2008 UCLA-USC rivalry game in L.A. Memorial Stadium (image cropped). Photo by Bobak Ha'Eri at Wikimedia Commons. Used by permission, CC-By-SA-3.0.
| School | NCAA Subdivision | Location | Nickname | Conference | Colors | Average Home Game Attendance† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA | FBS* | Los Angeles | Bruins | Big Ten‡ | Blue-Gold | 37,282 |
| USC | FBS* | Los Angeles | Trojans | Big Ten‡ | Cardinal-Gold | 67,783 |
* Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
† NCAA 2025 FBS Average Football Attendence
‡ USC and UCLA had been members of what is now the Pac-12 Conference since 1922 and 1928 respectively. As of September 2024, both had joined the Big Ten Conference, joining fellow former Pac-12 members, University of Washington and University of Oregon, which had joined the Big Ten earlier in the year.
| School | Location | Nickname | Conference | Colors | Average Home Game Attendance** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azusa Pacific (see comment box below) | Azusa | Cougars | SCIAC†† | Brick-Black | --- |
| Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | Claremont | Stags | SCIAC†† | Maroon-Gold | 793 |
| La Verne | La Verne | Leopards | SCIAC†† | Green-Orange | 992 |
| Pomona-Pitzer | Claremont | Sagehens | SCIAC†† | Blue-White-Orange | 1,281 |
| Whittier (see comment box below) | Whittier | Poets | SCIAC†† | Purple-Gold | --- |
** 2025 game attendance (regular season, within league games) provided by colleges: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps; La Verne; Pomona Pitzer
†† Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
After its 2022 season, the Whittier College Poets discontinued their college football program. The college cited cost as a key factor for retiring the program and concerns about player safety. Whittier College's football program had been active since 1907. Alumni, however, went on to raise more than $800,000 to revive football at Whittier. The program returns for the 2026 season.
In 2020, the Azusa Pacific University Cougars, after 55 years playing football, including in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the NCAA, discontinued its college football program, due to re-prioritizing finances for the university athletics program. The team had been the only California school to play football in NCAA Division II, from 2012 until 2020. In 2025, the football program was revived to play in NCAA Division III, beginning with the 2026 season.
Occidental College retired its football program, active since 1894, after its 2019 season. Cal Tech retired its football program, active since 1893, after its 1993 season.
The CSU Northridge Matadors football team played in the former NCAA Division I-AA (now Football Championship Subdivision), from 1993 through the 2001 season. The team was disbanded in 2001 for budgetary reasons.
The Long Beach State 49ers football team played in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, Pacific Coast Athletic Association and independently from 1955 to 1991.
The Pepperdine University Waves football team played in the California Collegiate Athletic Association and independently from 1946 to 1991.
The Cal Poly Pomona Broncos football team played in the California Collegiate Athletic Association from 1967 to 1982.
The Los Angeles State/CSU Los Angeles Diablos football team played in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, Pacific Coast Athletic Association and independently from 1951 to 1977.
