DAVIS, Calif. -- The UC Davis football program will honor one of its own during the 67th annual Causeway Classic this weekend, adding Rolf Benirschke as the third entry on its "Aggie Pride Wall" at UC Davis Health Stadium as part of the team's regular season finale against rival Sacramento State on Nov. 20.
Tickets for that game are available to purchase online at UCDavisAggies.com or by contacting the UC Davis athletics ticket office at (530) 752-AGS1.
Benirschke joins former Aggie greats Ken O'Brien and Bo Eason on the "Aggie Pride Wall," located on the face of the press box at UC Davis Health Stadium, during Saturday's first quarter intermission. O'Brien was the inaugural honoree in November 2017, while Eason was added to the wall in October of 2019.
A standout on both the football field and soccer pitch for the Aggies, Benirschke was an All-Far Western Conference honoree in both sports, often shuttling from one sport to the other on the same day. He finished his UC Davis career as the school's all-time leading scorer in both sports, and entered the 2021 season ranked eighth on the school's all-time list with 29 field goals made, seventh with 43 attempts, and 10th in extra points made. Benirschke is also tied for fifth on the school's single-season list with 14 field goals made in 1976.
On the soccer field, he helped lead UC Davis to consecutive NCAA regional appearances in his junior and senior seasons.
Off the field, Benirschke was just as prolific, earning an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Award and capturing the W.P. Lindley Award as UC Davis' most outstanding scholar-athlete.
Originally drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the 12th round of the 1997 draft before being traded to his hometown San Diego Chargers shortly before the 1977 season, Benirschke went on to set 15 team records and finished as the team's leading scorer with 766 career points.
However, his promising professional career was almost over before it really started as he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis prior to the 1978 season. Following multiple surgeries to help correct the condition, Benirschke made his return to the NFL in 1980, scoring a career-high 118 points that season on 24 field goals and 46 extra points, and played six more seasons with the Chargers before retiring in 1987.
After leading the league in extra points made in both 1981 and 1982, Benirschke was named the NFL Man of the Year in 1983 and earned a selection to the Pro Bowl in 1982. He finished his 10-year professional career with 146 field goals made in 208 tries for a .702 field goal percentage which, at the time, made him the third-most accurate kicker in league history behind only Eddie Murray and Nick Lowery.
Named the Cal Aggie Alumni Association Young Alumnus of the Year in 1981, Benirschke was inducted into the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame in 1982 and, in 1997, he was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame. In 2004, Benirschke was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame and was named the Cal Aggies Athletics Hall of Fame Legacy Award winner in 2013.
During and following his football career, Benirschke led the league in philanthropic efforts. True to his interest in animal science that first led him to UC Davis' door, he founded the Kicks for Critters campaign at the San Diego Zoo. A San Diego resident, he remains active in the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America, Scripps Hospital and the United Way. His autobiography Alive and Kicking, which chronicles his heroic and inspirational battle with IBD was published in 1996.
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Centrally located between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, over 700 student-athletes across 25 teams enjoy an unrivaled undergraduate experience at the fifth-ranked public school in the country.
Ranked annually in the nation's top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis and its innovative Aggie EVO System helps student-athletes develop passions, connect with a comprehensive network of alums and industry leaders, gain real-world experience, and thrive as a young professional following a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school.
