by Tony Ciniglio
Published Spring 2001

Pepperdine has enjoyed unparalleled success in athletics for a school of its size.

Pepperdine has claimed seven national championships - four in volleyball, one in golf, one in water polo and one in baseball. The Waves are also a tour de force in the West Coast Conference in nearly every sport.

Pepperdine fans have packed Firestone Fieldhouse for basketball games, but the Waves also draw large raucous crowds for volleyball and water polo, sports that do not receive as much fanfare at other schools.

But some say there is something missing from the Pepperdine experience - a football team.

But Pepperdine Athletic Director John Watson said he does not foresee a football team in Pepperdine’s future.

“It is a real dilemma for us,” Watson said. “It is a popular sport, but I do not see it as part of our athletic plan. For most schools, football is a financial hardship. Maybe for only a handful, the USCs, the UCLAs, the Notre Dames, the Nebraskas and the Washingtons, it makes money. But more schools are dropping it than they are adding it because of the economics. People ought to realize the significant level our 14 sports are playing at right now.”

Ed Hyduke, who was a Little All-American football player for Pepperdine in 1950 and is still a staunch supporter of Waves’ sports, says football would be a welcome addition to the campus where many are dumbfounded about having Homecoming for a basketball game.

“It would be a great thing if Pepperdine had football,” Hyduke said.

“I’ve talked to a lot of students, and it’s kind of dull here in September. But I understand the circumstances and the costs. But I never say never because never is a long time.”

Many students find themselves in the same position as Hyduke. They say they would welcome the resurrection of the Pepperdine football team.

“I think it would be fun and it would add to school morale, but I understand why Pepperdine doesn’t have one,” said Lindsay Jenson, a junior International Business major from Minnesota.

“I do feel like I’m missing something in my college experience, but our school is so small and it would be hard to have a quality team. And we don’t need to add anything else to our tuition costs.”

Dennis Garcia, a junior Political Science and International Studies major, said he has come to accept Pepperdine not having a football team and has instead adopted USC’s football team as his own, as many students at Pepperdine have done.

“We don’t need a football team - our basketball team is good enough,” said Garcia, who is from Murrieta, Calif.

“Our baseball team is as good as it gets, and we are really good in water polo and volleyball, sports a lot of schools don’t have. And besides, we don’t have any kind of stadium. We’re fine without a football team.”

From 1946 to 1961, the old George Pepperdine College in South-Central Los Angeles fielded a football team that won its share of games and gained quite a reputation for the budding new campus.

The football team played in several different venues. The Waves played at Wrigley Field Stadium in Los Angeles in what was a replica of Wrigley Field in Chicago, which was played at Avalon and 42nd St. and housed the California Angels baseball team for a time.

Pepperdine also played at Gilmore Stadium at Third Street and Fairfax Ave and at the Pan Pacific Auditorium, which was located behind the Farmer’s Market. They even had some games at Inglewood High School.

The Waves beat Whittier College, 13-0, in its inaugural game, then after a tough 13-12 loss to Arizona State, the Waves went on to win 17 straight games and established themselves among the powers of the time. In fact, Warren Gaer, the Waves’ first coach, posted an impressive 21-6 record in his three seasons at Pepperdine.

“When Pepperdine first started, a lot of guys were coming out of the service,” Hyduke said.

“There was a lot of camaraderie. Football was like going to war, and our team was made up of a bunch of close-knit fellas. And it went on like that and we stayed close over the years.”

The old Pepperdine football alumni are among the most active on campus. Eight years ago, the players instigated a scholarship for fifth-year athletes who have run out of eligibility but who want to finish their degree.

The football players also make it a point to meet for a luncheon at least once a year. They are also involved in the “We Made It Through Another Year” luncheon, which is open to all alumni, not just football players. And they still support the Pepperdine athletics teams by going to the games.

“They are perhaps our most loyal alums,” Watson said. “They are committed to each other and are just very loyal. Football brought early recognition to the schools thanks to those talented athletes.”

In 1946, the Waves made a trip to the Will Rogers Bowl in Oklahoma City and won its first bowl game in what is believed to be one of the few times a school has won a bowl game in its first year of existence.

The next year, Pepperdine did one better, winning the small college national championship with an undefeated season, including five straight shutouts to close the season.

Pepperdine led the nation in defense, allowing just 26 yards per game. They also led the nation in scoring with 356 points.

“Our first year was a very special thing,” said Darwin Horn, who was a Little All-American tailback for the Waves in 1946 who was high school teammates with Hyduke at Inglewood High.

“That was a great group of guys. And in 1947, when we were small college champions and had gone undefeated, it was so amazing. You could walk around campus and feel the electricity in the air.

“Football is the cement that holds most schools together. Whether it’s high school, junior college or college, it is inevitably what the school is surrounded by, whether the administrators want to believe it or not.”

After their fast start, the Waves’ picked up a more rugged schedule, playing schools like San Jose State, San Diego Sate, Fresno State and Brigham Young. The Waves did not fare as well and slowly began their demise.

After 1950, Pepperdine was hard-pressed for a breakeven season. In its final two seasons, the Waves were just 1-17. The administration decided to stop its football program in 1961 and the Waves have been without football since.

“It was a righteous decision to give up the program,” Horn said. “It was not going anywhere and the program was very expensive. When we upgraded our competition, we did not fare as well and we were not drawing the players like at one time.”

Pepperdine did send at least five players to the pros.

Jack Bighead, a Native American, went on to play for the Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams. Lineman Bill Scott joined the St. Louis Cardinals. Mel Embree, an African-American wide receiver, became a member of the Baltimore Colts and lineman Carl Geisler later became a Green Bay Packer and a Washington Redskin. Pepperdine also had eight different All-Americans.

Despite many great memories, even the football players are thinking twice about returning football to Pepperdine.

“I’m not sure if Pepperdine should field a team now, unless some alum comes up with $10 million or $15 million,” Horn said.

“It’s much too expensive to be competitive, and if we are going to have it, we have to do it like we do with basketball and volleyball and make sure we can compete against the highest of teams.”

Another major obstacle would be where would they play.

Watson said building an on-campus facility is out of the question and that the Waves would have to rent from someplace, like Santa Monica College or Cal Lutheran University. And that cost would run extremely high.

Also, Pepperdine would have about 60 players, which Watson says will be an extraordinary cost, especially for an institution with an athletic budget of about $1 million.

First, there is the issue of scholarships or funding to recruit players to Pepperdine.

Then there is the cost of equipment and traveling expenses when the Waves would hit the road.

“We’re talking millions and millions of dollars,” Watson said. “First, I don’t envision us having a team. And if we did, I hope we would do like our other sports and achieve at the highest level. If we provide all these things for a football team, that does not guarantee success, it just means it would be enough to field a team.”

There is also the Title IX consideration. Title IX says institutions must provide equal opportunity for females.

So if Pepperdine adds a football team of 60 players, it would have to match that with about three or four other women’s sports, driving the cost up higher.

“I don’t think we would field a team, regardless of what sport, if it was not able to be self-sustaining.” Watson said. “If we add football, we would have to add other sports to meet Title IX requirements. And if we are going to do that, they would have to be self-sustaining so it would not drain our other sports.”

Hyduke and Horn both said out of the current alignment of the West Coast Conference, all the teams once had solid football programs.

But now only San Diego and St. Mary’s are the only ones with football, and it is at the Division III level.

Watson said it was just a sign of the times.

“Football is not on my radar, I just don’t envision it,” Watson said. “No one here opposes football as a sport. It is just about economics. We just can’t afford one right now.”

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