| UC Santa Barbara Gauchos | |
| University | University of California, Santa Barbara |
|---|---|
| Conference(s) | Big West Conference (18 teams) Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (2 teams) |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | Mark Massari |
| Location | Santa Barbara, CA |
| Varsity teams | 20 |
| Basketball arena | UCSB Events Center |
| Baseball stadium | Caesar Uyesaka Stadium |
| Soccer stadium | Harder Stadium |
| Other arenas | Robertson Gymnasium |
| Mascot | Olé (official) Fantom of the Thunderdome (unofficial) |
| Nickname | Gauchos |
| Fight song | "Big 'C'" (official) "Gaucho" (unofficial) |
| Colors | Pacific Blue, Gaucho Gold, and Navy Blue
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| Homepage | UCSBGauchos |
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos comprise intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of California, Santa Barbara, located in Santa Barbara, California. Most of UCSB's teams compete in the Big West Conference. The school is mostly known for its women's basketball and men's soccer programs.
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The mascot of UCSB is the Gaucho, while the school colors are "Pacific Blue" (Pantone 286) and "Gaucho Gold" (130), with the occasional accent of "Navy Blue" (275).
In 2009, the athletics program under the leadership of new athletic director Mark Massari underwent a transformation, giving UCSB a new brand and visual identity. As a result, the UCSB athletic program released a new logo[1], different colors, and unifying names. For athletic purposes, the school is now known as "UC Santa Barbara" or "UCSB".
The main rivals of UCSB are Long Beach State and Cal Poly. New this year, the Blue-Green Rivalry series calculates points between Cal Poly and UCSB to see which is the better sports school.
UCSB competes in the Big West Conference in the majority of the sports it offers. Only Men's Water Polo, Men and Women's Swimming, and Men's Volleyball compete in an alternate conference, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
Over the years, UCSB has won two NCAA National Championships for 1979 Men's Water Polo and 2006 Men's Soccer.
UCSB currently fields a varsity team in 10 men's sports and 10 women's sports:[2]
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Men's sports
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Women's sports
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In 2004, the UCSB men's soccer team advanced to the College Cup. It routed Duke in the semifinals 5-0 but lost in the championship match to Indiana on penalties.
In 2006, UCSB again advanced to the College Cup. In the semi-finals, UCSB and 2nd seed Wake Forest played to a 0-0 tie; UCSB won the game on penalty kicks 4-3. In the championship game, UCSB faced UCLA and won by a score of 2-1[3] to win its first NCAA Men's Soccer title and its second NCAA championship (1979 Men's Water Polo) in school history.[4]
In conference play, the Gauchos have dominated Big West competition. They have won the Big West Championship in 5 of the last 7 years. Also, the Gauchos have had no less than 5 former players receive full international caps.
Both the UCSB men and women's basketball teams play at the UCSB Events Center, commonly known as the Thunderdome.
In 2005, UCSB Women's Basketball won its unprecedented ninth straight Big West Conference Championship. The team had its best year in history during the 2004 season when it advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 where it lost to eventual champion UConn. UCSB was the only team to hold UConn to less than a double-digit victory in the NCAA playoffs.
UCSB Men's Basketball had its best years in the late '80s and early '90s under coach Jerry Pimm, highlighted by a 77-70 victory over #1 UNLV in 1990, and NCAA tournament appearances in 1988 (lost to Maryland) and 1990 (defeated Houston and lost to Michigan State). The Gauchos returned to the NCAA tournament in 2002 where they nearly upset powerhouse Arizona in the opening round. Over the years, a few of Pimm's assistants at UCSB have gone on to coach other major programs around the country, including Ben Howland (1982–1994) of UCLA and Jamie Dixon of Pittsburgh.
In the 2009-10 season, UCSB Men's Basketball was the regular season champion and final tournament champion in the Big West Conference, defeating Long Beach State. It won an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament and played 2nd seed Ohio State, losing to the Buckeyes. In 2010-2011, they placed fifth in the regular season. They defeated Long Beach State in the tournament final for the second year in a row. The Gauchos were the lowest seed to win the Big West Tournament since sixth-seeded San Jose State toppled Utah State in 1996. They played the 2nd seeded Florida Gators and lost. It was the first time that UCSB entered an NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons.
Some famous Gauchos basketball players are Brian Shaw, Conner Henry, Carrick DeHart, Eric McArthur, Chris Devine, Alex Harris, Cecil Brown, Raymond Tutt, Lucius Davis, Doug Muse, Branduinn Fullove, Mark Hull, Nick Jones, Don Ford, Ray Kelly, and Orlando Johnson. On the women's side, Kristen Mann currently plays in the WNBA and Mekia Valentine was drafted by the New York Liberty in the 2011 WNBA Draft.
Based out of Campus Pool on the UCSB campus, the swimming program has seen its fair share of success. For 32 seasons Gregg Wilson has been the head coach of the men's and women's swimming teams. Wilson has posted a dual meet record of 292-208-1 (172-115 with the men, 120-92-1 with the women). Even more impressive, his squads have collected 34 Big West Conference Championships, 24 by his men’s teams and 10 by his women’s teams. Before the Texas Longhorns men's swim team broke it, the UCSB men's swim team set the NCAA record for most consecutive conference titles in any sport with 23 straight Big West Conference championships from 1979-2001. The men’s teams have been ranked as high as 16th nationally and several of his swimmers over the years have advanced to the NCAA Championships. In fact, the men’s team has turned in 38 All-American performances under Wilson.
Notable alumni of the program include Olympic gold medalists Richard Schroeder, Jason Lezak, Sandy Neilson, Sophie Kamoun, former 50-meter freestyle world record holder Bruce Stahl (the first person to ever hold this world record), and Pat Cary.
UCSB's 12-time national championship surf team holds more trophies than any other surf team in the nation. Its last national championship was led by captain Colin Andersen in 2010 at the NSSA Nationals.
UCSB won the 1979 National Championship in men's water polo, defeating UCLA Bruins in the championship match by a score of 11-3. The men's volleyball team has finished as the NCAA runner up 5 times, most recently in 2011. The women's volleyball team plays at the UCSB Events Center, while the men's team plays at Robertson Gymnasium.
Athletics at UCSB is not limited to the Intercollegiate Athletic Department. While there are 450 students-athletes in ICA[5], there are over 700 in Club (Recreational) sports teams including: Alpine Racing, Cycling, Fencing, Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Rugby, Sailing, Soccer, Triathlon, Ultimate, Water Ski, and Rowing. Many of these teams are highly regarded and compete against Intercollegiate teams from across the United States. For example, Rowing has produced several National Team members including nine-time US National Rowing Team member Amy Fuller, winner of several Olympic and World Championship medals who currently serves as the head coach of the UCLA Bruins rowing program. The Women's Water Polo team captured two Collegiate Club titles, in 1987 and 1989.
| “ | Olé, Olé Olé Olé! Gauchos, Gauchos! | ” |
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—The unofficial fight song. |
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El "C" Grande
We are Sons of California,
Fighting for the Gold and Blue.
Palms of glory we will win,
For Alma Mater true.
Poly’s men will soon be routed
By our dazzling “C”,
We’ll stomp ’em in the mud
Their green will turn to blood,
In our hour of victory!
U! C! Sss! B! U-C-S-B, Go Gauchos!
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