Santa Clara University was founded in 1851 by the Society of Jesus as Santa Clara College and is California’s oldest operating institution of higher learning. It was established on the grounds of Mission Santa Clara de Asìs, the eighth of the original 21 California missions. The college originally operated as a preparatory school and did not offer courses of collegiate rank until 1853. The institution became known as the University of Santa Clara in 1912, when the schools of engineering and law were added. For 110 years, Santa Clara University was an all-male school. In 1961, women were accepted as undergraduates and Santa Clara University became the first coeducational Catholic university in California. The number of students and faculty tripled over the next decade and the university began the largest building program in school history with eight residence halls, a student union, and an athletic stadium. In the early 1970s, the Board of Trustees voted to limit the size of the undergraduate population, an action that was intended to preserve the character and ensure the quality of the university for generations to come. In 1985, the university adopted Santa Clara University as its official name.

Santa Clara's football history stretched from 1896 until 1992. In its first decade, football was run largely as a student-led club activity, and there is no official record of Santa Clara playing between 1898 and 1902. Between 1902 and 1905 games were held with other clubs, high schools, and military schools, with one varsity game against Stanford. Football, then as now, was a brutal sport. Due to mounting injuries and deaths, President Theodore Roosevelt threatened to ban the sport unless rules and protections were put into place. A long process of governmental and academic negotiation led to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) being formed in 1910. During this time many colleges, including Santa Clara, instituted rugby as a replacement sport for football.

The Santa Clara University rugby club was established in 1907, following the temporary disbandment of the men’s football program from 1905-1919. The club quickly rose to the ranks of a notable rugby program, ending the 1916 season with a 10-0 record. The rugby club’s success was overshadowed by the re-establishment of the men’s football program in 1919, as well as the establishment of other sports on campus in later years, such as the men’s soccer program. It wasn’t until the 1960s that the rugby program was revived under a new name, Santa Clara University Touring Side (SCUTS). By the 1970s, the men’s rugby club had become Bay Area champions. In 2006, under the leadership of Chris Kron, SCUTS placed 9th in the Division II Sweet Sixteen tournament. The following season, the team was invited to participate in Division I play, where it currently competes against Stanford, Chico State, and Sacramento State for league standings and national championship consideration.

The men’s football program was discontinued in 1993. The men’s rugby program continues at Santa Clara University to this day.

Bibliography

McKevitt, Gerald, S.J. The University of Santa Clara: A History, 1851-1977. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1979.

Santa Clara University. “About SCU – History.” http://www.scu.edu/about/history.cfm (Accessed Nov. 23, 2010)

Santa Clara University. “Santa Clara Men’s Rugby.” http://www.santaclararfc.com/teams/238899-Santa-Clara-RFC-rugby-team-website/pages/90651 (Accessed March 12, 2015)