UC Riverside Highlanders

Sports sponsored

Baseball

Main article: UC Riverside Highlanders baseball

The UC Riverside Highlanders baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball team of the University of California, Riverside. The team is a member of the Big West Conference, which is part of the NCAA Division I. UC Riverside's first baseball team was fielded in 1958. The team plays its home games at the 2,500-seat Riverside Sports Complex.

Basketball

Men's basketball

Main article: UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball

The UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team represents the University of California, Riverside. The school's team currently competes in the Big West Conference, which is part of the NCAA Division I. UC Riverside's first men's basketball team was fielded during the 1958–59 season. The team plays its home games at the 3,168-seat Student Recreation Center Arena.

Women's basketball

Main article: UC Riverside Highlanders women's basketball

The UC Riverside Highlanders women's basketball team represents the University of California, Riverside. The school's team currently competes in the Big West Conference, which is part of the NCAA Division I. UC Riverside's first women's basketball team was fielded during the 1977–78 season. The team plays its home games at the 3,168-seat Student Recreation Center Arena.

Soccer

Men's soccer

Main article: UC Riverside Highlanders men's soccer

The team was established in 1965, and has been competing in the Big West Conference since 2002, where it has won two tournament championships (in 2018 and 2022, when the team also won the regular season).

The men's soccer squad have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 0–2 through two appearances.

Women's soccer

The UC Riverside Highlanders women's soccer team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 0–1 through one appearance.

In 2005 the women's soccer team competed in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In 2007, UCR's baseball team won their first Big West championship and reached the Division I postseason for the second time since 2003, and the cross country team sent its first two athletes to the national championships.

Former varsity sports

Football

The UC Riverside Highlanders football team played from 1955 until the program was disbanded in 1975. The team played at Highlander Stadium. The team won two CCAA championships before the sport was discontinued because of low attendance and in anticipation of the impact of Title IX regulations.

Club teams

Non-varsity student sports clubs that compete with other area universities include the Rugby Football Club, established in 2006, which plays in the Southern California Rugby Football Union. The karate program is provided through the UC Riverside Recreation Center's Leisure Line classes. The classes are provided by top-of-the-line USA Shotokan karate team coaches from the American JKA Karate Association, an association that has been in the city for over 40 years. It is one of the largest collegiate programs in the United States, that take competitors to local, national and international competitions. A Men's and Women's Club Soccer team also competes in the West Coast Soccer Association.

UCR also has a boxing club called Highlander Gloves, which competes in the USIBA College National Championships. Highlander Gloves trains at a local gym named the Raincross Boxing Academy that was founded by a member of Highlander Gloves. UCR's Highlander Gloves has produced numerous national champions and consistently ranks within the top five schools in the USIBA National Championships. The club was founded by UC Riverside student Celia Miranda in partnership with Det. Mario Dorado of the Riverside Police Foundation to create a free non-profit program that provides tutoring and mentorship to at-risk students in the Riverside area. This program operates independently of the university, as the gym is located off-campus. Raincross Boxing academy has notably been the home for numerous notable fighters including World title challengers Josesito López, Chris Arreola and Ricardo Rafael Sandoval.

Championships

Appearances

The UC Riverside Highlanders competed in the NCAA Tournament across 6 active sports (2 men's and 4 women's) 10 times at the Division I level.

• Baseball (2): 2003, 2007
• Women's basketball (3): 2006, 2007, 2010
• Men's soccer (1): 2018
• Women's soccer (1): 2005
• Women's indoor track and field (2): 2009, 2016
• Women's outdoor track and field (1): 2009

Team

UC Riverside has never won a national championship at the NCAA Division I level.

UC Riverside won 4 national championships at the NCAA Division II level.

• Baseball (2): 1977, 1982
• Women's volleyball (2): 1982, 1986

Below is one national championship that was not bestowed by the NCAA:

• Women's volleyball – Division II (1): 1977 (AIAW)

Individual

UC Riverside had 1 Highlander win an NCAA individual championship at the Division I level.

At the NCAA Division II level, UC Riverside garnered 11 individual championships.

Facilities

The volleyball and basketball teams play home games in the Student Recreation Center Arena (SRC), which seats 3,168. The baseball team competes at the Riverside Sports Complex. UCR graduate Troy Percival personally built UCR's baseball clubhouse to major league quality standards. Softball is played at the Amy S. Harrison Field, named after a UCR graduate who donated $300,000 towards its upgrade in 2004. Adjacent to the softball field are the soccer and track fields.

The soccer field was resurfaced with artificial turf in 2007. In 2011, the old track and field facility, which had bleachers that dated back to the 1950s and a track surface that was over 15 years old, was completely torn out and replaced with a brand new facility.

Traditions

Mascot

"Scotty Highlander" is the mascot for UC Riverside. The original mascot was an aggressive little bear wearing a kilt for the school's logo. In 1998, a referendum to move to NCAA Division I was passed and the students approached the administration requesting a new mascot and the old mascot was replaced. In 2011, the mascot was updated again with students voting online and a new "Scotty Highlander" mascot, featuring a roaring bear wearing a plaid Tam o' Shanter was chosen.

School colors

All schools in the University of California System have a combination of blue and gold as their school colors. UC Riverside follows this tradition.

References

References

1. "The Mascot". gohighlanders.com.
2. "UC Riverside".
3. [http://studentlife.ucr.edu/UCRTRADITIONS/Pages/schoolSpirit.aspx UCR School Life: School Spirit – UCR's Current Mascot] {{webarchive. link. (February 15, 2013)
4. "The History of UCR's Mascot". University of California, Riverside, Department of Athletics.
5. "The University of California Riverside Tartan". The University of California Riverside Pipe Band.
6. Durant, Celeste. (April 26, 2006). "Pipe Pep". Inside UCR.
7. Medcalf, Myron. (May 6, 2021). "UC Riverside won't cut sports, will remain at Division I level despite pandemic".
8. "2010 UC Riverside baseball media guide". gohighlanders.com.
9. "Men's Basketball: Career Coaching Records". gohighlanders.com.
10. "Women's Basketball: Career Coaching Records". gohighlanders.com.
11. [https://gohighlanders.com/documents/2025/11/17/MSOC_Record_Book_111725.pdf UCR Men's Soccer Record Book (2025)]
12. [https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2018/11/14/mens-soccer-wins-first-big-west-conference-championship Men's Soccer Wins First Big West Conference Championship] at news.ucr.com. 14 Nov 2018
13. [https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2022/10/30/uc-riverside-mens-soccer-wins-first-big-west-regular-season-title UC Riverside men’s soccer wins first Big West regular season title] at news.ucr.com - 30 Oct 2022
14. "Bracket of the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship". [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]].
15. "Bracket of the 2022 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship". [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]].
16. "Division I Women's Soccer Championships Records Book". [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]].
17. (November 11, 2005). "UC Riverside Women's Soccer". UCR Athletic Department.
18. Steele, Allan. (June 4, 2007). "Disappointing end to memorable year for UCR baseball team". [[Press Enterprise (California).
19. Steele, Allan. (November 19, 2007). "UCR runners struggle". [[Press Enterprise (California).
20. Alexander, Jim. (June 24, 2007). "UC Riverside Rediscovers Glory Days – Briefly". [[Press Enterprise (California).
21. "Southern California Rugby Football Union". Southern California Rugby Union.
22. "Rec Center – Recreation and Sports Cubs". recreation.ucr.edu.
23. "About Us".
24. "- HighlanderLink".
25. "NCAA Championships Statistics". [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]].
26. "Championships Summary". [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]].
27. "Division I Women's Indoor Track Championships Records Book". [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]].
28. Steele, Allan. (February 27, 2007). "Percival gives UC Riverside edge in baseball recruiting". [[Press Enterprise (California).
29. (March 18, 2004). "UC Riverside to Dedicate Amy S. Harrison Field During Double Header". University of California, Riverside.
30. Steele, Allan. (August 29, 2007). "Field of Dreams for UCR Soccer Teams". [[Press Enterprise (California).
31. Steele, Allan. (June 29, 2011). "UCR breaks ground on new track facility". [[Press Enterprise (California).