1.
Los Angeles
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Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L. A. is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. With a census-estimated 2015 population of 3,971,883, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The citys inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos, historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was founded on September 4,1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, in 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4,1850, the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California, nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles also has an economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index, the city is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. The Los Angeles combined statistical area has a gross metropolitan product of $831 billion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Greater Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. The city has hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984 and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and thus become the second city after London to have hosted the Games three times. The Los Angeles area also hosted the 1994 FIFA mens World Cup final match as well as the 1999 FIFA womens World Cup final match, the mens event was watched on television by over 700 million people worldwide. The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva, a Gabrielino settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning poison oak place. Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2,1769, in 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. The Queen of the Angels is an honorific of the Virgin Mary, two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small town for decades, but by 1820. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, during Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta Californias regional capital
2.
USC Trojans football
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The USC Trojans football program, established in 1888, represents the University of Southern California in college football. USC is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I FBS, the Trojans throughout NCAA history have claimed 11 national championships. USC has the most Pro Football Hall of Famers, USC has the highest all-time post-season winning percentage of schools with 25 or more bowl appearances. The team is coached by Clay Helton, USC first fielded a football team in 1888. Playing its first game on November 14 of that year against the Alliance Athletic Club, USC faced its first collegiate opponent the following year in fall 1889, playing St. Vincents College to a 40–0 victory. In 1893, USC joined the Intercollegiate Football Association of Southern California, which was composed of USC, Occidental College, Throop Polytechnic Institute, Pomona College was invited to enter, but declined to do so. An invitation was extended to Los Angeles High School. Before they were named Trojans in 1912, USC athletic teams were called the Methodists, during the early years, limitations in travel and the scarcity of major football-playing colleges on the West Coast limited its rivalries to local Southern Californian colleges and universities. During this period USC played regular series against Occidental, Caltech, Whittier, Pomona, the first USC team to play outside of Southern California went to Stanford University on November 4,1905, where they were trampled 16–0 by the traditional West Coast powerhouse. While the teams would not meet again until 1918, this was also USCs first game against a future Pac-12 conference opponent, during this period USC also played its first games against other future Pac-12 rivals, including Oregon State, California, Oregon and Arizona. Between 1911–1913, USC followed the example of California and Stanford, the results were disastrous, as USC was soundly defeated by more experienced programs while the school itself experienced financial reverses, it was during this period that Owen R. After several decades of competition, USC first achieved prominence under head coach Gloomy Gus Henderson in the early 1920s. Another milestone came under Henderson in 1922, when USC joined the Pacific Coast Conference, success continued under coach Howard Jones from 1925 to 1940, when the Trojans were just one of a few nationally dominant teams. It was during this era that the achieved renown as the Thundering Herd. USC achieved intermittent success in the years following Jones tenure, jeff Cravath, who coached from 1942–1950, won the Rose Bowl in 1943 and 1945. Jess Hill, who coached from 1951 to 1956, won the Rose Bowl in 1953, from 1957 to 1959, the Trojans were coached by Don Clark. The Pacific Coast Conference dissolved in 1959, USC joined the conferences other three California schools and Washington to form a new conference, the Athletic Association of Western Universities, under a new charter. The program entered a new golden age upon the arrival of head coach John McKay, during this period the Trojans produced two Heisman Trophy winners and won four national championships
3.
Kansas City Chiefs
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The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League as a club of the leagues American Football Conference West division. The team was founded in 1960 as the Dallas Texans by businessman Lamar Hunt and was a member of the American Football League. In 1963, the relocated to Kansas City and assumed their current name. The Chiefs joined the NFL as a result of the merger in 1970, the team is valued at just under $1 billion. The Chiefs were also the team, after the Green Bay Packers, to appear in more than one Super Bowl. The Chiefs Wild-Card playoff victory ended what was at the time the third-longest drought in the NFL, in 1959, Lamar Hunt began discussions with other businessmen to establish a professional football league that would rival the National Football League. Hunts desire to secure a team was heightened after watching the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts. After unsuccessful attempts to purchase and relocate the NFLs Chicago Cardinals to his hometown of Dallas, Texas, Hunt went to the NFL and asked to create an expansion franchise in Dallas. The NFL turned him down, so Hunt then established the American Football League and started his own team, the Dallas Texans, to begin play in 1960. Hunt hired an assistant coach from the University of Miami football team, Hank Stram, to be the teams head coach after the job offer was declined by Bud Wilkinson. The Texans shared the Cotton Bowl with the NFLs cross-town competition Dallas Cowboys for three seasons, the Texans were to have exclusive access to the stadium until the NFL put an expansion team, the Dallas Cowboys, there. While the team averaged a league-best 24,500 at the Cotton Bowl, in the franchises first two seasons, the team managed only a 14–14 record. In their third season, the Texans strolled to an 11–3 record, the game was broadcast nationally on ABC and the Texans defeated the Oilers 20–17 in double overtime. The game lasted 77 minutes and 54 seconds, which stands as the longest championship game in professional football history. It turned out to be the last game the team would play as the Dallas Texans and he considered moving the Texans to either Atlanta or Miami for the 1963 season. However, he was swayed by an offer from Kansas City Mayor Harold Roe Bartle. Bartle promised to triple the franchises season ticket sales and expand the capacity of Municipal Stadium to accommodate the team
4.
History of the San Diego Chargers
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The Los Angeles Chargers franchise was founded in 1959 as a charter member of the American Football League. The team played the 1960 season in Los Angeles, moving to San Diego in 1961, the Chargers played in San Diego for 56 years. In 2017, the Chargers owner announced a move to Los Angeles, effective with the 2017 season, the Chargers original owner was hotel heir Barron Hilton, son of Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton. Frank Leahy, a former Notre Dame University football coach, was named the teams first general manager, the Chargers initially considered playing at the Rose Bowl, but instead signed a lease to play at the Los Angeles Coliseum. There is also a theory about a man named Gerald Courtney of Hollywood who won an all-expenses-paid trip to Mexico City. They played ten years in the AFL before the merging of the league into the older NFL and their only coach for the ten-year life of the AFL was Sid Gillman, former coach of the NFLs Los Angeles Rams, who originally signed a three-year contract as head coach. Gillman, who was voted to the Hall of Fame, was widely recognized as a great offensive innovator. He also took on the role of coach and general manager after Frank Leahy resigned because of poor health. The early AFL years of the San Diego Chargers were highlighted by the play of wide receiver Lance Alworth with 543 receptions for 10,266 yards in his 11-AFL/NFL-season career. In addition, he set the pro football record of games with a reception during his career. With players such as Alworth, Paul Lowe, Keith Lincoln and John Hadl, the high-scoring Chargers reached the AFL Championship Game five times winning once during that ten-year span. The Chargers spent only one season in L. A. before moving in 1961, on that season, the defense recorded 49 pass interceptions as the AFL played an exciting brand of football featuring strong passing attacks. The Chargers were the originators of the term Fearsome Foursome to describe their all-star defensive line, anchored by Earl Faison, the phrase was later appropriated by various NFL teams. Houston defeated the Chargers 10–3 before 29,556 persons in Balboa Stadium to win the second AFL championship. The next year, the Chargers stumbled to a 4-10 record, as of 2016, this was the last professional sports championship for the city of San Diego. In 1964, the AFL teams signed a television contract with National Broadcasting Company for a record $36 million. The Chargers and New York Jets tied 17-17 before a record AFL crowd of 50,222 fans,46,828 paid in New Yorks Shea Stadium, a Balboa Stadium attendance record of 34,865 was set as Buffalo defeated San Diego 27-24 on Thanksgiving Day. The Chargers defeated the Jets 38-3 before 25,753 persons in Balboa Stadium to clinch their fourth AFL West title in five years, in 1965, San Diego won their fifth AFL West title in six years by defeating Houston on December 12 by the score of 37-26
5.
Super Bowl
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The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League. The game is the culmination to a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. Normally, Roman numerals are used to each game, rather than the year in which it is held. For example, Super Bowl I was played on January 15,1967, the single exception to this rule is Super Bowl 50, which was played on February 7,2016, following the 2015 regular season. The next game, Super Bowl LII, scheduled for February 4,2018, the game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League. It was agreed that the two champion teams would play in the AFL–NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was redesignated as a conference, currently, the National Football Conference leads the league with 26 wins to 25 wins for the American Football Conference. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most Super Bowl championship titles, with six, the New England Patriots have the most Super Bowl appearances, with nine. The day on which the Super Bowl is played, now considered by some as an unofficial American national holiday, is called Super Bowl Sunday and it is the second-largest day for U. S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. In addition, the Super Bowl has frequently been the most-watched American television broadcast of the year, in 2015, Super Bowl XLIX became the most-watched American television program in history with an average audience of 114. The NFL restricts the use of its Super Bowl trademark, it is called the Big Game or other generic terms by non-sponsoring corporations. As a result, watching and discussing the broadcasts commercials has become a significant aspect of the event, for four decades after its 1920 inception, the NFL successfully fended off several rival leagues. However, in 1960, it encountered its most serious competitor when the American Football League was formed. The AFL vied heavily with the NFL for both players and fans, but by the middle of the decade the strain of competition led to merger talks between the two leagues. Prior to the 1966 season, the NFL and AFL reached an agreement that was to take effect for the 1970 season. As part of the merger, the champions of the two agreed to meet in a world championship game for professional American football until the merger was effected. A bowl game is a college football game. Exploiting the Rose Bowl Games popularity, post-season college football contests were created for Miami, New Orleans, and El Paso, Texas in 1935, by the time the first Super Bowl was played, the term bowl for any major American football game was well established
6.
Super Bowl IV
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Super Bowl IV, the fourth AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, was played on January 11,1970, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The American Football League champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football League champion Minnesota Vikings by the score of 23–7 and this victory by the AFL squared the Super Bowl series with the NFL at two games apiece. This was also the final AFL-NFL World Championship Game before the two merged into one after the season.5 to 13-point favorites. Minnesota posted a 12–2 record during the 1969 NFL season before defeating the Cleveland Browns, 27–7, in the 1969 NFL Championship Game. The Chiefs, who appeared in the first Super Bowl, finished the 1969 AFL season at 11–3. Under wet conditions, the Chiefs defense dominated Super Bowl IV by limiting the Minnesota offense to only 67 rushing yards, Kansas Citys Len Dawson became the fourth consecutive winning quarterback to be named Super Bowl MVP. He completed 12 of 17 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown, Dawson also recorded three rushing attempts for 11 yards. Super Bowl IV is also notable for NFL Films miking up the Chiefs Hank Stram during the game, the game was awarded to New Orleans on March 19,1969 at the owners meetings held in Palm Springs, California. The Minnesota Vikings, led by head coach Bud Grant, entered the game with an NFL best 12–2 regular season record, leading the league in total points scored. They had scored 50 or greater points in three different games and they lost their first and last games of the season, but in between had 12 straight victories, the longest single-season winning streak in 35 years. The secondary was led by defensive backs Bobby Bryant, Earsell Mackbee, on offense, quarterback Joe Kapp was known for his superb leadership and his running ability, both throwing on the run and running for extra yards. And when Kapp did take off and run, instead of sliding when he was about to be tackled like most quarterbacks, he lowered his shoulder and this style of play earned him the nickname Indestructible. In the NFL Championship Game against the Cleveland Browns, he collided with linebacker Jim Houston while running for a first down, and Houston had to be helped off the field after the play ended. Also, Kapp was known for being an extremely unselfish leader, running back Dave Osborn was the teams top rusher with 643 yards and seven touchdowns. He also caught 22 passes for 236 yards and another touchdown, in the passing game, Pro Bowl wide receiver Gene Washington averaged 21.1 yards per catch by recording 821 yards and nine touchdowns from 39 receptions. Wide receiver John Henderson caught 34 passes for 553 yards and 5 touchdowns, the Vikings offensive line was anchored by Pro Bowlers Grady Alderman and Mick Tingelhoff. By winning the 1969 NFL Championship, the Vikings became the last possessors of the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy, meanwhile, it seemed that the Chiefs, led by head coach Hank Stram, and especially quarterback Len Dawson, were jinxed throughout the year. In the second game of the season, Dawson suffered a knee injury that kept him from playing the next six games
7.
American football
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The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
8.
Halfback (American football)
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A halfback is an offensive position in American football, whose duties involve lining up in the backfield and carrying the ball on most rushing plays, i. e. a running back. The halfback position is one of the more glamorous positions on the field, sometimes the halfback can catch the ball from the backfield on short passing plays as he is an eligible receiver. Occasionally, they line up as wide receivers. When not running or catching the ball, the responsibility of a halfback is to aid the offensive linemen in blocking. Before the emergence of the T-formation in the 1940s, all members of the backfield were legitimate threats to run or pass the ball. Most teams used four offensive backs on every play, a quarterback, the quarterback began each play a quarter of the way back, the halfbacks began each play side by side and halfway back, and the fullback began each play the farthest back. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the position was both an offensive and defensive position. There has also been a shift in most offense’s dependence on halfbacks, however, the average output of the halfback has not changed. Older systems require the halfback be proficient at throwing the ball downfield as well, many of the “scat backs” in the modern era produce more total yards and touchdowns than their ancestor “power backs” by breaking off big plays on outside runs and receptions. The spread offense and the hurry-up offense change the halfback’s role, the spread, the hurry-up, and the pro-style offenses dominate American football but the “smash-mouth” style of play is far from extinct. A power-running scheme is often utilized to counter an effective Spread attack, as it allows a team to control the clock and this strategy is utilized in NFL, college, and all other forms of American football. The need for “power backs is very prevalent, alongside the need for “scat backs”, in the past few decades the role of the halfback has gone through a great shift as most offensive game plans are now fueled by creativity and finesse instead of raw force. Stamina and durability is more important than ever in the hurry-up offense, on the other hand, speed is often valued over strength, and pass-catching ability is sometimes valued over blocking proficiency. Power was once the most desired trait in a halfback, but has been taken by the need for a diverse skill set. In the last few decades the running back’s individual share of output has declined as quarterbacks are generally treated as the cornerstone of the offense. The demands of an up-tempo offense also favor a multiple running back system, from the dawn of American football through the 1880s most offensive schemes focused on the running game. In a running based game plan the halfback was typically the cornerstone of the offense and this system focused on a physical run attack concentrated in the inside of the field, and therefore depended on a skilled “power back”. There were no forward passes, and pure speed took a backseat to tackle-breaking and bucking ability, there was a focus on physicality over finesse, as this type of playing style earned the moniker of “smash mouth” football
9.
University of Southern California
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The University of Southern California is a private research university founded in 1880 with its main campus in Los Angeles, California. As Californias oldest private university, USC has historically educated a large number of the regions business leaders. In recent decades, the university has also leveraged its location in Los Angeles to establish relationships with research and cultural institutions throughout Asia, an engine for economic activity, USC contributes $8 billion annually to the economy of the Los Angeles metropolitan area and California. For the 2014–15 academic year, there were 18,740 students enrolled in undergraduate programs. USC also has 23,729 graduate and professional students in a number of different programs, including business, law, engineering, social work, and medicine. The university is one of the top fundraising institutions in the world, consistently ranking among the top 3 in external contributions, multiple academic rankings list the University of Southern California as being among the top 25 universities in the United States. With an acceptance rate of 16 percent, USC is also among the most selective academic institutions in the nation. USC maintains a tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship, with alumni having founded companies such as Lucasfilm, Myspace, Salesforce. com, Intuit, Qualcomm, Box, Tinder. As of 2014, the university has produced the fourth largest number of billionaire alumni out of all institutions in the world. USC is home to the world’s most powerful computer, which is presently housed in a super-cooled. The only other commercially available quantum computing system is operated jointly by NASA, USC was also one of the earliest nodes on ARPANET and is the birthplace of the Domain Name System. Other technologies invented at USC include DNA computing, dynamic programming, image compression, VoIP, USC sponsors a variety of intercollegiate sports and competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Members of the teams, the Trojans, have won 102 NCAA team championships, ranking them third in the nation. Trojan athletes have won 288 medals at the Olympic games, more than any university in the United States. If USC were a country, its athletes would have received the 12th-most Olympic gold medals in history. In 1969, it joined the Association of American Universities, the University of Southern California was founded following the efforts of Judge Robert M. Hellman. The three donated 308 lots of land to establish the campus and provided the seed money for the construction of the first buildings. Originally operated in affiliation with the Methodist Church, the school mandated from the start that no student would be denied admission because of race, the university is no longer affiliated with any church, having severed formal ties in 1952
10.
California State University, Los Angeles
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California State University, Los Angeles is a public comprehensive university in the heart of Los Angeles, one of the 23 universities in the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 129 Bachelors degrees,112 Masters degrees,3 Doctoral degrees, Cal State LA is a Hispanic-serving institution. Cal State LA has a student body of more than 24,000 students primarily from the greater Los Angeles area, Cal State LA operated year-round on the quarter system with four quarters, each 11 weeks in duration. In fall 2016, the university converted to the system as part of a system-wide conversion of all quarter campuses. Cal State LA is organized into eight colleges that house a total of four schools and approximately 50 academic departments, divisions, Cal State LA is home to the critically acclaimed Luckman Jazz-Orchestra and a unique Early Entrance Program in the Honors College for gifted students as young as 11. U. S. News has ranked Cal State LAs undergraduate business program as one of the best in the nation, the School of Nursing is considered to be one of the best in the state of California. Classrooms are shared with Cal State LA However, LACHSA activities tend to be separate from those of the university, notable LACHSA alumni include singer Josh Groban, actress Jenna Elfman, actor/singer Corbin Bleu, and UCLA Athletics senior executive Ron Country Club Kobata. Cal State LA open a new downtown Los Angeles campus in 2016 to provide university programs, the university has signed a lease for 21,000 square feet at West 8th Street and South Grand Avenue. Cal State LA will offer undergraduate and graduate programs at the site, as well as professional development, the campus will contain 12 classrooms,2 computer labs, student lounges, student collaboration space, conference and events space, and administrative and faculty offices. The university is located on the site of one of Californias 36 original adobes, built in 1776 by Franciscan missionaries and destroyed by fire in 1908. These lands once were part of a Spanish land grant known as Rancho Rosa Castilla, given to Juan Batista Batz, the inspiration for the name of the rancho, according to local historians, was the wild roses that once grew near the ranch home. The main drive through the campus is known as Paseo Rancho Castilla, Cal State LA was founded on July 2,1947 by an act of the California legislature and opened for classes as The Los Angeles State College on the campus of Los Angeles City College. In 1949, the Los Angeles State College was reconstituted by the Legislature as The Los Angeles State College of Applied Arts, in 1972, CSCLA was awarded university status and was renamed California State University, Los Angeles. Since 1954, Cal State LA has been accredited by the Western Association of Schools, the universitys credential programs are approved by the Commission for Teacher Credentialing Committee on Accreditation. In 1968 Cal State LA established the nations first Chicano Studies department, in 1993, the CSU Chancellor and Trustees approved development of Cal State LAs Charter College of Education, creating the first such college of higher education in the nation. The original mascot of the school was the Diablo, in 1980, new university president James Rosser adopted a new mascot, Eddie the golden eagle, designed to be more reflective of the campus highly diverse community. The theme was extended to student facilities such as the student union, sept.2000 California Governor Gray Davis chooses the Cal State LA campus to hold press conference at which he signs the historic bills expanding the Cal Grant program. A Statue of Confucius, a gift of the Republic of China in Taiwan, was dedicated June 1987, the statue was moved to a new campus location in summer 2005
