College of the Desert

College of the Desert (COD) is a public community college in Palm Desert, California. COD enrolls about 12,500 students, of which around one third attend college full-time. It serves the Coachella Valley of Riverside County. The college is federally recognized as a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI), receiving Title V grants.

History
College of the Desert was established in 1958 after a decade of planning for a junior college district in the Coachella Valley. Voters approved the formation of the district and funded the building of the COD campus with a bond issue. On September 21, 1962, the new college opened on its 160 acre site in Palm Desert, and in 1966 it gained accreditation.

The Jeane and Justin Hilb student center and the Carol L. Meier Lecture Hall opened in 1998, and Bob and his wife "Mike" Pollock funded the creation of the COD campus's Theatre One in 1999. The Marks Center for the Arts was built from the generosity of Don and Peggy Cravens, Bob and Barbara Leberman, and the COD Alumni Association in 2003. Their substantial support has permitted COD to further upgrade and expand its arts facilities into 2006 and beyond. College of the Desert's library building, opened in 1996, is unique in California as the only one that is shared by a college with both a city (Palm Desert) and a county (Riverside) library.

From 1966 to 1999, residents in the High Desert to the north of the Coachella Valley were also part of the community college district. Their affiliated Copper Mountain Campus in Twentynine Palms was opened in 1984 and remained with the district until 1999, when it was renamed Copper Mountain College and became an independent district.

In 2001, the Eastern Valley Center opened to address a need for more English and ethnic studies classes, such as Mexican American Culture and Intro to African American Literature, as well as for a campus located in the eastern Coachella Valley's agricultural and casino gaming corridor. More than 1,400 students are enrolled in the Eastern Valley Center located in Indio.

Athletics
College of the Desert is a member of the Inland Empire Athletic Conference (IEAC) for 9 of its 15 sports. The Roadrunners programs, such as: Men's Golf, Beach Volleyball, Women's Golf and Women's Tennis, are hosted out to other Southern California Athletic Conferences due to less than 4 IEAC member schools with that sport offering. COD Football is a member of the American Division-Mountain Conference in the Southern California Football Association (SCFA). Each sport has a different competitive alignment within the conference.

COD competes with: Antelope Valley College, (Football Only), Barstow College, Cerro Coso Community College, Chaffey College, Citrus College (Football Only), Copper Mountain College, Crafton Hills College, Mt. San Jacinto College, Norco College, Palo Verde College, San Bernardino Valley College and Victor Valley College.

Because the sport of Football is in its own autonomous Athletic Conference, the Southern California Football Association, COD competes against these schools in the American Division - Mountain Conference: Antelope Valley College, Citrus College, Mt. San Jacinto College, San Bernardino Valley College and Victor Valley College.

Women's Basketball, Men's Basketball and Women's Volleyball play their home games in the COD Gymnasium at the Bragdon & Inez Garrow Athletic Quad. The Gym was built in 2014. Prior to 2014, COD competed in the Harold & Hazel Wright Gymnasium, which has since been demolished, and in its footprint was placed 8 competition tennis courts.

Football plays their home games at Robert F. Boone Field, named in honor of a COD benefactor. Boone started a mechanical equipment company, B.B. Supply, at the age of 39, in Los Angeles. He later changed the name to Chain Drives Inc. He was a member of the college's President Circle, where he donated $100,000 to the College of the Desert Foundation for the naming rights to the field and the presentation was made at the Homecoming game on November 3, 1984, when the team faced Imperial Valley College. The Roadrunners won the game, 50–8.

Baseball plays their games at Ted Hamilton Field, named in honor of a former Kansas City Royals scout who lived in Indian Wells, California and was a supporter of Roadrunners Baseball. After working 30 years in the motion picture studio business, Hamilton retired to Indian Wells and was appointed as a Planning Commissioner, running for City Council in 1984 and finishing last in the At-Large race. Hamilton was the author of a book, titled "Diamond Dust Tid-Bits," published in 1982 about his years in professional baseball.

Football Trophy Games
The Roadrunners have two Football "Trophy Games" a season, the longest running of which is "The Palms-to-Pines" game, which occurs each season against the Mt. San Jacinto College Eagles. The trophy was sponsored by The Desert Sun beginning in 1970, but that sponsorship has been discontinued for some time. "The Palms-to-Pines" game has taken place every year since the Eagles added an Athletics program, which was 1967. As of the conclusion of the 2017 season, the teams have a 24-25-2 overall record against each other, with Desert holding a 12–14 record at home. The Roadrunners suffered forfeit losses in 1967 and 1970 and are reflected in the overall record.

The other trophy game is the "COD-SBVC Challenge Trophy" game, which has occurred off-and-on since 1981, with San Bernardino Valley College holding a slight edge in the overall record, 18–15. The Roadrunners last won the "Challenge Trophy" in 2015 and has a home record 8–8.

Notable alumni

 * Victor Rojas: Television analyst for the Los Angeles Angels
 * Gar Forman: Professional basketball manager
 * Mike Leach: college football coach
 * Bruce Blakeman: politician and political commentator
 * Eduardo Garcia: politician represents the 56th Assembly District
 * Bryan Robinson: professional football player
 * Brent Geiberger: professional golfer
 * Reggie Brown: professional football player
 * Jack Renner: professional golfer
 * John Wilson: professional golfer