The 1961 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football season was the season of college football played by the five member schools of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) as part of the 1961 college football season.

Whittier compiled a perfect 9–0 record in the regular season, won the SCIAC championship, and lost to Linfield in the semifinals of the NAIA playoffs.

Whittier

The 1961 Whittier Poets football team represented Whittier College of Whittier, California. In their second year under head coach John Godfrey, the Poets compiled a perfect 9–1 record (4–0 against SCIAC opponents) and won the SCIAC championship. ^{[1] [2]}

Three Whittier players were selected as first-team players on the 1961 All-SIAC football team: junior back Dick Skinner; junior end Stan Sanders; and senior guard Dave Okura. ^[3]

Redlands

The 1961 Redlands Bulldogs football team represented University of Redlands of Redlands, California. In their third year under head coach Ted Runner, the Bulldogs compiled a 6–4 record (3–1 against SCIAC opponents) and finished second the SCIAC.

Four Redlands players were selected as first-team players on the 1961 All-SCIAC football team: senior quarterback Roger Chaney; senior tackle Myron Tarkanian; senior guard Marshall Nixon; and senior center Rollin Grider. ^[3]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	vs. California Western*	Point Loma High School San Diego, CA	W 31–0		[8]
September 23	Nevada*	U.R. stadium Claremont, CA	W 25–0	3,000	[9]
September 30	at Arizona State-Flagstaff*	Lumberjack Stadium Flagstaff, AZ	L 10–13	4,450	[10]
October 7	Cal Poly Pomona*	U.R. stadium Claremont, CA	L 14–35	5,200
October 14	San Diego State*	U.R. stadium Claremont, CA	L 20–32	4,200	[11]
October 21	Pomona	U.R. stadium Claremont, CA	W 38–21	4,500	[12]
October 28	at Claremont-Mudd	Claremont Field Claremont, CA	W 26–7
November 4	at Occidental	Eagle Rock, Los Angeles	W 27–19
November 11	LaVerne*	U.R. stadium Claremont, CA	W 40–28	4,000	[13]
November 18	at Whittier	Hadley Field Whittier, CA	L 6–24
*Non-conference game Homecoming

Occidental

The 1961 Occidental Tigers football team represented Occidental College of Eagle Rock, Los Angeles. In their second year under head coach Vic Schwenk, the Tigers compiled a 6–2 record (2–2 against SCIAC opponents) and finished third in the SCIAC.

Three Occidental players were selected as first-team players on the 1961 All-SIAC team: junior back John Whitney; junior end Jerry Greenwalt; and senior tackle Mike Lewis. ^[3]

Pomona

The 1961 Pomona Sagehens football team represented Pomona College of Claremont, California. In their thrid year under head coach Chuck Mills, the Sagehens compiled a 5–4 record (1–3 against SCIAC opponents) and finished fourth in the SCIAC. Senior back Pete Rodi was a first-team selection on the 1961 All-SCIAC team.

Claremont-Mudd

The 1961 Claremont-Mudd Stags football team represented Claremont College and Harvey Mudd College of Claremont, California. In their first year under head coach Jim Williams, the Stags compiled a 3–6 record (0–4 against SCIAC opponents) and finished last in the SCIAC.

All-conference team

At the end of the season, the conference coaches selected the best players at each position to their 1961 all-SIAC football team.

First team

• Quarterback - Roger Chaney, senior, Redlands
• Backs - John Whitney, junior, Occidental; Pete Rodi, senior, Pomona; Dick Skinner, junior, Whittier
• Ends - Jerry Greenwalt, junior, Occidental, and Stan Sanders, Jr., Whittier
• Tackles - Myron Tarkanian, senior, Redlands; Mike Lewis, senior, Occidental
• Guards - Dave Okura, senior, Whittier; Marshall Nixon, senior, Redlands
• Center - Rollin Grider, senior, Redlands

^[3]

References