San Francisco Dons football
| San Francisco Dons | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| First season | 1917 |
| Last season | 1982 |
| Athletic director | N/A |
| Head coach | N/A |
| Stadium | Kezar Stadium |
| Location | San Francisco, CA |
| NCAA division | Division II |
| Conference | Division II Independent |
| All-time record | 134–180–20 (.431) |
| Bowl record | 0–0 (–) |
| Colors | Green and Gold |
| Website | USFDons.com |
The San Francisco Dons football program were the intercollegiate American football team for University of San Francisco located in San Francisco, California. The team competed in NCAA Division II as a Division II Independent football program. The school's first football team was fielded in 1917.
Compared to local rivals Santa Clara and Saint Mary's, USF's football teams were historically not as strong. However, the 1951 Dons entered college football lore by fielding a team that would go undefeated and produce three NFL hall of famers (Gino Marchetti, Ollie Matson, and Bob St. Clair). The Sugar, Orange and Gator Bowls all considered inviting the Dons. However, all three were located in the South and were only willing to invite the Dons if they left Matson and Burl Toler, the Dons' only black players, home. Although the football program was in severe financial straits, the Dons turned down all bids that would have excluded their black teammates. As a result, USF's finest football team ever was to be its last in Division I. Football made a brief comeback as a Division II sport from the 1960s to the early 1980s, but USF has not fielded a varsity team since 1982.
The coach, Joe Kuharich, at times, would delegate recruiting responsibilities to his freshman coach, Brad Lynn. Lynn had little to offer prospective players in the way of scholarship inducements beyond tuition and room and board in an old ROTC barracks. However, Lynn would take recruits to the highest hill on campus, and would gesture out towards the sweeping panorama of San Francisco saying, "THIS is your campus." Only a handful of players from that 1951 team had been considered blue-ribbon prospects in high school. Two of the team's best players, Toler and guard Louis (Red) Stephens, had not even played high school football. Future Hall of Famer Marchetti was a high school dropout who had played only sparingly when he was in school.
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