Intercollegiate and intramural athletics have always been an important aspect of the University of California experience, and individual and team sports are a UC tradition among students and alumni. Athletic competition is an important complement to the rigors of academics and is a vital connection for UC alumni, prospective students and their parents, and nearby communities.

UC students have been engaged in athletics from the university's inception. The sports in the university's earliest days included rugby, football and baseball. Nowadays, most UC campuses field women's and men's teams in major and minor sports, with many of the teams securing national rankings.

UC alumni have gone on to play professionally in major sports such as football, basketball and baseball, and large numbers of UC student athletes and alumni have represented the U.S. and other countries in the pinnacle of athletic competition, the Olympics.

UC sent more athletes to the 2004 Summer Games than many countries. Historically, participants with UC connections have performed well in these international competitions: in 2004, 35 medallists had UC ties.

Intercollegiate Athletics
Berkeley
Davis
Irvine
Los Angeles
Riverside
San Diego
Santa Barbara
Santa Cruz

Recreation and Intramural Sports
Berkeley
Davis
Irvine
Los Angeles
Merced
Riverside
San Diego
San Francisco
Santa Barbara
Santa Cruz