Founded by the Jesuits in 1855 as St. Ignatius Academy, USF started as a one-room schoolhouse along Market Street in what later became downtown San Francisco.

Under Maraschi, St. Ignatius Academy received its charter to issue college degrees on April 30, 1859, from the State of California, and signed by governor John B. Weller.

[5] The original curriculum included Greek, Spanish, Latin, English, French, Italian, algebra, arithmetic, history, geography, elocution, and bookkeeping.

The third St. Ignatius College received moderate damage in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, but was completely destroyed in the ensuing fire.

It occupied a hastily constructed structure known as the Shirt Factory (for its resemblance to similar manufacturing buildings of the era) for the next 21 years.

The change from college to university was sought by many alumni groups and by long-time San Francisco Mayor James Rolph Jr.[6] A male-only school for most of its history, USF became fully coeducational in 1964, though women started attending the evening programs in business and law as early as 1927.

In 1969, the high school division, already wholly separate from the university, moved to the western part of San Francisco and became St. Ignatius College Preparatory.

[19][failed verification] The USF Downtown San Francisco Campus was founded in the Folger Coffee Company Building at 101 Howard Street in 2012.

The University of San Francisco Faculty Association, a local of the California Federation of Teachers, represents its members in all matters concerning wages, benefits, and enforcing the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Notable alumni of the Foghorn include Pierre Salinger, editor of the San Francisco Chronicle and Press Secretary for President John F. Kennedy; well-known author and historian Kevin Starr; and Leo T. McCarthy, former California Lieutenant Governor.

[36] The University of San Francisco television station USFtv, founded in 2006[37] and entirely student-run, is broadcast on Channel 35 in the dormitories and around campus,[38] with news, sports, and cultural programming.

[39] The Ignatian is USF's annual literary magazine published every spring, with a wide array of content from philosophical pieces to personal essays, short fiction, poetry, and photography.

[citation needed] USF has numerous student clubs for the performing arts, including a theater group (College Players), two-time Golden Gate Regional winning improvisational team (Awkward Silence), choir (ASUSF Voices), USF Don Marching Band, contemporary mass ensemble, and a dance program that focuses on social justice.

[citation needed] The College Players, founded in 1863, is considered one of the oldest student-run theater groups in the United States.

[58][59] On-campus USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a charter member of the West Coast Conference, along with local rivals Santa Clara University and Saint Mary's College of California.

[60] Athletics at USF dates back to its founding in 1855, when founder Anthony Maraschi, S.J., organized ball games as recreation for the first students.

Rivalries with neighboring Santa Clara University and Saint Mary's College of California have their origins in this early period.

[61] The 1951 University of San Francisco Dons football team, coached by Joe Kuharich, went undefeated with a record of 9–0, and produced nine future NFL players.

Five became NFL Pro-Bowlers, and Gino Marchetti, Ollie Matson, and Bob St. Clair later were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame – a record for one college team.

At the height of their success, due to the team having two African-American star players, Ollie Matson and Burl Toler, they were not invited to play in any of the college football bowl games hosted by the SEC (Southeastern Conference).

The team captain was All-American Gus Donoghue, who returned to the university as head coach in 1946, winning several titles, including a co-championship with Penn State in 1949.