
University of Southern California
Elite ProgramLos Angeles, California
NCAA D1 · Big Ten
Explore colleges in California recruiting Football athletes, most popular programs first. Open any school to see its division, costs and coaches, or let our football recruiting platform email every coach for you.

Los Angeles, California
NCAA D1 · Big Ten

Stanford, California
NCAA D1 · Atlantic Coast

Los Angeles, California
NCAA D1 · Big Ten

Berkeley, California
NCAA D1 · Atlantic Coast

San Diego, California
NCAA D1 · Mountain West





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San Luis Obispo, California
NCAA D1 · Big Sky
How the programs break down by division, conference, cost and size. Updated October 2026.
California has 37 colleges with Football programs. Of those, 11 compete in NCAA Division I, 3 in NCAA Division II, 10 in NCAA Division III, 1 in the NAIA and 1 at the junior college level. The most popular programs are University of Southern California, Stanford University and University of California, Los Angeles. Their head coaches are Lincoln Riley at University of Southern California and Bob Chesney at University of California, Los Angeles. 10 schools compete in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the most common conference.
Open any school to see its coaches, costs and admissions.
University of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles · Big Ten · Coach Lincoln Riley10% accepted
Stanford UniversityStanford · Atlantic Coast$18k net price · 4% accepted
University of California, Los AngelesLos Angeles · Big Ten · Coach Bob Chesney$14.5k net price · 9% accepted
University of California, BerkeleyBerkeley · Atlantic Coast · Coach Tosh Lupoi$16.5k net price · 11% accepted
California State University, ChicoChico · California Collegiate Athletic Association · Coach Alonzo Carter$14.6k net price · 93% accepted
Azusa Pacific UniversityAzusa · Pacific West · Coach A.J. Parnell$26.1k net price · 88% accepted
William & MaryRocklin · Pacific West · Coach Mike London93% accepted
California Lutheran UniversityThousand Oaks · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic · Coach Anthony Lugo$27.1k net price · 76% accepted
Pomona CollegeClaremont · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic · Coach John Walsh7% accepted
Claremont McKenna CollegeClaremont · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic · Coach Kyle Sweeney10% accepted
Pitzer CollegeClaremont · Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic · Coach John Walsh25% accepted
Mt. San Antonio CollegeWalnut · California Community College Athletic Association · Coach Bob Jastrab$8.5k net price
Santa Rosa Junior CollegeSanta Rosa · Nor-Cal · Coach Dante DePaola$8.7k net price
Chabot CollegeHayward · California Community College Athletic Association · Coach Brett McMurray$11k net price
College of the RedwoodsEureka · Coach Jason White$9.4k net priceQuick answers about the programs and how to reach their coaches.
37 colleges in California have Football programs: 11 Division I, 3 Division II, 10 Division III, 1 NAIA and 1 Junior college.
11 colleges in California compete in NCAA Division I Football: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California State University, Fresno, California State University, Sacramento, San Diego State University, San Jose State University, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Davis and 3 more.
3 colleges in California compete in NCAA Division II Football: Azusa Pacific University, California State University, Chico and William & Mary.
10 colleges in California compete in NCAA Division III Football: California Lutheran University, Chapman University, Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, Pomona College, Scripps College, University of La Verne and 2 more.
1 college in California competes in NAIA Football: Simpson University.
1 college in California competes in NJCAA junior college Football: Saddleback College.
California State University, Fresno has the lowest average net price at $7,834 a year after grants and scholarships.
The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has the most Football programs in California.
Lincoln Riley (University of Southern California), Bob Chesney (University of California, Los Angeles), Tosh Lupoi (University of California, Berkeley), Sean Lewis (San Diego State University), Tim Skipper (California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo), Alonzo Carter (California State University, Sacramento), Ken Niumatalolo (San Jose State University) and Tim Plough (University of California, Davis).
There are 640 coaches recruiting Football in California. Start a free 7-day AthleticScholar trial to see who recruits your position and send personal messages from your own Gmail, with follow-ups until they reply.
The most popular programs at each level, with links to the full lists.
11 schools in California compete in NCAA Division I.
3 schools in California compete in NCAA Division II.
10 schools in California compete in NCAA Division III.
1 school in California competes in NJCAA junior college.