The UC Irvine Anteaters are the athletic teams fielded by the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine). Its athletics programs participate in the NCAA's Division I, as members of the Big West Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. For earlier years of the school's existence, the teams participated at the Division II level with great success as explained below.
UC Irvine fields teams in men's baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country running, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, 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, and men's and women's water polo. The Anteaters have won 28 national championships in nine different team sports. 64 Anteaters have won individual national championships, and 53 Anteaters have competed in the Olympics. In the 2006-07 season, the Anteaters won the DI-AAA ADA All-Sports Trophy, the trophy for the best non-football university athletic program. They are one of four schools to ever win the award, along with Pepperdine, the University of Denver, and conference rival UC Santa Barbara.
Conference affiliations 1965–66 to 1976–77 – NCAA Division II Independent 1977–78 to present – Big West Conference
Sports sponsored Men's sports Women's sports Baseball Basketball Basketball Cross country Cross country Golf Golf Soccer Soccer Tennis Tennis Track and field Track and field Volleyball Volleyball Water polo Water Polo
Baseball
UC Irvine's baseball team won two national championships at the College Division and the Division II level in 1973 and 1974, prior to moving to Division I. The program was eliminated in 1992 due to state budget cuts, but was reinstated in 2002.
Since the return of its baseball program in 2002, UCI has been ranked as high as No. 1 in the country. In 2007, UCI participated in the College World Series for the first time in school history. The Anteaters eliminated both Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State before losing to Oregon State, earning a 3rd-place finish. In 2014, the Anteaters returned to the College World Series and earned a 5th-place finish.
Basketball
During the 1982 season the men's basketball team were led by two-time first team All-American Kevin Magee. That season, the team was ranked as high as No. 19 in the nation for NCAA Division I basketball. During the 1986 season the Anteaters were led by future NBA player and former head coach of the Washington Wizards, Scott Brooks.
The Anteaters hired Golden State Warriors assistant Russell Turner as the head men's basketball coach in 2010. Turner was named Big West Conference Coach of the Year after he led the Anteaters to the 2013-2014 conference regular season championship.
The Anteaters won their first ever NCAA tournament game in school history on March 22, 2019, upsetting No. 4 Kansas State Wildcats 70-64.
Cross country The UC Irvine Anteaters men's cross country team appeared in the NCAA Tournament three times, with their highest finish being 11th place in the 1986–87 school year. The UC Irvine Anteaters women's cross country team appeared in the NCAA Tournament four times, with their highest finish being 4th place in the 1990–91 school year.
1977 Men No. 15 376 1983 Women No. 16 390 1986 Men No. 11 281 1987 Men No. 14 323 1987 Women No. 8 213 1989 Women No. 10 279 1990 Women No. 4 210
Golf
During the early years when the UC Irvine Anteater men's golf team participated at the Division II level, the teams were highly successful for five consecutive years from 1973 through 1977. Coach Jerry Hulbert formed teams consisting of local southern California players. The teams played in the NCAA Division II team national championship for each of these five years, including winning the national team championship in 1975. Anteater team member Jerry Wisz also won the individual national championship that year. At these national championships, the teams finished fourth in 1973, second in 1974, second in 1976, and thirteenth in 1977. Seven players from the 1972 through 1976 teams earned All-American honors awarded by the Golf Coaches Association of America, with two of these players awarded for two consecutive years. After reaching the Division I level, the Anteater teams have played in the NCAA National Regionals fourteen times, including reaching the national championship three of those seasons. In coach Paul Smolinski's quite successful twenty-three years as head coach, his teams have played in twelve NCAA regionals, and two NCAA national championships (2001 & 2008). Arguably his best player John Chin, who along with the above-mentioned Jerry Wisz have been the two best players in the entire school history, earned NCAA Division I All-American honors in 2010. John has played as a member of the PGA Tour and what is currently named the Korn Ferry Tour.
Soccer
UCI soccer plays its home games at Anteater Stadium. The men's team has been ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation and has made six Division I NCAA tournament appearances with berths in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2018. In addition, since the introduction of the Big West Conference Tournament for soccer in 2008 the Anteaters have won the tournament championship four times. The women's team has made two Division I NCAA tournament appearances with berths in 2010 and 2011.
Notable Anteater soccer alumni include United States men's national team member Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Miguel Ibarra (Minnesota United FC) and Rouzy (LA Galaxy).
The UC Irvine Anteaters men's soccer team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 6–6 through six appearances.
2008 Second RoundThird Round Cal PolySt. John's W 3–0 L 2–3 2009 Second Round Stanford L 0–1 2011 Second Round Saint Mary's L 1–2 2013 Second RoundThird Round North CarolinaMaryland W 1–0L 0–1 2014 First RoundSecond RoundThird Round UNLVStanfordProvidence W 3–0W 1–0L 0–1 2018 First RoundSecond Round Grand CanyonStanford W 2–1L 0–2 2023 First Round Loyola Marmount L 2–4 2025 First Round Denver L 0–2
The UC Irvine Anteaters women's soccer team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 6–5–1 through five appearances.
2010 First RoundSecond RoundThird Round Arizona StateWake ForestWashington W 2–1W 2–0L 0–1 2011 First Round San Diego D 2–2 (PK 3-5) 2021 First RoundSecond Round UCLAWisconsin W 1-0L 0-3 2022 First RoundSecond RoundThird Round USCBrownNo. 1 Alabama W 2-0D 1-1 (PK 4-2)L 1-3 2023 First RoundSecond RoundThird Round No. 2 UCLAGonzagaNebraska W 1-0W 2-1L 0-4
Men's Volleyball
UC Irvine men's volleyball have made the NCAA Tournament a total of eight times, winning four National Championships (2007, 2009, 2012, 2013). As of 2024, the Anteaters hold a record of in those eight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Anteaters made their first final four appearance in 2006, losing in the NCAA semi-finals to Penn State. They won their first national championship in 2007 by defeating IPFW 3–1 in the NCAA final. UCI won its second national championship in 2009 after defeating USC 3-2 in a five-set comeback victory in the NCAA final. The Anteaters won their third NCAA men's volleyball title in 2012 after defeating USC again in the NCAA final, this time in a 3-0 sweep at the Galen Center. UCI's longtime head coach John Speraw had guided the Anteaters to three national championships in six years but immediately after winning the 2012 national title he left UCI after accepting the head coaching position at UCLA.
UC Irvine alum and former assistant coach David Kniffin took over the Anteater program in 2013 and became just the second head coach in NCAA men's volleyball history to win a national championship in his first season. In the 2013 NCAA final the Anteaters defeated BYU in a 3-0 sweep to win back-to-back national championships.
2006 Semifinal Penn State L 2–3 2007 SemifinalChampionship Penn StateIPFW W 3–1W 3–1 2009 SemifinalChampionship Ohio StateUSC W 3–0 W 3–2 2012 SemifinalChampionship Penn StateUSC W 3–1W 3–0 2013 SemifinalChampionship Loyola (Chicago) BYU W 3–0 W 3–0 2015 Semifinal Loyola (Chicago) L 0–3 2018 Quarterfinal Ohio State L 0–3 2024 QuarterfinalSemifinal Penn StateUCLA W 3–0L 2–3 2026 Regional RoundRegional FinalSemifinalChampionship Penn StateUCLABall StateHawai'i W 3–2W 3–2W 3–1L 1–3
Women's Volleyball The UC Irvine Anteaters women's volleyball team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 1–3 through three appearances.
1988 First Round Long Beach State L 2–3 2003 First RoundSecond Round MissouriUCLA W 3–2L 0–3 2004 First Round Arizona L 0–3
Water polo
Men's UC Irvine's men's water polo team won three NCAA Division I national championships in 1970, 1982, and 1989.
UCI's head men's water polo coach for many years was Ted Newland. As the Anteaters' head coach from 1966-2005, Newland had a lifetime record of 714–345–5. In his 39 years at the helm the Anteaters won three national championships, and the team was consistently rated among the nation's top 5 programs. Many world-class water polo players have been affiliated with UCI, with more than 70 NCAA All-Americans and 13 Olympians being produced by the program. Four Anteaters were a part of the United States team that won the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
The UC Irvine Anteaters men's water polo team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 29–19 through twenty-two appearances.
In 2023, the UC Irvine Anteaters men's water polo team won the inaugural Big West Men's Water Polo Tournament. With Cal State Fullerton’s addition of a men’s water polo program, the Big West met the criteria to create a men’s water polo conference with its six participating institutions and will now have the ability to have its own championship. The winner receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship.
Women's The UC Irvine women's water polo team is coached by 2004 Olympian Dan Klatt since 2005 and has led the team to 8 NCAA Tournament Appearances in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022, and 2023, finishing as high as 4th place in 2012. In addition, the team has won 9 Big West Titles and 9 Big West Tournament Titles under Klatt.
Men's Water Polo history 1969 First Round California L 4–5 1970 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship USCLong Beach StateUCLA W 7–4W 9–6W 7–6 1971 First Round CSU Fullerton L 4–5 1972 First RoundSemifinals UC Santa BarbaraUCLA W 16–12L 10–15 1973 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship Long Beach StateUSCCalifornia W 7–5W 9–5L 4–8 1974 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship UC Santa BarbaraUCLACalifornia W 10–6W 5–3L 6–7 1975 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship UC DavisStanfordCalifornia W 19–4W 9–8L 8–9 1976 First RoundSemifinals PittsburghUCLA W 18–4L 9–14 1977 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship ArizonaStanfordCalifornia W 14–7W 9–7L 6–8 1978 First RoundSemifinals Loyola (IL)California W 14–5L 5–7 1980 First RoundSemifinals BucknellCalifornia W 13–4L 7–9 1981 First RoundSemifinals UC Santa BarbaraStanford W 9–8L 6–13 1982 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship BrownCaliforniaStanford W 13–2W 8–5W 7–4 1983 First RoundSemifinals Loyola (IL)USC W 12–8L 8–9 1985 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship BrownUCLAStanford W 15–8W 7–6L 11–12 1987 First RoundSemifinals StanfordCalifornia W 8–6L 3–7 1988 First Round USC L 11–13 1989 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship UALRStanfordCalifornia W 13–6W 8–7W 9–8 1991 First RoundSemifinals Long Beach StateCalifornia W 11–8L 10–13 1992 First RoundSemifinals PepperdineCalifornia W 11–8L 5–8 1993 First RoundSemifinals PacificStanford W 12–10L 8–10 2023 First Round Princeton L 7-12
Championships
Appearances
The UC Irvine Anteaters competed in the NCAA Tournament across 18 active sports (10 men's and 8 women's) 110 times at the Division I level.
Baseball (11): 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2021, 2024, 2025 Men's basketball (2): 2015, 2019