McElroy and Long to be inducted
The Saddleback football program is excited to announce that a former coach and former player have been chosen to the California Community College Football Coaches Association (CCCFCA) Hall of Fame. Mark McElroy and Kyle Long will be inducted into the CCCFCA Hall of Fame next month.
McElroy's accomplishments were numerous in his 22 years at the head of the program. He finished with a 158-74 overall record as the head coach, winning five division titles and appearing in the state title game in 2015. His 158 wins as head coach ranks No. 1 in Saddleback history, eclipsing the old mark of 148 set by Ken Swearingen (1976-94). McElroy set a program record by appearing in the post-season 13 straight years from 2001-2013. He ended up making the post-season in 18 of his last 19 seasons, finishing with a .681 winning percentage. His 18 post-season appearances since 2000 is the highest total for any program in the state.
In addition to the team accomplishments under McElroy, Saddleback had as many as 10 of his former players make it to the National Football League and had close to 400 athletes receive scholarships to four-year universities. He had three players earn the title California Community College Offensive Player-of-the-Year from 2011-2019. Furthermore, McElroy's teams were consistently among the leaders in California in academics, including a record 17 players named to the Southern California Football Association Scholar-Athlete Team in 2019.
McElroy was named the American Community College Football Coaches Association National Coach-of-the-Year in 2015. In addition, he was a Southern California Regional Coach-of-the-Year three times and a five-time conference coach-of-the-year.
Long started his career at Saddleback as a defensive lineman in 2010 and then moved to the other side of the ball as a sophomore. He was an instant success up front for Saddleback and quickly earned a number of high-profile offers, including Oregon, Florida State, Arkansas, Tennessee, UCLA and Utah. He decided to play at Oregon and after one season with the Ducks was a first round draft choice of the Chicago Bears.
Long made a quick mark in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl in his first three years in the league. He ended up playing seven seasons for the Bears before announcing his retirement in January 2020. He also signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021 for one season.
The CCCFCA Hall of Fame started recognizing former players, coaches and contributors in 1984 and has since inducted close to 300 individuals. This celebrated collection of former greats from the California ranks includes high-profile names such as Jackie Robinson, John Madden, Bill Walsh, Pete Carroll and Andy Reid, just to name a few.
This year's class includes McElroy, Long, Ventura coach Steve Mooshagian and former NFL wide receiver Julian Edelman (College of San Mateo). The celebration will be held on Saturday, March 9, at the Elks Lodge in Visalia, California.
McElroy and Long become the 14th and 15th members of the CCCFCA Hall of Fame from Saddleback College. Below is a list of previous inductees, with the year they were inducted and designation.
SADDLEBACK HOF MEMBERS (w/year of induction):
Head Coach:
Ken Swearingen (1997)
George Hartman (2015)
Assistant Coach:
Don Butcher (2007)
Dick Stuetz (2015)
Vince McCullough (2016)
Bill Cunnerty (2016)
Contributor:
Keith Calkins (1989)
Bill Kelly (2016)
Player:
Jim Poettgen (2015)
Toby Whipple (2016)
Rudy Holmes (2017)
Stephone Paige (2001)
Marcellus Chrishon (2018)