Artemis II mission includes astronaut Victor Glover, who played college football and wrestled at Cal Poly
Glover played defensive back at Cal Poly before graduating with a degree in general engineering.
A former college football player is among the four astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission that will send its crew to the moon and back during a 10-day operation. Victor Glover, 49, is the first Black astronaut to reach high orbit on a NASA launch, and if the operation is successful, he will also be the first to travel to the moon. (However, the Orion crew will not land on the moon as part of the mission.
) Astronaut Victor Glover seen giving the camera a send off before entering Artemis II Onion spacecraft pic. twitter. com/tEZWlPI7t5 — Latest in space (@latestinspace) April 1, 2026 Glover wrestled and played defensive back at Cal Poly during the 1996 season before graduating in 1999 with a degree in general engineering.
The Mustangs went 5-6 that year, but earned a 17-13 upset win over UC Davis, which was ranked No. 12 in Division II. The head coach at Cal Poly during Glover’s stint was Andre Patterson, most recently the defensive line coach with the New York Giants on Brian Daboll’s staff.
“He may not have been the fastest guy out there or the most athletic guy out there, but he was going to succeed since he was the best technician out there,” Patterson told the New York Times’ Timothy Bella . “That’s who he is at his core. ” NASA’s Artemis II mission began with the successful launch of the Space Launch System on Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida.