CIF-San Diego Section History
Moments of the Decade, 1960-2010
Suspension of Play Section Wide
CIF-San Diego Section Timeline
1898-99: First football game between two schools in San Diego, San Diego won at Escondido 6-0.
1960-61: San Diego Section breaks off from the Southern Section with 32 schools.
1974-75: Title IX opens sports to girls.
1987-88: Moves from class 3A, 2A, 1A to divisions I, II, III, IV, V.
1993-94: Playoff divisions moved to enrollment based divisions, not based on leagues.
2000-01: Last of the Imperial Valley area schools join the section from the Southern section.
2012-13: New transfer rule allows transfers if player sits out 30 days.
2012-13: Changes the design of the section trophies; at least the 3rd design since 1960-61.
2013-14: Playoff divisions based on team strength, not school enrollment, pilot program in Spring 2013. Also, an open division for the top 8 teams is established.
CIF-San Diego Section Commissioners
1960-76: Don Clarkson
1976-96: Kendall Webb
1996-01: Jan Jessop
2001-11: Dennis Ackerman
2011-current: Jerry Schneipp
CIF-San Diego Section Inaugural Seasons by Sport (section began in 1960-61)
1960-61: Football
1960-61: Boys’ Cross Country
1960-61: Boys’ Basketball
1960-61: Wrestling
1960-61: Baseball
1960-61: Boys’ Tennis
1960-61: Boys’ Track & Field
1960-61: Boys’ Gymnastics (discontinued in 1975-76)
1960-61: Boys’ Swimming
1960-61: Boys’ Golf
1967-68: Boys’ Water Polo
1971-72: Boys’ Soccer
1973-74: Girls’ Gymnastics (Title IX opens sports to girls)
1973-74: Girls’ Track & Field (Title IX opens sports to girls)
1973-74: Girls’ Swimming (Title IX opens sports to girls)
1974-75: Girls’ Volleyball
1974-75: Girls’ Tennis
1974-75: Girls’ Basketball
1974-75: Field Hockey (winter season)
1974-75: Softball
1977-78: Girls’ Cross Country
1981-82: Girls’ Soccer (spring season)
1983-84: Girls’ Soccer moves from the spring to the winter season
1983-84: Girls’ Basketball moves from the spring to the winter season
1983-84: Field Hockey moves from the winter to the fall season
1987-88: Boys’ Volleyball
1987-88: Badminton (no official play from 2000-01 to 2005-06)
1996-97: Girls’ Water Polo
2000-01: Girls’ Golf
2001-02: Boys’ Lacrosse
2001-02: Girls’ Lacrosse
2012-13: Girls' Wrestling
CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) History
CIF Southern Section, A Brief History
1890’s: First leagues created to play football and baseball in the Los Angeles area. Some players didn’t even attend the schools.
1904: Track & Field sponsored by the High School Athletic Association of Southern California.
1913: The Southern Section was created informally by school principals in the Los Angeles area primarily to organize track & field. The first name was the Southern California Interscholastic Athletic Council (SCIAC). The SCIAC encompassed the current Los Angeles City and San Diego Sections. There were five leagues and 30 teams in the SCIAC and there were four CIF sections across the state. Prior to the creation of the Southern Section adult coaches played on high school teams so in 1913 the original maximum age limit to participate was 21 years old.
1914: SCIAC changes name to “The Southern Section of the CIF”. CIF State is founded on June 1st.
1915: The first state track & field championship in Fresno.
1935: Los Angeles City Section breaks off from the Southern Section.
1960: San Diego Section breaks off from the Southern Section.
2000: Imperial County area schools breaks off from the Southern Section to join the San Diego Section.
Source: History of the CIF, Southern Section; Dr. John S. Dahlem
CIF State, A Brief History
1914: CIF State is founded on June 1st.
1917: CIF became a statewide organization.
1995: Jack Hayes becomes new state commissioner and changes his title to executive director to change the culture of the CIF from a rule-imposing organization to a more service oriented organization with more of the power and control at the section level.
2009: State office moves from Alameda to Sacramento.
2014: The All-Century Team, the top players from the first 100 years of CIF is named after the public voting is completed.
Establishment of CIF Sections
Map #, Year, Section, origin of establishment
n/a 1914 State CIF, established by school principles
# 9: 1914 Southern, charter member of the CIF
# 7: 1914 Central, charter member of the CIF
# 1: 1914 Northern, charter member of the CIF
# 2: 1914 North Coast (Bay), charter member of the CIF
# 8: 1935 Los Angeles City, broke from the Southern section
# 5: 1940 Oakland, broke from the North Coast section
# 3: 1944 Sac-Joaquin, broke from the Northern section
# 4: 1945 San Francisco, was named the Academic Athletic Association (AAA)
# 10: 1960 San Diego, broke from the Southern section
# 6: 1965 Central Coast, broke from the North Coast section
CIF-San Diego Section History
State CIF Chief Executive Officers
1914-15: E.W. Barnhart
1915-37: C.L. Biedenbach
1937-55: A.B. Ingham
1955-80: William Russell
1980-95: Thomas E. Byrnes
1995-01: Jack J. Hayes
2001-12: Marie M. Ishida
2012-current : Roger Blake
Early construction stage of Del Norte, total cost was $ 110 million, football stadium in the lower left corner.
Year, High School, Cost, School District (not adjusted for inflation)
1922 Grossmont, $ 123,000, Grossmont Unified School District
1957 Crawford, $ 2.3 million, San Diego Unified School District
1974 Valhalla, $ 6.5 million, Grossmont Unified High School District
1990 Rancho Bernardo, $ 37 million, Poway Unified School District
2003 Otay Ranch, $ 63 million, Sweetwater Union High School District
2009 Del Norte, $ 110 million, Poway Unified School District