In the beginning (there always has to be a beginning) there was a very fortuitous decision made in the early 1960s by the Chico State University administration to elevate the Chico State Soccer Club to intercollegiate status. As a result, one of the most successful collegiate soccer programs in the country was born.

The start — at least mine in 1965 — was not so pretty. As can be imagined, that first year the team consisted of many individuals, who like me, had tried other sports at the University and were looking for an intercollegiate athletic activity but had never played organized soccer before, or who had some limited experience playing elsewhere in urban areas of the state, and a few who actually grew up playing elsewhere in the world. The new coach, Wayne McDuffie, arrived just in time to start the season and had no time to do any recruiting.

In addition, to make matters more difficult, there was only one division in those days. With only a few universities playing in Northern California, everyone was in the same pot, so we had to play against the likes of national champion University of San Francisco, and nationally ranked San Jose State, California, and Stanford. The results were no surprise: no wins or ties in the first two years, though we did come close a couple times in year two.
  

In year three, the now legendary Don Batie, in his early 20s, arrived from New Mexico to take over the reins. His impact was felt immediately. He recruited a few experienced players to join the group with two years of experience under their belts. We finally won a game, beating UC Davis, and then a second one for good measure against Sacramento State. We drew against California and Stanford and narrowly lost 1-0 to San Jose State, which had beaten us 9-0 each of the first two years. These were extremely proud moments for all of us who had survived those first years. Chico State Soccer had served notice about what was to come.

With Coach Batie extending his recruiting to the Bay Area and elsewhere, the team won the Far Western Conference for the first time in 1969 and qualified for the NCAA Playoffs. The following year, the program suddenly became a powerhouse by winning the first NCAA Division II Regional Championship over Cal State Fullerton, the champions of Southern California, in Fullerton. They repeated the feat the following year. Unfortunately, there was no Division II National Championship in those first years.  In 1971, Chico State again won the Division II Far West Regional and qualified for the first ever national championship.
   
The ascendancy of the program was remarkable, and I felt extremely privileged to have been a player for those first three years and an assistant coach for the next three years as I was earning my MBA.

We had no stadium of our own in those days, just an open field area behind Acker Gym for the first two years and then the baseball field for the next years. We played across the baseball infield until the current soccer stadium was built.

In addition to the 1970, 1971, and 1972 NCAA Division II West Region titles, there was one match that stands out in my mind, which really put Chico State Soccer on the map and set the tone for the program for years to come.  In the middle of 1969 season, we were scheduled to play defending NCAA Champion University of San Francisco at home. We had never come close to beating them. We moved the match to the University Stadium and played under the lights before 3,000 people. In dramatic fashion, including two 35-yard free kick goals from George Barry, we tied the NCAA Champions 3-3.  We knew then that we had arrived.

It has now been 40 years since I left Chico, but so much of what I have accomplished since is a result of my experience with the program. I am still intimately involved with the program today from 3,000 miles away in New York. Along with other alumni, I do what I can to see that the program continues to be competitive and attract the best players in the region while providing life-shaping experiences to all of those who participate.

Chico State Soccer has been blessed to have had some great leaders. We thank them all for what they have given and especially express our gratitude to the current head coach, Felipe Restrepo, who has done so much in his short tenure to rebuild and raise the stature of the program while understanding the importance and value of an engaged alumni, who are grateful for the opportunity to stay involved and give back to the future generations to come.
 
Ted Howard
BS in Marketing – 1968
MBA – 1971
Played three seasons – 1965, 1966, 1967
Assistant Coach – 1968, 1969, 1970

This if the first of a series that will run through March. For more information on the Chico State men's Soccer 50th Anniversary celebration CLICK HERE.
 
Ted Howard played for the Wildcats in the very early years of the program, from 1965-67 and was an assistant coach from 1968-70, helping guide the team to a pair of West Region titles. Howard earned his bachelor's degree in marketing in 1968 and his masters degree in business administration in 1971.
 
Howard was instrumental in the promotion of Chico State Athletics through his nightly "Spotlight on Campus Sports" show on KHSL Radio from 1965-1967 and his work as Assistant Sports Information Director from 1968-1971. He was also he founder of the first high school soccer league in the Chico, Durham and Yuba City areas.
 
He was executive director of the North American Soccer League from 1971-84, then spent three years as director of marketing of Ohlmeyer Communications. He was director and group manager of NBA marketing from 1988-98.
 
He was appointed deputy general secretary in 1998 and has been in the post since but for a brief stint as acting general secretary of CONCACAF.
 
Howard was named to the US Soccer Hall of Fame in 2003.