Cal State San Marcos Cougars

History

The Cougars previously competed as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1998–99 (when the school began its athletics program and joined the NAIA) to 2014–15.

In baseball, the school has Dennis Pugh, who coached at a local high school for decades, and for soccer coach Ron Pulvers. In 2007, the school hired former UCLA All-American Kelly Warren who was previously the Associate Head Coach at fellow San Diego County CSU, San Diego State University.

The school also has women's volleyball, and men's and women's basketball.

As of 2012, the Athletic Program has so far dominated the A.I.I. conference by having 6 teams emerge as conference champions.

Mascot

The original mascot of the campus was Tukwut, the name for the California mountain lion in the Luiseño language of the local Native American Luiseño people. However, the mascot was "dropped for something with more ring," and in a referendum students selected "cougar" over "mountain lion." The dropping of the indigenous word was criticized by a faculty member at CSU San Marcos.

National championships

Team

Individual

Accomplishments

Cal State San Marcos leads as of 2020 in the Women's Golf CCAA Championships and was the runner-up in the 2019 NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championship.

Varsity teams

CSUSM competes in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer and track & field (outdoor only); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball. Former sports included cheerleading and dance.

Men's basketball

Jim Saia was the first men's basketball head coach, who led the team to the NAIA Division I National Championship Tournament in 2012–2013.

Women's basketball

In 2010, Cal State San Marcos hired former Palomar College head coach, Sheri Jennum, as their women's basketball head coach.

Cross country

Track athlete Steve Scott was the Cougars' cross country and track & field coach for 20 years. They train and/or compete on the Mangrum Track and Field when outdoors. In fall 2009, the women's cross country team won their first NAIA National Championship. They went on to defend their title the next year in fall 2010.

Championships

Appearances

The Cal State San Marcos Cougars competed in the NCAA Tournament across 2 active sports (2 women's) 2 times at the Division II level.

• Women's cross country (1): 2017 (Team)
• Women's outdoor track and field (2): 2018 (Individual), 2019 (Individual)
• Women's golf (1): 2019 (Team)

References

References

1. Brandon Cesmat, [http://www2.csusm.edu/profe/tukwut.htm CSUSM Chases off Tukwut] {{webarchive. link. (2009-01-23 .)
2. (2020-10-17). "CCAA Champions".
3. "California State University San Marcos Athletics – 2011–12 Women's Basketball Coaching Staff". Csusmcougars.com.
4. (August 2025). "NCAA Championships Statistics". [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]].