Whittier. Though no longer officially associated with the Religious Society of Friends, some of the core values continue to guide the school. One notable alumni of the school is former President Richard Nixon, who played football at Whittier in the early 1930’s, though the Watergate scandal betrayed his Quaker roots.

The football program at Whittier operated from 1907 until the end of the 2022 season where they chose to cease sponsorship of the sports. In that time they had periods of success with 26 SCIAC and were coached by Pro Football Hall of Famers George Allen (1951-1956) and Don Coryell (1957-1959). The program had struggled in recent years and its end was disappointing but not entirely unexpected.

Occidental College Tigers - Los Angeles

2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 1,930

2020 Census Population - 3,898,747

The only school in the conference to actually be within the Los Angeles city limits, Occidental College was founded in 1887 alongside Whittier and thus they were each others primary rival through history. The school was attended by Barack Obama before he transferred to Columbia, and the campus has been used in film on multiple occasions.

The football program suffered a slow death - in 2017 games were cancelled due to Occidental not having enough healthy players and after a 1-8 campaign in 2019 the program ceased operation before the 2020 season was officially cancelled.

I would like to see the return of football to Whittier and Occidental but given ongoing questions about the financial viability of football and an uncertain future for college athletics, it could be some time before the idea is entertained by the schools.

Hitting the Field

As for the 6 schools that currently do sponsor football, this coming season in the Fall of 2023 is introducing an interesting wrinkle that I believe will add excitement to the regular season.

The 6 teams will be separated into 2 3-team pods, the Surf and Sun, resulting in the final week of the regular season to become Championship Week. There will be a matchup of 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2, and 3 vs 3. The Championship matchup will be hosted by the team with the better overall record, or the team that won the previous meeting in the case of identical records. It appears that the 3rd and 5th place match home sides will alternate every year, and the pod organization may be open to reassessment every other year.

So let's take a look at the 6 programs that will be participating in SCIAC football for the foreseeable future.

University of La Verne Leopards - La Verne

2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 2,891

2020 Census Population - 31,063

The history of the University of La Verne dates back to 1891, before the city had been incorporated as La Verne. At this time, the small agricultural town was named Lordsburg and the school Lordsburg College, but after both the town and school had grown, they were renamed to La Verne in 1917.

An interesting chapter in its history had the school open a satellite campus in Athens, Greece in 1975. This campus was primarily for children of US Military personnel. By 2004, the school was considered one of the best private, English-speaking schools in Greece. Unfortunately, the campus was suddenly shut down in 2004 with only 48 hours notice given to faculty and students.

Overall, the La Verne football program has not had much success in recent history, outside of an undefeated conference schedule in 2015 followed by a loss in the first round of the Division 3 playoffs. They call Ortmayer Stadium home, an older and fairly spartan track and field facility, though it was given a facelift in 2012 including the installation of a turf field.

California Lutheran University Kingsmen - Thousand Oaks

2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 2,516

2020 Census Population - 126,966

One of the youngest schools of the SCIAC, Cal Lutheran was founded in 1959 to the northwest of Los Angeles. The school was born in response to a need for a 4-year institution for Lutherans, as the state was flush with Protestant and Roman Catholic schools following the college enrollment boom post-WW2. Though many private schools that were founded with a religious affiliation have moved to being officially nonsectarian, Cal Lutheran has kept their official Lutheran affiliation.

The most notable period of time in the history of the Cal Lutheran football program came under Head Coach Bob Shoup from 1962-1989, including an NAIA Division 2 Championship in 1971. The school would later be referred to as "the cradle of coaches" as 186 former players would become coaches, including Dave Aranda (currently the head coach at Baylor) and Tom Herman (currently the head coach at Florida Atlantic).

The campus is home to arguably the most attractive football facility in the conference, William Rolland Stadium. Opened in 2011, the stadium is joined to the William Roland Gallery of Fine Art and features seating for 2000 with a tower in the southeast corner and a clear view of the hills to the west. The program won the SCIAC Championship in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 but has struggled to find the same sort of success in recent years.

University of Redlands Bulldogs - Redlands

2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 2,249

2020 Census Population - 73,168

Established in 1907, the origins of the University of Redlands are tied to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Though currently secular, in the beginning it was a Baptist-affiliated institution and it was the 1906 earthquake that damaged the finances of California College and so a Baptist commission sought to liquidate that school as well as Los Angeles University. And so with that liquidation, the Redlands Board of Trade was persuaded to donate at least $100,00 and 40 acres for the creation of a new interdenominational campus.

In terms of enrollment, Redlands is the smallest of the football-playing institutions, excluding the Claremont Colleges. Ted Runner Stadium is another simple track and field combination stadium, though one of a dwindling number with a natural grass surface. In recent history, the school also operates regional locations throughout California with an emphasis on serving working adults seeking to improve their education.

Chapman University Panthers - Orange

2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 7,148

2020 Census Population - 139,911

By far the largest university of the SCIAC, the school began classes on March 4, 1861 which coincided with the first inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, and was quite open about being non-discriminatory in their admissions. The schools also changed names many times, beginning its life as Hesperian College, then Pierce Christian College, to Berkeley Bible Seminary, California Bible College, California School of Christianity, and California Christian College until 1934. At that point the institution finally got its Chapman moniker, as Chapman College from 1934 until 1991 where it became Chapman University. The school is classed as an R2 Doctoral University - High Research Activity, second only to Caltech's R1 designation among SCIAC members.

It's interesting that Chapman has a higher admission rate than most, accepting 53.6% of applicants in 2018, but some of this may be due to being a much larger school than their SCIAC cohorts, with undergraduate enrollment consistently over 7,000.

Although the football program hasn't found much success on a national stage, they did go undefeated in conference play in 2014, 2017, and 2019. The program looks to be a favorite to win the SCIAC championship this season as they return QB Nathaniel Espinoza, arguably the top QB in the conference.

The Panthers also play in what I believe to be the second best stadium in the conference, Ernie Chapman Stadium, which has a slightly odd arrangement with a large amount of turf extending past the south endzone and seating that is somewhat higher than normal and a part of the surrounding buildings behind each sideline. It’s still an attractive, modern facility nestled into the urban landscape.

The Claremont Colleges - Claremont

2020 Census Population - 37,266

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags (CMS Stags)

Claremont McKenna College - 2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 1,409

Harvey Mudd College - 2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 905

Scripps College - 2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 1,095

Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens

Pomona College - 2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 1,747

Pitzer College - 2021/22 Undergraduate Enrollment - 1,132

This is one of the most interesting situations in all of college athletics. The 5 colleges of Claremont are all reasonably small institutions, but they have grown together across a single sprawling campus where they even share some facilities.

Pomona College was the original institution of the consortium, founded in 1887 by "a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a 'college of the New England type' in Southern California". Over time, enrollment has reached levels around 1,700 while maintaining the lowest acceptance rate of any liberal arts college in the United States. Adjusting its endowment for the relatively low enrollment, Pomona College is also the seventh wealthiest college or university in the US per student. Historically, the school was more open to a properly diverse student body than most, enrolling its first Asian and Black students in 1897 and 1900, respectively.

The second school of the group came in 1926 as Scripps College opened its doors as a women's college, offering a slightly different college experience to Pomona. The most recent figures presented by Scripps show zero male undergraduates and just 10 at the graduate level. Though I can't see anything preventing male undergrads, it appears the history of the school has carried the tradition forward.

In what could have been a direct response to Scripps College, Claremont McKenna was founded in 1946 as a men's college, though it did become coeducational in 1976. That original undergrad class of pioneers graduated with their degrees still holding the name of "Claremont Men's College" before the name change in 1981. The school has had a slightly more controversial history as well as more lenient policies than have allowed for a more active party scene, which has drawn some criticism.

1955 brought Harvey Mudd College into the Claremont landscape with a primary focus on science and engineering. With an enrollment under 1000, admissions are highly competitive, and the school has a tradition of an intense academic culture - to a fault. Concerns voiced by the student body regarding their mental health were heard by the administration which did state they would look at ways to "ease pressure on students without sacrificing rigor".

The youngest of the 5 colleges, and of the entire SCIAC, Pitzer College was founded in 1963 as a women's college. This didn't last long as the school became officially co-educational in the fall of 1970. Like the rest of the Claremont Colleges, the majority of students live on campus with stricter policies towards first and second year students compared to juniors or seniors. One such restriction is that first and second year students are not permitted to bring cars to campus, though the "all-inclusive" nature of the campus as well as the urban setting would presumably allow for public transport to ease any reliance on a personal vehicle while being a student.

For athletics, the student bodies are pooled to create two separate athletic programs, which of course have a deep rivalry with each other. It's interesting that the two programs do not share a football field facility, though the two stadiums are only a few hundred yards apart and across the street from each other.

Pomona-Pitzer plays their home games on the natural grass surface of Merritt Field on the south side of E 6^th St with simple bleachers behind each sideline. The Sagehens represented the SCIAC in the Division 3 Playoffs last season after defeating CMS in the final week of the regular season, though they lost handily to the Northwest Conference Champion Linfield Wildcats.

On the north side of E 6^th St, the Stags of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps play their games on John Zinda Field at Fritz B. Burns Stadium. This is another combination track and field facility with fairly minimal seating, but they have maintained a natural grass surface as well.

Given that the two programs were placed in separate pods for this coming football season, I would have to imagine that the conference would love to see the two meet in the SCIAC Championship Game in November.

How to Watch

The good news is that at this time, it appears that all SCIAC home football games will be streamed for free through the SCIAC Network backed by Hudl/Blueframe. The audio and video quality varies between program, but at this time I believe Chapman is the gold standard for Division 3 football streaming. They offer a 1080p60 stream with multiple camera angles, great clarity, and a 2-person commentary booth with a high quality and informative scorebug.

With the strong focus on academics, and without athletic scholarships at the Division 3 level, it is unfortunate that these programs can't easily take advantage of the talent available through the CCCAA or NJCAA. That being said, the SCIAC is strongly representative of D3 values and has the tight regionality that I love to see in college athletics.

A Solution to a Problem

Beyond the creation of a conference championship game, the pod-based scheduling means that a team will play home and away games against their pod-mates (4 games) and then single games against the opposing pod (3 games). In total, this creates an 8-game conference schedule out of a 6-tream conference that feels balanced and logical.

It’s worth noting that this pod-based scheduling also translates to an 8-team conference. This would create a 10-game conference schedule *without* a championship game, so decisions would need to be made there. You could let the head-to-head matchup of the teams which end up leading their pod be the deciding factor for the conference playoff bid, or let the selection committee make their choice.

This new scheduling format for SCIAC football only creates a need for 12 out-of-conference games, and this is easily fulfilled with a home and away date against Northwest Conference opposition. This means that each program will only need to make 1 trip outside of the Greater LA area each year, other than any potential D3 Playoff games. Though for this season, the CMS Stags’ one road trip out-of-conference is their season opener at the University of Chicago. This will help to manage operating expenses and hopefully help football survive in the conference through a changing landscape.

Streaming has created an incredible opportunity for the exposure of small-college athletics, and I am quite excited for this coming Fall.