The UC San Diego Tritons are the athletic sports teams for the University of California, San Diego. UC San Diego has 23 varsity sports teams and offers student participation in a wide range of sports including swimming, water polo, soccer, volleyball, crew, track and field, fencing, basketball, golf, cross country, softball, baseball, and tennis. UC San Diego participates at the NCAA's Division II (DII) level in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), although water polo, fencing, and men's volleyball compete at the Division I level. Since their move to Division II starting in the 2000-01 season, UCSD has placed in the top 5 in the Division II NACDA Directors' Cup standings five times, including two 2nd-place finishes. NCSA Athletic Recruiting has ranked the Tritons as the nation's top Division II program for eight consecutive years. In May 2016, UCSD students voted to transition all sports teams to the NCAA Division I level.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Teams
San Diego University Volleyball Video
Boosters
UC San Diego recognizes two external organizations of athletic boosters: the Triton Athletic Associates is a booster group of parents, alumni, and friends who have each donated between US$50 and $2,500; and the UCSD Athletic Board is made up of donors who have given US$10,000 or more to athletic programs. On campus, booster groups comprise the UCSD Pep Band, Tritons Rising, the Triton Tide (a student booster club), the UCSD Cheerleaders, the Triton Twirl Flag Squad and the UCSD Dance Team. King Triton occasionally appears as a costumed character mascot. Further opportunities for athletic involvement are available to students interested in team staffing and management.
Move to Division I
In 2011, UCSD considered elevating its athletics to NCAA Division I for all sports. They were looking to join the Big West Conference. However, there were several problems. After the Big West added the University of Hawaii in 2010, they would have 10 teams, meaning any extra member would require more conference games in basketball, upsetting the current schedule balance. In addition, in order to meet the minimum Division I scholarship requirements, the student body would need to vote for a fee increase sometime during the 2011-2012 academic year. After the Big West elected not to invite UCSD in May 2011, plans were put on hold and UCSD remained a Division II team. However, a student-led movement resulted in a vote on a fee increase for UCSD students in the hopes to enhance the school's chances of becoming a Division I school. In March 2012, the UCSD student body rejected an increase in activity fees to support the move to Division I. The vote fell 11,407 to 6,470 (51% of the student body voted).
In January 2016, Associated Students UC San Diego unanimously approved the wording of a new Division I referendum. In May, UCSD undergraduates voted to increase athletic fees by $480 per year and transition UCSD athletics to Division I. The fee increase will fund the athletic scholarships required for NCAA Division I schools. The move was approved by the UCSD Academic Senate in December 2016. UCSD's move remains contingent upon an invitation to join the Big West Conference.
In a separate move by the Big West Conference to sponsor men's volleyball, Big West teams from the MPSF will split to join their own conferences that will include UC San Diego as an affiliate member starting in the 2017-18 school year (2018 season). The Tritons' joining the Big West as an affiliate for men's volleyball was not an indicator that the Tritons will be accepted as a full member yet since UC San Diego had long played the sport in the MPSF at a Division I level and was part of the original coalition talks with the Big West to split from MPSF men's volleyball.
Early in April 2017, the San Diego Tribune reported that the Big West had rejected UCSD's application to join the conference. The Big West commission overseeing new members into the conference consists of the Presidents and Chancellors of every member school. There has not been a formal public confirmation of the rejection, but UCSD may still attempt to make moves to join the Big West or another conference until its 2018 deadline set by the referendum.
National championships
Pre-NCAA
- Women's water polo (5): 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994
- Men's volleyball (1): 1970
Division III
- Women's volleyball (7): 1981, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1997
- Women's soccer (5): 1989, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999
- Women's tennis (4): 1985, 1987, 1989, 1994
- Men's soccer (3): 1988, 1991, 1993
- Men's volleyball (1): 2000
- Men's golf (1): 1993
Division II
- Women's soccer (2): 2000, 2001
- Softball (1): 2011
Individual NCAA championships
UC San Diego athletes have won a total of 138 individual NCAA championships at the Division I, II, and III levels. Individual Division II champions are listed below:
Teams (Division II era)
From Fall 2000-Spring 2017, UC San Diego teams have competed primarily in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The school was awarded the Hiegert Commissioner's Trophy (awarded to the CCAA school with the highest aggregate ranking in eight sports) seven times--five consecutive years from 2006-2010 and again in 2016 and 2017. National champions are highlighted in bold and italicized.
Baseball
The UC San Diego baseball team plays its home games at Triton Ballpark, which was renovated in 2014. In 2005, the Tritons were the CCAA league champions. In 2007 and 2008, they reached to the NCAA West Regionals. In 2009, after winning the CCAA league and CCAA tournament, they advanced to the NCAA Division II College World Series under the leadership of Dan O'Brien and infielder Vance Albitz, where they placed fourth. In 2010, they were the College World Series runners-up and the CCAA league and tournament champions. In 2011 and 2012, they repeated as CCAA league and tournament champions, again reaching the NCAA West Regionals. They won the CCAA tournament in 2014 as well. In 2017, they were CCAA tournament runners-up and NCAA West Region champions, and placed second in the College World Series.
Men's basketball
The UC San Diego men's basketball team plays its home games at RIMAC Arena. At the end of the 2007-08 season, they won the CCAA Tournament and advanced to the first round of the NCAA West Regionals. In 2015-16, they were the NCAA West Region runners-up. The 2016-17 season was the first in which they won the CCAA regular-season title; they also won the CCAA Tournament and were NCAA West Region runners-up.
Women's basketball
The UC San Diego women's basketball team plays its home games at RIMAC Arena. It has won the CCAA five times, during the 2006-07, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2012-13, and 2016-17 seasons. The Tritons advanced to the NCAA West Regional 1st Round in 2003-04, 2005-06, and 2009-10, and reached the 2nd Round in 2007-08 and 2008-09. They were the NCAA West Region runners-up in 2011-12 and 2015-16. In 2006-07, they reached the NCAA Final Four.
Fencing (Division I)
The UC San Diego men's and women's fencing squads compete at Main Gym and RIMAC Arena. They competed in the Intercollegiate Fencing Conference of Southern California at the NCAA Division I level. The Tritons won this league's championship every year between 2005 and 2016.
Men's soccer
The UC San Diego men's soccer team hosts its opponents at the Triton Soccer Stadium at RIMAC Field. In 2003, 2013, and 2014, it advanced to the first round of the NCAA West Regional. In 2013, they were the CCAA tournament runners-up. The best season in team history occurred in 2016, when the team advanced to the NCAA Division II Semifinals after claiming the CCAA league championship, CCAA tournament championship, and the NCAA West Region title.
Women's soccer
The UC San Diego women's soccer team plays its home matches at the Triton Soccer Stadium at RIMAC Field. In its first two seasons of Division II play, 2000 and 2001, the team was crowned CCAA Champions and NCAA National Champions. The Tritons again won the CCAA in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2016, reaching the NCAA Final Four in 2003 and being named NCAA Runners-Up in 2010 and 2012. They reached the NCAA West Regional 2nd Round in 2005, 2008, and 2009 and were named the regional runners-up in 2016, but were eliminated in the first round in 2002, 2007, 2011, and 2015. Since its promotion to Division II in 2000, the team has failed to reach the NCAA playoffs only three times, in 2004, 2013, and 2014, and has posted an undefeated CCAA record once, going 12-0 in league play and winning the tournament and division in 2016.
Softball
The UC San Diego softball team plays its home games at Triton Softball Stadium, adjacent to RIMAC Arena. The Tritons advanced to the NCAA West Regionals in 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009. 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. In 2011, they were the NCAA National Champions, having won the NCAA West Region and the CCAA. In 2012, they won the CCAA tournament and repeated as NCAA West Region Champions, and were eventually crowned the NCAA National Runners-Up. They won their second CCAA tournament in 2016.
Men's tennis
The UC San Diego men's tennis team competes in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and plays its home games at the Northview Tennis Courts. The team advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championships each year between 2001 and 2007, and returned there in 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2014. The team's best finish at the NCAA tournament came in 2007, when it was eliminated in the Final Four.
Women's tennis
The UC San Diego women's tennis team competes in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and plays its home matches at the Northview Tennis Courts. They were undefeated CCAA champions every season between 2004 and 2009, advancing to the NCAA West Regional each year. They again won the CCAA in 2010, advancing to the regional championship with a 9-1 conference record.
Men's volleyball (Division I)
The UC San Diego men's volleyball team competed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation until 2017 and will compete in the Big West Conference from 2018 onwards. The team's home matches against its Division I opponents are played at RIMAC Arena. The program's best finish in the new millennium came in 2009, when the team ended the season ranked ninth in the MPSF.
Women's volleyball
The UC San Diego women's volleyball team plays its home matches at RIMAC Arena. The program has missed the postseason only twice, in 2005 and 2014, and missed the NCAA West Regional only three times, in 2005, 2014, and 2015. In 2001, the Tritons reached the NCAA Division II Final Four. The team won the CCAA regular season in 2004 with an undefeated league record. They reached the CCAA tournament semifinals and quarterfinals in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Men's water polo (Division I)
The UC San Diego men's water polo team competes in the Western Water Polo Association against Division I opponents. They host their opponents at Canyonview Aquatic Center in Warren College. The Tritons have reached the NCAA Final Four in 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2011, 2014, and 2015. They were the NCAA National Runners-Up in 2000.
Football
UC San Diego has not fielded a football team except in Fall 1968 when a newly formed pigskin organization turned in a winless season and then folded for lack of interest. Since then, the subject of bringing NCAA football back to UC San Diego has been a recurring topic. Tom Ham, a local restaurateur and a supporter of UCSD football since the 1960s, has said that UCSD would have no future in San Diego without "big-time" football. Proponents of a major football team have projected benefits that include greater school spirit and a more well-rounded school experience for students as well as enhancing the school's national profile. Opposition to "big-time" football comes from a wide range of school faculty and administrators such Daniel Wulbert, Revelle College provost, who says that any boost to school spirit wouldn't be worth the sacrifice, and that he wants UC San Diego to "have a life for reasons other than watching hired athletes come and play." Both sides acknowledge that adding an 80- to 100-man football team would not only cost some US$1-1.5M annually, but that the initial outlay in equipment and facilities would be in the tens of millions. Furthermore, in order to comply with Title IX's requirement for equal sports opportunities for both sexes, some three women's teams (80-100 athletes) would have to be added, or three existing men's teams disbanded. Without the expense of football, UC San Diego has been characterized as having "the best all-around program, with the most success by the most student-athletes" in San Diego.
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