Though Sonoma State no longer sponsors a football program, the sport's history at the school is remembered fondly.  And for all the successes enjoyed in the program's later years - including the career of an eventual Pro Football Hall of Famer and a memorable league championship in 1991 - it all started with the 1969 Sonoma State Football Team. Â
A new program on a new campus, the '69 Cossacks were coached by Lloyd Helgeson. Â Winners of five of their eight games that year, playing mostly JV teams, the Cossacks had a memorable finale in which they knocked off Sac State's JV side 20-15 in what was dubbed "the JV Championship of the Far West Conference. Â
Many of the young men on the roster went on to successful and rewarding careers. Though equipment was scarce and the team played home games in rented high school stadiums, the '69 Cossacks forged a bond that holds strong some 45 years later.
