The state of California is home to a total of 10 colleges and universities that participate in Division III athletics, seven of those participate in football.
That number will shrink to six after Whittier (D-III - CA) coaches shared on social media today that they've been informed that the Poets are cutting football.
Over the weekend, Whittier wrapped up their season with a 58-14 loss to Redlands (D-III - CA) to end an 0-8 campaign.
The Poets were scoring just over 7 points per game on average, while giving up 47 points per game.
Just last week, head coach Michael Neale and the staff were tweeting with excitement about new NIL deals for their players, application deadlines for recruits, and about hitting the road for recruiting.
Blindsided Whittier defensive coordinator Tony Caljean, who clearly felt like the program was making progress, took to Twitter to share his disappointment in the news.
When unfortunate news like this comes out, we feel compelled to share the names of the staff, who we hope are able to land on their feet. The Whittier staff consists of; Tony Caljean (DC / DBs), Miguel A. Gutierrez (DL), Miguel Gutierrez Jr. (OL), Moises Gonzalez (WRs), Nelson Herrera (RBs), Charles Gordon (LBs), and Sean Hamilton (Defensive GA - OLBs).
They become the second California Division III school to cut their football program since 2000, when Occidental decided to drop football.
Incredibly proud of what we were building at Whittier and the transformation we were making
— Tony Caljean (@coachkage) November 14, 2022
However, this morning I was informed that Whittier College will be dropping the football program.
It’s with a heavy heart I thank Coach Neale, our coaches, players and recruits 💔💔
Update >> After keeping their players in the dark for a few days, Whittier finally formally announced the decision to drop football.
Below is an excerpt from their release on why that decision was made.
Why the Decision was Made
According to data from the Aspen Institute and the National Federation of State High School Associations, football is in decline across the United States. From 2008-09 to 2018-19, the total number of youth aged 6 to 18 playing tackle football fell by more than 620,000 participants from about 2.5 million to less than 1.9 million. Over the same decade, attendance at top-level college games declined by almost 10 percent.
Among higher education, Whittier is not alone in evaluating its football program. Over the past 30 years, 14 California four-year colleges, including SCIAC rivals Occidental and CalTech, have dropped football from their intercollegiate rosters. In addition, there is growing concern around contact sports – lacrosse and football—and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease found in athletes and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma. When it comes to the health of our student-athletes, we must take this concern seriously.