Despite not being involved in team competitive play today, Del Mar College has a long and rich history of success from 1939 through the ‘70s when the Vikings conquered the Gulf Coast, South Texas, and Pioneer conferences.
The “Cagers” were the first Del Mar competitive sports team with their inaugural basketball season in 1939 and joined the Gulf Coast Conference in 1941. They changed their name to the “Vikings” in 1945 to match their mascot, who was created the same year the Cagers began playing.
After this name change, the Vikings began to have more winning seasons throughout the ‘50s, and in 1959 they earned recognition and rose in the ranks after taking down the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, Cameron.
“It was my second year here. We had Cameron who was No. 1 in the nation,” said former Viking basketball player Hector Ramos in a 2023 interview. “And we beat the No. 1 team in Cameron right here in this same Del Mar College gym.”
That success gave the Vikings the confidence needed to begin dominating the Gulf Coast Conference, winning three consecutive conference championships from 1962-64. Throughout those three seasons, the team won 64 games and lost only 23.
The 1950s also featured the Del Mar Viking football team breaking into the top 100 nationally ranked teams with the 88th spot after a 9-1 finish, a South Texas Conference Championship in the 1951 season and afterwards defeating Pearl River in the 1951 Memorial Bowl.
This success came quickly as the team’s inaugural season was in 1947, and the ranking would be the highest ever for a junior college football team to that point. They were ranked above many notable college football schools today including Oregon, Utah, Army, and Rutgers.
By 1959 the Vikings had moved to the Pioneer Conference and that season they reigned supreme in conference play, winning all 5 games and going 8-1-1 overall to win the Pioneer Conference and earn their first and only ever appearance in the 14th annual Junior Rose Bowl held in Pasadena, California.
Ramos still vividly remembers the Vikings strong start before ultimately losing 36-14 to the Bakersfield Renegades. “They did well, the Vikings were winning 14-0.” Ramos went on to explain that the players didn’t account for the difference in air quality, so while they played their hardest early, it brought success but also wore them out which led to being outplayed in the second half by the Renegades who were in the same state and only 114 miles from their home stadium.
Overall, the Vikings football team won 89 games, losing only 21 and tying eight others throughout 13 seasons, which was one of the best records in Texas for this period. They won five different bowl games while their only bowl loss would come in the Junior Rose Bowl.
Even with the Vikings finding their most success at this point, it didn’t coincide with the funding needed to continue the program. This paired with struggles to find other teams who would agree to play an integrated junior college led to the decision to end the Del Mar football team in 1960.
As for the basketball team, it lived on for over another decade and even added a women’s team thanks to Title IX. This, however, also led to its own demise as space issues with dorms, practice and playing facilities, as well as travel costs led to another financial need that was not available.
Eventually Del Mar College would focus on upgrading the school in terms of academic success rather than athletic success. Their future funding projects would open many buildings on multiple campuses for new degrees in science, technology, culinary arts, nursing, fine arts, as well as other things to better accommodate the increase in students.
Del Mar has never left out sports all together, as they transitioned into intramural sports which allows the students within Del Mar to stay active and compete against each other while having fun and building a community within their school.
Sports events that are still available to play at Del Mar include basketball, volleyball, flag football, soccer, pickleball, and table tennis, as well as running events and other activities around the community like roller skating.
Intramural sports also allow for people like staff, professors, and even others living in the community like Ramos to have a place where they can play with others and reminisce about their experiences just as we reminisce about the experiences and achievements of the students who walked before at Del Mar College.
