With the nearest metropolitan area, the San Francisco Bay region, more than five hours away, Humboldt’s leaders have stuck with football, in part, to give residents behind the Redwood Curtain something to cheer. Arcata’s population barely tops 17,000 when school is in session.

“There’s a sense of pride in your team and your small town,” said Pete Ciotti, a season-ticket holder and pizzeria owner who moved to Arcata from Ithaca, N.Y., 15 years ago. An entire row of Humboldt seats includes Big Pete’s Pizzeria plaques.

“Everyone’s just really excited about it,” Ciotti added. “We all sat through terrible seasons, getting rained on. We knew things would get turned around.”

Rain still falls on Redwood Bowl, one reason an old-growth forest abuts the 7,000-capacity stadium, but the Lumberjacks bear little resemblance to the 2008 team, which went 2-9 in Rob Smith’s first season as the coach. The squad has improved significantly since then, culminating in last year’s 9-1 record and two home sellouts, which was new ground for Humboldt, which has traditionally had a loyal but small following.

Not including scholarships, Humboldt spends slightly more than $650,000 a year on football, about $213,000 more than the university spends on men’s basketball, the second most expensive sport. Football also costs about $380,000 more than Humboldt’s most expensive women’s sport, basketball.