History of the Roadrunners

For sports fans, Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners is a team with a long and exciting history in NCAA athletics. The school joined the NCAA Division II in 1990, becoming the only California university to compete at that level. Since then, they have been one of the most successful teams in Division II, winning multiple conference championships and making several appearances in national tournaments.

The Roadrunners made their mark on college basketball when they won back-to-back National Championships from 2011 to 2013 under head coach Rod Barnes. During this period, it became just the third program to win three consecutive Western Athletic Conference (WAC) titles since its founding in 1969. This success continued into 2014 as well when Cal State Bakersfield captured their fourth WAC title and earned an automatic bid for March Madness for only the second time ever – something no other team had accomplished until then!

In 2016, the roadrunner's men's soccer program received its first invitation into post-season play after finishing 2nd place during regular season play, while 2017 saw both men’s soccer & women’s volleyball programs make it all way through tournament brackets before being eliminated by eventual champions UCLA & Stanford respectively. And more recently, in 2019 CSUB Men Basketball Team advanced all way through the regional finals, where unfortunately were stopped short of a Final Four appearance by the Auburn University Tigers.

While there have been many great moments throughout these years, what stands out about Cal State Bakersfield is how much pride every athlete takes in competing for such an amazing institution. Each player strives to represent themselves and the whole community behind them, making them an even more extraordinary group of people who will continue to strive for greatness year after year!