1915-1925- September 20, 1915: Santa Ana Junior College opened its doors to 24 students as an upper division branch of Santa Ana High School. Dana King Hammond, former high school teacher and principal, was first named dean, then director of the college. He served in this role from 1915-1942.
- The college opened with 11 faculty and 20 courses including English, mathematics, science, history, philosophy and languages.
- 1916: The SAJC football game was played with a 20-0 loss to Chaffey College. The first win came at the end of the 1916 season with a 10-0 victory over Chaffey College.
- April 1917: The U.S. officially entered World War I.
- May 1917: The college held its first play, The Princess, an elaborate outdoor pageant.
- June 15, 1917: The first graduating class of Santa Ana Junior College (SACJC) consisted of six female students.
- 1918: The number of faculty increased to 15.
- May 1919: The Santa Ana Board of Education approved a motion to terminate Santa Ana Junior College. However, the motion was never carried out.
- 1919: The junior college held its first standalone commencement, with a graduating class of 16 female students.
- 1920: The first college dance was held at the home of Edward M. Nealley, SACJC philosophy professor.
- 1921: Santa Ana Junior College published the first issue of The Algol, a yearbook exclusively for Santa Ana Junior College.
- 1922: A junior college district was established, making Santa Ana Junior College no longer a department of the high school. With the help of the YWCA, a hut was built on campus for the women students which contained an office, a kitchenette, and a restroom.
- 1923: Astronomy students built a telescope on campus.
- September 12, 1925: The Junior College News published its first edition of the school year. The paper could be purchased at a cost of five cents per copy, or one dollar for a year’s subscription. The college’s official colors were purple and white.
- September 21, 1925: The faculty had nine new members, bringing the total to 29. The Algol, SAC’s yearbook, announced that a “mission” motif would be introduced for the first time, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the California mission.
- September 29, 1925: A contest was launched to determine the college mascot. $5 in prizes were offered, with first place winning $3 and second and third place getting $1 apiece.
- October 7, 1925: Plans were approved for an $80,000 gymnasium and construction began on a new cafeteria. Of the 247 students enrolled, 129 were women. The first proposed college mascot names included Vikings, Owls, Eagles, Greeks, Saints, Jays and Orangemen. The Girls Athletic League was “banished.” Among the reasons was the idea that it became “Too competitive.”
- October 14, 1925: More mascot names were proposed including Dons, Cops and Kings. An amendment to the college constitution was passed which required student-athletes to maintain 12 units in order to represent the college. Tardy students had to pay a fine of 10 cents which went towards scholarships. The college’s print shop added two typesetting machines at a cost of $11,000.
- October 21, 1925: Santa Ana Junior College was recognized as an accredited university and therefore would no longer be associated with University of California, Berkeley. Other junior colleges were expected to follow suit. More proposed mascot names were Beavers, Jay-Walkers and Tiger Cats.
- November 4, 1925: The final set of proposed mascot names was announced. They were JayHawkers, Incas and Buzzards. Early buzz had Dons and Vikings as the favorites.
- November 17, 1925: The leading mascot name choices were announced - Cops and Dons.
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