1961 San Francisco State Gators football team

The 1961 San Francisco State Gators football team represented San Francisco State College—now known as San Francisco State University—as a member of the Far Western Conference (FWC) during the 1961 college football season. Led by first-year head coach Vic Rowen, San Francisco State compiled an overall record of 8–2 with a mark of 4–1 in conference play, sharing the FWC title with Humboldt State. For the season the team outscored its opponents 261 to 102. The Gators played home games at Cox Stadium in San Francisco.

Team players in the NFL / AFL
No San Francisco State players were selected in the 1962 NFL Draft.

The following finished their college career in 1961, were not drafted, but played in the AFL.