On any given Saturday, Alex Angelo can be found running along the beach, going on an afternoon hike, enjoying an acai bowl at SunLife, or just hanging out with friends. Her weekends are not filled with screaming fans, tailgating, cheerleaders, an enthusiastic marching band or an abundance of school spirit. That’s the atmosphere at a college football game, not a weekend at Pepperdine.
Students agree that the absence of a football team at Pepperdine University creates a significantly different college experience.
Angelo, a junior computer science major from Minnesota, grew up watching football games at local colleges that a lot of her friends now attend.
“Not having a football team at Pepperdine isn’t necessarily ruining my college experience, but it makes it a lot different,” she said. “It’s weird to see my other friends at state schools at football games on Saturdays while I’m at the beach or hanging out in Santa Monica.”
Angelo, like education major Callie Loparo, chose the university for the small, intimate classes, renowned academics and the stunning view.
“Of course I wish we had a football team; it would be so much fun, but I am also really happy with the unique environment of Pepperdine,” Loparo said. “I feel like we’re so much different than other schools like UCLA or USC. Sure, they get football games, but I get to wake up to an ocean view.”
While there is currently no team, Pepperdine football has an interesting history. Right after World War II, fit and able men were returning from war, ready to further their education. An influx of male students prompted Al Duer and Warren Gaer to assemble a football team at Pepperdine, which was already successful in basketball and track.
Established in 1946 at the original Los Angeles campus, Pepperdine football started out strong. In its second year, the team was named the 1947 National Small College champion. The next decade, however, proved to be difficult with continuous defeats and a decreasing budget, according to the Pepperdine Athletics website. The team ultimately proved to be too much of an expense to continue.
“The decision was not a reflection of the football team’s performance or popularity, nor did it serve as any indication of a lack of interest in intercollegiate sports,” according to the Pepperdine Athletics site.
Current Director of Athletics Steve Potts said a football team on the Malibu campus is not feasible for many reasons. A football team would double the athletics budget, and adding 100 male athletes would make it very difficult for the university to comply with Title IX, a federal statute that prohibits gender discrimination in athletics programs that receive federal funding. The Malibu campus also lacks flat land, which would force a team to play off campus.
“Part of the appeal of football is being able to go to a game on campus,” he said. “That would be difficult, if not impossible, for that to happen here. That’s the only sport I don’t mind if students cheer for other schools like USC or UCLA.”
According to Potts, there are many other great athletics teams to focus on at Pepperdine, and the absence of football does not necessarily have a negative impact on students.
“Every student can find the school that fits them,” he said. “If big-time college football is on your list, you probably shouldn’t come to Pepperdine. It’s only a negative or a positive if the absence or presence of football is important to you.”
Students don’t come to Pepperdine and expect a football team, but many are shocked by the lack of school spirit on campus. Sports medicine major Stefi Vidaurri expected students to have more enthusiasm and support for the athletic teams.
“Pepperdine’s school spirit in general is definitely lacking,” she said. “My roommate freshman year was on our women’s basketball team and I’d always try to go to her games. It would always make me sad to get there and see barely 20 students that probably only came for the free Chick-fil-A.”
This is very unlike the environment of a football game at a Big Ten school. Cameron Walker, a senior at Ohio State University, agreed that the culture of schools with and without football differs tremendously.
“We have so much school spirit,” he said. “I’ve been off campus so many times and a stranger will start the O-H-I-O tradition just because I’m wearing an Ohio State T-shirt. You know that you’re a Buckeye for life.”
The pride and spirit is undeniable, and students at schools like Ohio State remain loyal to their team no matter what, Walker said.
“Everyone at OSU loves football; it’s like a way of life here,” he said. “Even when our team was suspended, all of my friends and I went to every home game, and the stadium was always still packed.”
American college football is a tradition that started in 1869 when two New Jersey schools, Princeton and Rutgers, played each other. College football is still thriving today, with 125 teams in the NCAA bowl subdivision. Even without a Pepperdine team to cheer for, students make it a point to keep up with the sport.
“I don’t remember the last year I didn’t watch the BCS Bowl,” junior James Maynard said. “I love football, especially college. I wish we had a Pepperdine team I could root for, but I usually just stick with Alabama or the Ducks.”
Angelo agreed that football is an integral part of college. She keeps up with the team standings and visits University of Minnesota to attend football games.
“It was one of the most exciting games I’ve ever been to,” she said. “It was a close game and when we won, the crowd just went wild. I could never imagine that happening at Pepperdine.”
Junior Galina Carson, a business administration major, was cheerleading captain of her high school squad. She misses the atmosphere of the football games and wishes Pepperdine could have something comparable.
“Football season was my favorite time of the school year,” she said. “I loved cheering on the boys.”
Alana Hutchinson completed this story in Professor Wendy Fontaine’s fall 2014 Jour 241 class.
