SMALL COLLEGES / LONNIE WHITE : After 100 Years, Football Is Still Fun at Occidental

In its first season of football in 1895, Occidental had the best college team in Southern California. The Tigers finished 5-0, and had a 10-0 victory over USC.

A hundred years later, Occidental no longer can compete with schools like USC or UCLA, but the Tigers’ football program is still going strong.

“In my mind, the kids who attend Occidental are quintessential student-athletes,” said football Coach Dale Widolff, whose Tigers are 1-1 this season after losing at Pomona-Pitzer, 37-21, last Saturday night in “the Game,” which is considered the oldest rivalry in college football west of the Mississippi River.

“They still love to play football, but education is most important to them. Our program is what intercollegiate athletics set out to be.”

Occidental, which plays in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, has a rich tradition of notable players and teams in its 100-year history:

--Jack Kemp, a former quarterback for the Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Bush administration, was a three-year starter for the Tigers in the late 1950s.

--Jim Mora, coach of the New Orleans Saints and NFL coach of the year in 1987, was on the same team as Kemp, playing tight end and defensive end for the Tigers. Mora also coached at Occidental from 1964-66, posting an 18-9 record.

--Vance Mueller, a former running back with the Los Angeles Raiders, who played on three undefeated teams at Occidental from 1979-82.

--The 1948 Occidental team that capped a 9-0 season with an upset of highly regarded Colorado A&M; in the Raisin Bowl behind the play of halfback John Trump and quarterback John Sanders.

“What makes Occidental so special is its family atmosphere,” said Mueller, who owns a fitness center in Northern California. “They really care about you, from the classroom to the football field to your personal life. They make sure that you’re successful in life. . . . That’s why I decided to go [to Occidental] and not go to a bigger school like Michigan, Nebraska or Stanford.”

After several down seasons in the late 1970s, Occidental’s program got a boost in 1982 when Widolff took over as head coach after two seasons as defensive coordinator.

In 14 seasons, Widolff is the winningest coach in school history with a 90-34-1 record, which includes six SCIAC titles and two Division III Region 5 coach-of-the-year awards.

“When I first made a visit to the campus, I had never heard of Occidental before,” Widolff said. “I was looking for a change and I liked the campus, but I never thought that I would stay this long.”

Senior Eddie Gordon, a four-year starter at defensive end, is glad Widolff did.

“Oxy has a great program where you have a lot of success playing and a lot of fun doing so,” said Gordon, who turned down offers to play at California, UC San Diego, Howard and Morehouse to play for the Tigers. “You get a chance to cultivate your talents here. I’m glad that I decided to attend here.”

Small College Notes

La Verne’s football domination in the SCIAC continued Saturday with a 51-7 victory over Menlo College. Anthony Jones and Anthony Rice rushed for two touchdowns each. . . . Cal State Bakersfield’s women’s volleyball team is ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II, with Cal State Los Angeles ranked No. 11. In men’s soccer, CS Bakersfield is ranked fourth, while CS Los Angeles is ranked 12th.

Mike Ashman has been named baseball coach at Cal Poly Pomona. . . . Azusa Pacific’s women’s soccer team is ranked 17th in the latest National Athletic Intercollegiate Assn. poll after victories over The Master’s and Cal Poly Pomona last week.