The Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks are the 12 varsity athletic teams that represent California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, located in Arcata, California, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Lumberjacks compete as an associate member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association for all sports except women's rowing, which competes in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and women's triathlon, which competes unaffiliated.

Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks
Logo
UniversityCalifornia State Polytechnic University, Humboldt
ConferenceCCAA (primary)
GNAC (rowing)
NCAADivision II
Athletic directorDr. Nick Pettit
LocationArcata, California
Varsity teams13 (5 men's, 8 women's)
Football stadiumRedwood Bowl
Basketball arenaLumberjack Arena
Softball stadiumHumboldt Softball Field
Soccer stadiumCollege Creek Soccer Field
NicknameLumberjacks
ColorsGreen and gold[1]
   
Websitehumboldtathletics.com
Team NCAA championships
6[2]

Varsity sports

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Men's sports Women's sports
Basketball Basketball
Cross country Cross country
Football Rowing
Soccer Soccer
Track and field Softball
Track and field
Volleyball
† – Cal Poly Humboldt only sponsors outdoor track & field for both men and women.

Basketball

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Recently the men's basketball team achieved its first-ever West Region title and advancement to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II for the first time in the program's 81-year history.

The men's head coach is Chris Tifft, and the women's head coach is Michelle Bento-Jackson.

Softball

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CPH's softball team has qualified for the NCAA post-season 18 times between 1990 and 2008, capturing the national championship in 1999 and in 2008.

Rowing

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The women's rowing team claimed the NCAA Division II national rowing championship title in 2012, 2014, and 2023. In 2012 they took first in both the varsity 8 and varsity 4 boats. In 2014 the varsity 8 was first, and the varsity 4 took third.[3] In 2023 they swept every category, winning both the four and eight heats, as well as the four and eight finals. In 2011 the team finished third overall at the national championships, placing second in the varsity 4 and third in the varsity 8.[4] The women's rowing program advanced both its varsity 4 and varsity 8 boats to the NCAA Championships in 2004, with the varsity 4 earning the individual boat national title and the varsity 8 placing second at nationals. In 2024 they finished in fourth, but needed one more point to tie for third, and three more points to tie for first. This likely was a result of Cal Poly Humboldt excelling in the heats, but falling short in the finals that year. Women's rowing became an intercollegiate sport at Cal Poly Humboldt in 1994.[5]

1994 Club Sport Emerges as an NCAA Division II Intercollegiate Team

2003 NCAA Division II National Championships ~ Finalist

2004 Division II National Championships ~ Finalist / National Champions 4+

2010 WIRA Team Champions

2011 NCAA Division II National Championships ~ Finalist

2012 NCAA Division II National Champions

2014 NCAA Division II National Champions

2015 NCAA Division II National Championships ~ Finalist

2017 WIRA Team Champions

2018 WIRA Team Champions

2019 WIRA Team Champions

Track and field

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The Lumberjacks have produced national champions and All-Americans in cross country and track and field. In 1980, the school's first year in Division II, the CPH men's cross country team claimed a national title. A year later, cross country runner Mark Conover earned the individual crown and later represented the US as a marathoner in the 1988 Summer Olympic Games.[6] The women's track and field team, led by future 1928 Olympic sprinter, Elta Cartwright, won the 1926 national championship meet conducted in telegraphic form by the Women's National Collegiate and Scholastic Track Association.[7]

Football

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Cal Poly Humboldt won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in 2011 and 2015. The championship in 2015 led them to the Division II playoffs, during which they made it to the second round before losing to eventual champion Northwest Missouri State. The Lumberjacks played their home games in the Redwood Bowl. Their biggest rivals in football were Western Oregon and Azusa Pacific. The university dropped football in 2018.


2015 season

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The 2015 season was one of the most successful in Cal Poly Humboldt history. The Lumberjacks won 10 games, 9 in the regular season, en route to a perfect 6–0 GNAC record, and the conference championship. For the first time in school history, CPH hosted an NCAA Division II home playoff game, played against Augustana University. The Lumberjacks defeated Augustana by a score of 45–31 to secure the first DII playoff victory since 1960. They lost their second round matchup with top seed and eventual champion Northwest Missouri State 54–7.

The season saw individual success as well, as running back Ja'Quan Gardner was named an All-American and finished as the runner-up in the Harlon Hill Trophy, the Division II version of the Heisman Trophy. Gardner rushed for 2,266 yards on 337 carries, both GNAC records. Gardner also led the country in rushing yards per game (188.8) and rushing touchdowns (25). Gardner won the GNAC Offensive Player of the Year award, and set a school record for single-game rushing yards by running for 305 yards against Azusa Pacific. Offensive Lineman Alex Cappa was named the conference Offensive Lineman of the Year award for the second straight season, and was a second-team All-American.

Conferences

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Discontinuation of football program

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In July 2018, the university announced that the football program would be discontinued after the 2018 season.[8]

Championships

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NCAA appearances

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The Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks competed in the NCAA Tournament across 12 sports (5 men's and 7 women's), 113 times at the Division II level.[9]

  • Men's basketball (14): 1983, 1990, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016
  • Women's basketball (6): 1995, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2018
  • Men's cross country (12): 1969, 1974, 1980, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2012
  • Women's cross country (5): 1994, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2012
  • Football (1): 2015
  • Rowing (7): 2004, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2023, 2024
  • Women's soccer (1): 1996
  • Softball (24): 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
  • Men's indoor track and field (1): 2000
  • Women's indoor track and field (2): 1995, 1999
  • Men's outdoor track and field (27): 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2018
  • Women's outdoor track and field (15): 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2017

Team

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NCAA

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The Lumberjacks earned six NCAA team championships at the Division II level.[10]

Results

School year Sport Opponent Score
1980–81 Men's cross country UNC Pembroke 115–120
1998–99 Softball Nebraska–Kearney 7–2
2007–08 Softball Emporia State 1–0
2011–12 Rowing Western Washington 20–13
2013–14 Rowing Nova Southeastern 16–15
2022-23 Rowing Central Oklahoma 30-25

Other national

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  • Women's Track & Field (1): 1926,[7] at the highest level

Below is one national club team championship:

  • Women's disc golf (1): 2014 (NCDGU)

Individual

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Cal Poly Humboldt has had 39 athletes win NCAA individual championships at the Division II level.[10]

NCAA individual championships
Order School year Athlete(s) Sport Source
1 1967–68 Gary Tuttle Men's outdoor track and field [11]
2 1968–69 Bill Scobey Men's outdoor track and field [11]
3 1968–69 Gary Tuttle Men's outdoor track and field [11]
4 1971–72 Mike Bettiga Men's outdoor track and field [11]
5 1972–73 Chuck Smead Men's outdoor track and field [11]
6 1973–74 Frank Logan Men's swimming and diving [12]
7 1973–74 Chuck Smead Men's outdoor track and field [11]
8 1980–81 Mark Conover Men's outdoor track and field [11]
9 1981–82 Mark Conover Men's cross country [13]
10 1981–82 Dan Grimes Men's outdoor track and field [11]
11 1984–85 Eric Lessley Wrestling [14]
12 1990–91 Luke Parham Wrestling [14]
13 1998–99 Trinity Davis Women's indoor track and field [15]
14 2003–04 Jolie Smith
Winnie Bell
Jessica Lev
Lisa McDonnell
Melanie Rowsey
Rowing [16]
15 2011–12 Kaitlyn Shanle
Amanda Nelson
Shenae Bishop
Julia Smith
Ka'ena Sado
Rowing [16]
16 2011–12 Katie Lepley
Molly Fisher
Anna Wagner
Alex Torquemada
Ashley Frakes
Edi Sullivan
Jacki McPherson
Chyna Balonick
Katie Harris
Rowing [16]
17 2013–14 Jamie Larrabee
Ripley McChesney
Maggie Wilhelm
Kayley Weber
Maddy Guillaume
Samantha Morford
Katie Dedrick
Mariah Smihter
Katrina Rehrer
Rowing [16]
18 2016–17 Marissa McCay Women's outdoor track and field [17]

References

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  1. ^ "Visual Identity | HSU Brand". Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  2. ^ "CHAMPIONSHIPS SUMMARY" (PDF). NCAA.org. NCAA. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  3. ^ "HSU Rowing Claims Second NCAA DII National Title". Humboldt State University Athletics. Retrieved Dec 31, 2019.
  4. ^ "Rowers finish third at national championships". Humboldt State University Athletics. Retrieved Dec 31, 2019.
  5. ^ "Humboldt Magazine | Rowing Team Stays Focused, Wins First-Ever National Title". magazine.humboldt.edu. Retrieved Dec 31, 2019.
  6. ^ Dan Pambianco, Humboldt State Intercollegiate Athletics, Assistant AD/Media Relations
  7. ^ a b Tricard, Louise Mead (1996). American Women's Track and Field – A History, 1895 through 1980. Jefferson, North Carolina, U.S.: McFarland & Co., Inc. p. 58.
  8. ^ "University Announces Football Decision". July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018. 
  9. ^ "NCAA Championships Statistics". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Championships Summary" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h "Division II Men's Outdoor Track Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  12. ^ "Division II Men's Swimming and Diving Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Division II Men's Cross Country Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Division II Wrestling Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  15. ^ "Division II Women's Indoor Track Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  16. ^ a b c d "Division II Rowing Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Division II Women's Outdoor Track Championships Records Book" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
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