University of California - IrvineAthletics Summary

Written by Tracey Xuan Nguyen

Tracey Xuan Nguyen

Hometown

Hawthorne, CA

Major

Business Economics

View all previous student authors

Unlike at other more sports-oriented campuses around Southern California—UCLA, USC, San Diego—being a student athlete at UCI is an ambiguous honor. Despite IM sports being on the rise at other universities nationwide, some UCI students could care less. The others either participate in IMs or don’t know they exist—it’s very possible to be athletically ignorant on this campus. Both the men’s basketball and baseball teams are gaining in popularity, but they pale in comparison to nationally ranked schools, such as USC and UCLA. There also seems to be a bit of buzz going on about the school’s golf teams. The ARC is frequently filled to capacity, but many UCI students view exercising as a hobby rather than a sport. There is no football or ice hockey teams, so the fall quarter here isn’t as exciting as it is at other schools. Generally, sports come very much after academics and even other extracurricular activities at UCI. Thus, if you are very interested in sports and attending large sporting events, then UCI is not a good choice.

With an anteater for a mascot, UCI’s student body almost takes a masochistic pleasure in its general apathy and ignorance of student sports. You can’t get a much more docile mascot than an anteater, and “docile” seems to sum up the overall student attitude about sports here at UCI­—rather, that’s what you would say if you were one of the few who paid attention to sports here.