current conference: West Coast
last football season: 2003
bowl games: 1939 Cotton Bowl
1946 Sugar Bowl
1947 Oil Bowl
hall of fame: Slip Madigan (coach)
Jimmy Phelan (coach)
Herman Wedemeyer
Lawrence Bettencourt
St. Mary's dropped football for the third time in March 2004.
An independent, the Gaels played a mix of California and east coast schools. However, when other western independents increased scholarships and formed a conference, St. Mary's couldn't afford enough athletic aid to remain competitive with those programs.
St. Mary's elected not to seek membership in a nonscholarship conference. Based on published information about St. Mary's football budget and grant costs, the college could have reduced its football budget 44 percent by eliminating its 16 scholarships.