Uc Irvine Athletics
The UC Irvine Anteaters is the nickname used for the sports teams.
UCI sign at Crawford Hall - the athletic complex.
UCI fields nationally competitive teams in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's rowing, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's swimming & diving, men's and women's tennis, women's indoor track & field, men's and women's outdoor track & field, men's and women's volleyball, men's and women's water polo, and co-ed sailing.
Sports
UC Irvine Anteaters logo
Basketball
The UCI Men's basketball team has had three twenty-win seasons in recent years and four total. They have made it into the Division II NCAA Tournament twice, and the NIT tournament four times.
During the 1982 season led by two-time first team All American Kevin Magee, UCI was ranked as high as 19th in the nation in Division I basketball. In the 2007-08 school year, UCI made a run in the Big West Tournament, beating Long Beach State, Pacific, and UC Santa Barbara in 3 days, before finally losing to Cal State Fullerton in the championship game.
The UC Irvine Women's basketball team had one Division I NCAA Tournament appearance in 1995, when they were champions of their conference, and won the conference tournament; however, they lost in the first round.
Baseball
Since the return of baseball in 2002 (the sport was eliminated in 1992 due to state budget cuts), UC Irvine has been ranked as high as #4 in the country and has been at the top of the Big West Conference standings, which is considered by some to be one of the top Division I Baseball Conferences outside the major conferences in the country. In June 2007, the UC Irvine baseball team participated in the College World Series for the first time ever in school history.
The Anteaters shocked the nation, and made Series history, becoming the first team to ever win two extra-inning College World Series games back-to-back, by beating (and eliminating) Cal State Fullerton (5-4, F/13), followed by nationally ranked Arizona State (8-7, F/10), only to lose their next game to defending National Champions, and well rested, Oregon State, having played a record 31 innings in three days to finish in the Final Four. Furthermore, 8 of the players from the current roster have been selected by major league teams in the 2007 MLB Draft.
Crew
UC Irvine Anteaters
UCI fields both a men's and women's crew team, which practice in Newport Harbor.
Soccer
Irvine Soccer has been a key part of the success of the Big West in soccer.
In the 2008 season, the men's soccer team made school history by winning their first ever Big West Championship by beating UC Davis in the semi-finals and UC Santa Barbara in the finals. They would go on to the NCAA tournament where they hosted a second round match-up against the Cal Poly Mustangs.
The Anteaters would defeat the Mustangs in front of a history making sold out crowd and move on to the Round of 16 where they would eventually be eliminated by St. Both the Men's and Women's teams play their home games at Anteater Stadium.
Volleyball
Both Men's and Women's Volleyball have seen success in the past few years.
The Men's team finished the 2006 Season losing in the NCAA Final Four national semifinals to Penn State, after winning the MPSF regular season conference title. Newland is 714-345-5, a collegiate record, as the Anteaters’ head coach from 1966-2005.
In his 39 years at the helm, the Anteaters won NCAA Division I championships in 1970, 1982 and 1989. Many world-class athletes have been affiliated with Newland and his program with 70+ NCAA All-Americans and 13 Olympians being its products.
Four of those Olympians recently won the silver medal for the United States team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Newland became Coach Emeritus in August 2005, and Marc Hunt, former UCI All-American, has been charged with continuing the UCI legacy.
Sailing
The UCI Sailing Team has been key in keeping a winning tradition for the Anteaters since 1965. They were one of Irvine's founding athletic teams.
They compete in the Inter Collegiate Sailing Association.
Within the ICSA they have won a total of eleven national titles: 1990, 1988, 1972 for ICSA Co-ed Dinghy Championships; 1988, 1971, 1969, 1968, 1967 for ICSA Team Racing National Championships; 2005, 1980 for ICSA Sloop National Championships; 1993 for ICSA Men's Single-handed National Championship.
The Pacific Coast Collegiate Conference Championship is the equivalent to most other sports' Big West Championship. UCI Sailing has won twenty conference championships since 1965.
They practice off rented space on a dock owned by Orange Coast College in Newport Harbor.
Facilities
Basketball court of the Bren Events Center before a game
The UCI basketball teams competes at the on-campus Bren Events Center.
Their volleyball team competes at the nearby Crawford Hall, however, they use the Bren for some games where high attendance is expected. The baseball team plays in Anteater Ballpark, which is located behind the Mesa Parking Structure.
Anteater Stadium itself is part of UCI's Crawford Athletics Complex, which houses UCI's track and swimming facilities. The men's and women's crew launch out of a boathouse in the Newport Back Bay, and practice in the Newport Harbor.
Student Traditions
A student spirit squad known as the Completely Insane Anteaters is the largest student group on campus and is one of the largest student spirit group on the West Coast.
The second Friday of every October, the athletics department hosts a big party for the UCI Students with food, music and games at the Bren Events Center. The Anteater mascot was promoted by 3 students in UCI's founding year, Bob Ernst and Pat Glasgow of the water polo team, and rowing team member Schuyler Bassett.
From 1985 to 2000, UCI used Anteaters Go! (by class of 1985 alumni Lori White). In 2000, Marketing Director Blake Sasaki required the Pep Band to use the UC Fight Song as their main fight song, re-branded as "The Big C", which supposedly commemorates UCI's historical rivalry with the California State University, Long Beach.