The 1961 Los Angeles State Diablos football team represented Los Angeles State College—now known as California State University, Los Angeles—as a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) during the 1961 NCAA College Division football season. Led by 11th-year head coach Leonard Adams, Los Angeles State compiled an overall record of 4–4–1 with a mark of 2–2–1 in conference play, tying for third place in the CCAA. The Diablos played three home games at L.A. State Stadium in Los Angeles and two at East Los Angeles College Stadium in Monterey Park, California.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	Cal Poly Pomona*	East Los Angeles College Stadium Monterey Park, CA	L 11–21	5,200	[1]
September 23	San Diego State	L.A. State Stadium Los Angeles, CA	T 13–13	4,752	[2]
September 30	University of Mexico*	East Los Angeles College Stadium Monterey Park, CA	W 40–0
October 7	at UC Santa Barbara	La Playa Stadium Santa Barbara, CA	W 31–8
October 14	San Francisco State*	L.A. State Stadium Los Angeles, CA	W 28–21	3,750	[3]
October 21	at No. 10 Fresno State	Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA	L 6–35	11,151	[4]
October 28	at Pacific (CA)*	Pacific Memorial Stadium Stockton, CA	L 27–45
November 4	Cal Poly	L.A. State Stadium Los Angeles, CA	L 13–40	2,000–4,983	[5][6]
November 11	at Long Beach State	Veterans Stadium Long Beach, CA	W 17–6	5,341–5,431	[7][8]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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Team players in the NFL

The following Los Angeles State players were selected in the 1962 NFL Draft.^[10][11]