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California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Professional football coach Ted Tollner earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education and master’s degree in education at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 1962 and 1965, respectively. While a student-athlete at Cal Poly, Mr. Tollner was the starting quarterback for two seasons and a pitcher for four seasons. An All-Conference selection in both football and baseball, he represented the United States’ baseball team in the 1962 Pan American Games.

Mr. Tollner began his coaching career at Morro Bay High School and Woodside High School. He transitioned to college football as a coach at the College of San Mateo, then at San Diego State University and Brigham Young University. In 1982, Mr. Tollner became the offensive coordinator for the University of Southern California football team and was promoted to head coach the following year. During his four-year tenure at USC, Mr. Tollner compiled a 26-20-1 record and led the Trojans to the Pacific-10 Conference championship in 1984. 

Mr. Tollner began his NFL career as a coach with the Buffalo Bills in 1987. In 1989, he became an offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers before moving to Los Angeles to work with the Rams for the 1992 and 1993 seasons. In 1994, Mr. Tollner returned to San Diego State, serving as the head football coach until 2001.

In the early 2000s, Mr. Tollner returned to the NFL, first as a quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers and then as an offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. He returned to coach the 49ers in 2007 and joined the Oakland Raiders as a passing game coordinator from 2009 until his retirement in 2011. 

Mr. Tollner was one of 26 survivors of the October 1960 plane crash that took the lives of 16 members of the Cal Poly Mustangs football team. In 1989, he was inducted into the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame and has been a member of Cal Poly’s Athletic Director’s Council since 2010. 

In recognition of his accomplishments as an athlete, a coach and a dedicated Cal Poly volunteer, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo are proud to confer upon Ted Tollner the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.