The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gauchos participate in 19 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports with the majority competing in the Big West Conference. Throughout the school's history, UCSB has won team national championships for 1979 men's water polo, 2006 men's soccer and 1962 men's swimming and diving (Div. II). The Gauchos, and the student-athletes who compose the teams, have won a variety of conference titles, regularly compete in NCAA championship events, and have produced professional and Olympic athletes. The school has played a pivotal role in the collegiate athletics landscape in California.
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos also field a hockey team that competes in the West Coast Hockey Conference (WCHC). Here's a brief look at the history and structure of the team and the conference.
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West Coast Hockey Conference (WCHC)
The West Coast Hockey Conference (WCHC) is an ACHA Division 2 and 3 club hockey league which began play in the Fall of 2010. The first game in conference history was played on October 1, 2010. San Diego State hosted Long Beach State and won 4-3. The conference reached a new high in members with the addition of Cal State Bakersfield and UC Irvine for the 2019-20 season.
In an effort to even out the skill level two tiers were created. Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount and UC Santa Barbara were placed in the top tier with the remaining five teams placed in the second tier. Cal Lutheran became a new member for the 2020-21 season while UC San Diego left the conference.
After the 2021-22 season the WCHC expanded even further with Arizona State and Northern Arizona rejoining the conference and Grand Canyon, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa Junior College, UC Davis, UCLA and UC Santa Cruz becoming new members. San Diego also left which brought membership to a record 17 schools. With so many new schools the WCHC was divided into three tiers.
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- Tier I consisted of six teams Arizona State, Grand Canyon, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Northern Arizona and UCLA.
- Tier II South consisted of seven teams Cal Lutheran, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Chapman, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara.
Three teams joined for the 2024-25 season while Fresno State left the conference. The University of San Diego brought their team back while the University of New Mexico and Park University-Gilbert became two new teams to join the conference. The WCHC also allowed Arizona State, Grand Canyon, Loyola Marymount and Northern Arizona to bring their Division 3 teams into the conference.
The new Division 2 Tier will consist of nine teams Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Grand Canyon, Loyola Marymount, New Mexico, Northern Arizona, UCLA and UC Santa Barbara. The top eight teams will qualify for the playoffs. The Division 3 Tier will consist of 12 teams split into three regions.
- Santa Clara, UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz will play in the North.
- Cal Lutheran, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, San Diego and UC Irvine will play in the South.
- Arizona State, Grand Canyon, Northern Arizona and Park-Gilbert will play in the Desert.
Several teams in the WCHC have historical roots in other hockey associations:
- Cal Lutheran started their program in the mid-1980s and played in the Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association until disbanding in the mid-1990s.
- Cal State Fullerton also previously played in the PCHA until disbanding in 2005.
- Cal State Northridge founded the PCHA in 1972 along with UCLA and Cal Tech.
- Long Beach State also previously played in the PCHA.
- UC Irvine also previously played in the PCHA until disbanding in 2010.
UC Santa Barbara started their program in 2010.
Here's a summary table:
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| Team | Previous Association | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cal Lutheran | Pacific Collegiate Hockey Association (PCHA) | Disbanded in the mid-1990s |
| Cal State Fullerton | PCHA | Disbanded in 2005 |
| Cal State Northridge | PCHA | Founded the PCHA in 1972 |
| Long Beach State | PCHA | |
| UC Irvine | PCHA | Disbanded in 2010 |
| UC Santa Barbara | None | Started program in 2010 |
Potentially one of the oldest teams the Gauchos field, baseball can date back to at least 1922. The first known head coach is Kenneth Bolton, who coached in only the 1922 season before handing the reins to O. J.
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 then No. 2 and eventual National Champion UNLV in 1990, and NCAA tournament appearances in 1988 (lost to Maryland) and 1990 (defeated Houston 70-66 and lost to Michigan State 62-58). The Gauchos returned to the NCAA tournament in 2002 where they nearly upset powerhouse Arizona in the opening round.
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 seed Florida Gators and lost.
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.
In the 2012 Big West Tournament, the UCSB women's basketball team became the first 6th seed to win the tournament. In the first round, the team traveled to UC Irvine and defeated the 3rd-seeded Anteaters 61-51. The Gauchos continued on their playoff march against the Pacific Tigers in the semifinals hosted at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. Pacific swept UCSB in the regular season, but the Gauchos were victorious when it mattered the most as they bounced the Tigers out of the tournament with an overwhelming 84-66 decision.
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The 84-point output currently stands as the most points the Gauchos have scored under head coach Carlene Mitchell. After defeating the number 3 seed and number 5 seed, the Gauchos ended up being the higher-ranked team in the championship game as they were set to face Long Beach State who pulled off two miraculous upsets of their own as the 7 seed. The Gauchos went on to capture its record 14th Big West crown with a 63-54 final tally.
Gaucho center Kirsten Tilleman had a double-double (16 points and 11 rebounds) against the 49ers, which earned her the tournament MVP honors. She was also included on the All-Tournament team roster along with her teammate sophomore guard Melissa Zornig, who averaged 16.7 points per game in the tournament.
In 2004, the UCSB men's soccer team advanced to the College Cup. 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 before UCSB won the game on penalty kicks 4-3. In conference play, the Gauchos have dominated Big West competition. They have won the Big West Championship in 5 of the last 7 years. The Gauchos have led the NCAA in attendance each year from 2007 to 2012 and averaged 5,873 fans during their 2010 home matches.
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos women's softball team has an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 2-8 through four appearances. Based out of Campus Pool on the UCSB campus, the swimming program has seen its fair share of success. For 40 seasons Gregg Wilson was the head coach of the men's and women's swimming teams. Wilson 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 36 Big West Conference Championships, 23 by his men's teams and 13 by his women's teams. 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.
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 to 2001. The team is now led by Coach Matt Macedo, who took over the position in August 2016 (was an assistant coach for two years prior).
The men's volleyball team has finished as the NCAA runner-up five times, most recently in 2011.
UC Santa Barbara won the 1979 National Championship in men's water polo, defeating the UCLA Bruins by a score of 11-3. This was UCSB's first-ever NCAA Division I championship. The program has produced several notable players including Craig Wilson, Greg Boyer, John Anderson, Brian Alexander, and Ross Sinclair, who have won multiple Olympic medals between the group.
UCSB began playing intercollegiate football in 1921, playing as the "Roadrunners" on a field at Pershing Park. Theodore "Spud" Harder became coach in 1934; in the same year, the school adopted a new name, selecting "Gauchos" in a student vote. "Cactus Jack" Curtice, who had been head coach at several major college programs, coached the team from 1963 to 1969. His 1965 team finished 8-1 and went to the Camellia Bowl.
In 1930, UCSB finished 6-1-1. In 1936, the Gauchos finished the season with a record of 9-1, including 4-1 in the SCIAC, with the only blemish a one-point loss to league champion San Diego State. Overall, the team outscored its opponents 223-43 for the season. In 1948, UCSB finished the season 6-5, including 2-3 in the CCAA. In 1956, the Gauchos finished the season 5-5 overall and 1-1 in the CCAA. The Gauchos accepted an invitation to play in a charity bowl game. In 1964, UCSB went 4-7. For the season, they were outscored by their opponents 164-152. In 1965, the Gauchos finished the regular season 8-1. At the end of the season, the Gauchos qualified for a postseason bowl game, the 1965 Camellia Bowl, played in Sacramento, California. They lost the game against Cal State Los Angeles 18-10. That brought their final record to 8-2. For the 1965 season, they outscored their opponents 225-95.
A student-run club team started play in 1983, and in 1985 a student referendum approved funding for a Division III, non-scholarship team on a $65,000 budget. In 1989, led by Mike Warren in his fourth and final season as head coach, the Gauchos compiled a record of 8-2 and outscored their opponents 313-150. The team again played as a D-III independent. Looming NCAA legislation, however, mandated that universities' athletic programs must all compete at the same divisional level.
In 1991, UCSB football moved up to Division II, with students paying $1 per quarter to generate a budget of $80,000 for the team. However, soon after in 1992, the NCAA decided to officially forbid schools playing in Division I in other sports from maintaining a lower-level football program, and UCSB dropped the sport again.
Numerous UC Santa Barbara athletic teams compete intercollegiately at the student club level without official sanction or sponsorship from the university's Athletic Department. While there are 450 students-athletes in ICA, there are over 700 in club (recreational) sports teams. Many of these teams are highly regarded and compete against intercollegiate teams across the United States. The Women's Water Polo team captured two Collegiate Club titles, in 1987 and 1989.
UC Santa Barbara and its campus is widely considered to be one of the top 5 "surf schools". The Gauchos compete in the National Scholastic Surfing Association. The Black Tide (men's team) and the Burning Skirts (women's team) are consistently top teams in the nation.
The main rival of UC Santa Barbara is the Cal Poly Mustangs who compete together in the Blue-Green Rivalry. The Blue-Green Rivalry, which started in November 1921 with a football game, was formalized in 2009. This new format calculates earned points between UCSB and Cal Poly to determine a winner based on their teams' competitive results against each other. Additionally, collegesoccernews.com ranked UC Santa Barbara vs.
The UCSB Gauchos Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame was announced on December 8, 1959. During the construction of Robertson Gymnasium, plans were in place to establish a Hall of Fame located in the new gymnasium. Following the completion of Rob Gym, the inaugural class was announced as C. C. Corky Barrett, Tom Broadhead, David Chapple, Jack Curtice (coach), Jim Curtice, Spud Harder (coach), Mike Hitchman, Howard Johnson, Rich Kezirian, Larry Pickens, Sut Puailoa, Ray Schaack, Jim St. Wayne Bryan, Don Gaynor, O. Sam Adams (coach), Hovis Bess, Nick Carter (coach), Clark J.
The Potato Bowl was played as a charity benefit in Bakersfield from 1948-1967. In later years, instead of four-year institutions it was played between Junior College teams.
In this 'Southern California Coastal Beach Town Rivalry' the Gauchos lost to 2 ranked Aztec teams in 1964 (SDSU NO.4) and 1970 (SDSU No.14). In this 'Little UC- School Rivalry' The 2 UC schools' rivalry mirrors their older, larger 'UC brothers' (UC-Berkeley-UCLA Rivalry) in this Southern vs. Northern California UC School Rivalry. This Local So. Cal Rivalry with the campuses approximately 120 miles apart from each other ran for 57 years on the gridiron. It is the longest running Rivalry years wise in UCSB football history. Only 95 miles separate the 2 college campuses. In this Local So.
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos have a rich athletic history across various sports. While the hockey program is relatively young, it is part of a broader tradition of competitive sports at the university.
