📍 San Diego, California
🏈 Home of San Diego Toreros football

Perched above Mission Bay in San Diego’s Alcala Park is the University of San Diego, home of the Toreros. The school fields 17 varsity athletic programs, most of which compete in the West Coast Conference. Football, however, plays in the Pioneer Football League, a nationwide conference of schools that don’t tender scholarships for football. San Diego has won the conference 12 times, half of which came consecutively under Dale Lindsey from 2014-2019.

The Catholic institution opened its doors in 1948 as San Diego Women’s College, before merging with the San Diego College for Men in 1972. The athletics programs from both schools consolidated along with the academics, and the new co-ed athletics department launched as a member of NCAA Division III. As the school continued to grow, USD began to eye reclassification to Division I, a move which it completed in 1993.

Southern California’s only FCS program has played their home games at Torero Stadium since 1961. While modest in size at just over 6,000 seats, the stadium’s Spanish Renaissance architecture perfectly mirrors the rest of campus. Upon entry, fans are greeted by a beautiful courtyard dedicated to the Pardee family, who were major benefactors in USD’s formative years. Fountains and palm trees decorate the space, which plays host to the pregame fan fest, along with the adjacent Jenny Craig Pavilion. White stucco walls comprise the press box, complete with a Catholic cross at midfield. The stadium’s elevated location also provides a vintage San Diego backdrop, featuring palm trees beyond the scoreboard and glimpses of Mission Bay shimmering below.

Over the decades, Torero Stadium has hosted more than just Torero football. In addition to USD men’s and women’s soccer, the venue has served as home to several professional clubs as well. The San Diego Spirit of the Women’s United Soccer Association entered the picture in the early 2000s, and later became a temporary home ground for both the San Diego Loyal and San Diego Wave before Snapdragon Stadium opened. Multiple rugby organizations have also called the field home, most recently the San Diego Legion. Former USD head coach Jim Harbaugh led his LA Chargers to Torero Stadium for 2025 training camp as well, the Bolts’ first appearance in San Diego since their painful departure in 2016. Finally, the California Redwoods are scheduled to play at Torero Stadium in 2026 as the Premier Lacrosse League shifts to permanent cities.

While USD football doesn’t carry the scale of larger FBS programs, the team has built steady success in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League. The Toreros consistently compete for league titles, earning occasional trips to the FCS playoffs. The atmosphere inside the stadium reflects the city itself – spirited, but friendly and family-oriented. Students and alumni mix with locals, turning each game into a family event. And while it may not boast the size or notoriety of a football blue blood, it represents something so uniquely Southern California: a proud program set against a bay backdrop, where palm trees and ocean breeze craft a coastal Saturday shrine.