History of the Matadors

The Cal State Northridge Matadors (branded as the CSUN Matadors) are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Northridge, in Northridge, Los Angeles, California. The Matadors fielded 17 teams in nineteen sports. The Matadors compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Big West Conference. CSUN has been a member of the Big West Conference since the summer of 2001 for most sports. The men's and women's indoor track and field teams compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Men's volleyball also competed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation but began competing in the Big West in 2018.

College Sports Established
1958

Location
Northridge, California

College Name
California State University, Northridge

Collegiate History
1990 - Present / NCAA Division 1
1958 - 1990 / Division II

Conference History
2001 - Present / Big West Conference
1996 - 2000 / Big Sky Conference
1990 - 1996 / Independent

Nickname
Matadors - In March of 1958, students selected the school colors or red and white and “The Matadors” as the official mascot for San Fernando Valley State College. According to history professor, James Sefton, there were 158 nominations and ideas for possible nicknames. Matador was selected from five finalists; the Apollos, Falcons, Rancheros, Titans and Matadors. The election announcement was made at the Blarney Ball, given by the Honor Society ad Newman Club. Since that time, we have had a chance to discover what an excellent choice they made. Just months after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, there was discussion and student vote to consider a change of the school nickname to “The Quakes”. The students voted to keep the Matadors mascot name by a margin of 1,334 to 392. In the early 1990’s, the 43 year old, 1,600 seat gymnasium was nicknamed “The Matadome”. It is the home to all men's and women's basketball and men's and women's volleyball contests.

NCAA Championships
Baseball 0

Men's Basketball 0

Women's Basketball 0

Football 0

Soccer 0