Bio

Charles “Chuck” A. Kane was an exceptional athlete who excelled in basketball at Poly High School and Riverside City College. However, his biggest score came as president of Riverside City College when he, along with community partners, founded the Tiger Backers.

Faced with declining state revenues, Kane sought the help of local business owners in order to subsidize the athletic program. He was an ardent booster of RCC and of the city of Riverside and devoted a significant amount of his energy to raising public awareness of the value of a community college education, its community activities programs, its athletic events, and its dramatic and musical achievements – especially its marching band – along with many other programs and services.

Born in Bozeman, MT, Kane grew up in Riverside, where he starred on the basketball teams for Riverside Poly High School and RCC. He went on to play for Pepperdine University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree and served as student body president. He later earned master and doctoral degrees in Education Administration and Counseling from USC. He also served in the Army, before beginning his teaching and coaching career at Dominguez High School in Compton.

In 1978, he was selected as the College’s sixth president and Kane quickly began to put his mark on the College, especially in athletics. He believed athletics enriched students’ lives and increased community involvement. That belief led to the creation of the Tiger Backers, a community-based support group dedicated to supporting and increasing financial resources to the athletic program in order to enrich the lives of student-athletes, and increase community involvement. 

Some 38 years later, the mission Dr. Kane envisioned hasn’t changed.

Dr. Kane, who passed away in 2004, and was inducted into the California Community Colleges Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.