Southwestern Jaguars football


The Southwestern Jaguars football team represents Southwestern College in junior college football in the Southern California Football Association. The Jaguars are members of the National Southern League, fielding its team in the NSL since 2018. The Jaguars play their home games at DeVore Stadium in Chula Vista, California. Southwestern was known as the Apaches through the 2000 season. In May 2001, the governing board of Southwestern College voted to change the fight name of the school's sports teams from Apaches to Jaguars. Oscar Rodriguez has served as head coach of the program since the 2024 season.
In 2011, the Southwestern team included Dave Wade, a 55-year-old carpenter who was on the roster the whole season and got in one play on a kickoff.

Conference affiliations

Conference championships

† Co-champions

Division championships

Following the 1987 season, the Mission Conference split into North, Central, and South divisions, with Southwestern competing in the South division. Southwestern has won one divisional title.
1988Mission Conference South DivisionBob Mears7–44–0

Bowl games

Southwestern is 9–5–1 all time in post-season bowl games. They first won a bowl game in 1982, which was their bowl game debut.
December 4, 1982Bob Mears1982 San Diego-South Bay BowlGlendale W 26–7
December 3, 1983Bob Mears1983 South Bay-Kiwanis BowlEl CaminoW 24–11
December 6, 1985Bob Mears1985 National Football Foundation BowlGrossmontT 35–35
December 6, 1986Bob Mears1986 National Football Foundation BowlSan Diego MesaW 23–0
December 3, 1988Bob Mears1988 National Football Foundation BowlAntelope ValleyW 20–16
December 4, 1999Mike Pompa1999 South County BowlEl CaminoL 7–49
December 2, 2000Mike Pompa2000 South County BowlMt. San AntonioL 17–21
November 22, 2008Ed Carberry2008 Tremblay Financial Services BowlPasadena CityL 14–45
November 17, 2012Ed Carberry2012 American BowlSanta MonicaW 45–31
November 23, 2013Ed Carberry2013 Patriotic BowlSan Bernardino ValleyW 34–23
November 22, 2014Ed Carberry2014 American BowlSanta MonicaW 40–23
November 19, 2016Ed Carberry2016 American BowlLos Angeles ValleyL 16–24
November 18, 2017Ed Carberry2017 American BowlAllan HancockW 35–14
November 17, 2018Ed Carberry2018 Beach BowlPalomarW 28–24
November 23, 2019Ed Carberry2019 Southern California BowlLong Beach CityL 16–20

Stadiums

DeVore Stadium (1971–present)

DeVore Stadium is the home football stadium for the Southwestern College Jaguars football team. Located on the college's campus in Chula Vista, California, and with a seating capacity of 7,200, the stadium opened in 1971 under the original name of Apache Stadium at a cost of $444,000. The first public event held at the stadium was a Fourth of July fireworks show sponsored by the local firefighters association. On September 18, 1971, Southwestern defeated local rivals San Diego City 21–6 in the first game played at the new stadium with over 4,000 spectators in attendance. The stadium was jointly financed by Southwestern College and the Sweetwater Union High School District, with the latter paying for the stadium lights in return for lifetime use of the facility as the home stadium for the Bonita Vista High School football team.
In 2014, a two-year stadium renovation project was completed, which included the replacement of the grass field with artificial turf and the construction of a 58,000-square-foot, four-story field house behind the south end zone with state-of-the-art training facilities, weight rooms, locker rooms, classrooms, offices, and a student fitness center. In addition, a two-story press box was built on the west side along with new bathroom and concession facilities on each side. During this period, Southwestern temporarily played its home games at Olympian High School. Tod Leonard of The San Diego Union-Tribune said that the stadium was "transformed... into one of the best community college home fields in the country" while Phillip Brents of The Star-News commented that "the finished product rivals the athletic complexes of most four-year universities". The renovation project won several awards, including Project of the Year from the Construction Management Association of America San Diego chapter, as well as LEED Gold certification.

Other

On April 24, 1994, DeVore Stadium hosted an international soccer friendly between the United States and Iceland.
The So Cal Scorpions of the Women's Professional Football League hosted their first-ever playoff game at DeVore Stadium on October 29, 2005.
On September 19, 2009, DeVore Stadium hosted the San Diego Football Classic between Central State and Stillman. The matchup between the two HBCUs was organized by Central State athletic director and San Diego Chargers legend Kellen Winslow.

Chula Vista High School (1961–1970)

Before the opening of DeVore Stadium, Southwestern played its home games at Chula Vista High School from 1961 to 1970.

Notable players