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Guide to the Athletics Department records
USDA_2008_018
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Table of contents
Creator:
University of San Diego Athletics Department
Title: Athletics Department records
Dates: 1956-1993
Physical Description: 2 boxes, (.75 linear feet)
Summary: This collection contains the historical records of the University of San Diego Athletics Department. Records include administrative
materials, newspaper clippings, and photographs.
Language of Material: English
Identification: USDA_2008_018
Fon Johnson served as the first athletic director and the first basketball coach for the College for Men in 1955. He oversaw
the creation of the football field which was completed in 1955. Gil Kuhn formed the USD Booster Club to help support the football
program and coached the inaugural year of football. Desire for a football program was lackluster, however, and the program
was discontinued in 1961. USD continued to compete in intercollegiate basketball, baseball, tennis, and golf. The athletic
program reintroducing football in 1973 with an anonymous donation of $115,000 also adding soccer around that time. With the
advent of Title IX in 1972, the athletics program grew to include female sports. Wendy Gilchrist competed in Tennis in 1971,
and Terry Fowler competed as the first female swimmer in 1973. In 1978, the athletics program began moving from NCAA Division
III to NCAA Division I, with the exception of the football program which remained Division III until 1993.
USD athletes were initially known as the Pioneers, but in 1961 the mascot changed to the Toreros. Torero is the Spanish word
for bullfighter, and was chosen in part as a signifier of courage, honor, and fidelity.
Shortly after the College for Men and College for Women merged, emphasis was placed on the Recreation component of the Athletics
Department. The aim was to provide extra-curricular activities for students as well as recreational activities for faculty,
staff and alumni.
This collection contains the historical records of the University of San Diego Athletics Department. Records include administrative
memos, meeting minutes, correspondence, programs, and historical information, as well as newspaper clippings related to USD
athletics. The records document the advancement of the athletics program, including budget planning, notable events such as
the reintroduction of the football program and the move to Division I, and documentation of the recreation program that served
the broader campus community.
Photographs and negatives from Crew Classics and a Crew alumni event are also included.
The Athletics Department records are arranged into three series:
Access Information
This collection is open for research.
[Folder Title], Box # Folder #, Athletics Department records, Copley Library, University of San Diego, Archives and Special
Collections.
Additional donations to this collection are expected.
This collection was processed by Tessie Camina in November 2008. Further processing was conducted by Ashley Toutain in 2016.
An album of 1986-1988 Crew photographs and negatives was located in 2019. These were removed from the album to archival sleeves
and folders for preservation.
Photographs of Paula Mascari have been separated from the collection and moved to photo storage.
Baseball uniforms of John Cunningham, a Torero Cheerleader uniform, signed basketball, and athletics scrapbooks can also be
found in the University Archives and Special Collections.
Athletics Media Guides have been digitized and are available on Digital USD.
Archived versions of the University of San Diego Athletics website are available on the University of San Diego Website Archive.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Mascari, Paula
Maher, Leo T.
Eagan, Brent
Cahill, Patrick
Jones, Alan M.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
University of San Diego
Subjects and Indexing Terms
San Diego (Calif.)
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Athletics
Football
Basketball
Baseball
Tennis
Rowing
sports
intercollegiate athletics
student life