Referred to in athletic competition as UC Santa Barbara or UCSB, the Gauchos participate in 19 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports with the majority competing in the Big West Conference.

The Gauchos, and the student-athletes who compose the teams, have won a variety of conference titles, regularly compete in NCAA championship events, and have produced professional and Olympic athletes.

Those affiliated with UCSB, including alumni, faculty, and students in addition to the athletic teams, have previously gone under the nicknames Hilltoppers and Roadrunners.

[9] In 1969, UC Santa Barbara was a founding member of the Big West Conference, then known as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association.

Numerous Major League Baseball all-stars and World Series champions have come through the ranks including Shane Bieber, Skip Schumaker, Chris Speier, Michael Young, and Barry Zito.

Over the years, a few of Pimm's assistants at UCSB have gone on to coach other major programs around the country, including Ben Howland (1982–1994) of UCLA and Jamie Dixon of Pittsburgh.

Famous Gauchos men's basketball players are Brian Shaw, Conner Henry, Alex Harris, Lucius Davis, Don Ford, James Nunnally, and Orlando Johnson.

[17] The Gauchos continued on their playoff march against the Pacific Tigers in the semifinals hosted at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.

Pacific swept UCSB in the regular season, but the Gauchos were victorious when it mattered the most as they bounced the Tigers out of the tournament with an overwhelming 84-66 decision.

[20] She was also included on the All-Tournament team roster along with her teammate sophomore guard Melissa Zornig, who averaged 16.7 points per game in the tournament.

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's cross country team appeared in the NCAA tournament two times, with their highest finish being 17th place in the 2001–02 school year.

[22] The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos women's cross country team appeared in the NCAA tournament four times, with their highest finish being 9th place in the 2006–07 school year.

It routed Duke in the semifinals 5–0, but lost in the championship match to Indiana on penalties In 2006, UCSB again advanced to the College Cup.

[28] The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team has an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 23–13–1 through sixteen appearances.

[29] The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos women's soccer team has an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 5–9 through nine appearances.

[30] The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos women's softball team has an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 0–6 through three appearances.

Notable alumni of the program include Olympic gold medalists Richard Schroeder, Jason Lezak, Sandy Neilson, Sophie Kamoun, former 50-meter freestyle world record holder Bruce Stahl (the first person to ever hold this world record), and Pat Cary.

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos women's volleyball team has an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 21–28 through twenty-eight appearances.

[32] UC Santa Barbara won the 1979 National Championship in men's water polo, defeating the UCLA Bruins by a score of 11–3.

[34] The program has produced several notable players including Craig Wilson, Greg Boyer, John Anderson, Brian Alexander, and Ross Sinclair, who have won multiple Olympic medals between the group.

The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's water polo team has an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 7–11 through twelve appearances.

Under Curtice's successor, Andy Everest, the college decided to launch an NCAA Division I program, but after two seasons of dismal on-field performance and a lack of student support, the college changed directions and decided to drop the sport entirely in December 1971 after falling $40,000 below its estimated operating budget.

[45] Rowing was started in 1965 as the first club sport at UC Santa Barbara, predating some of the university's intercollegiate athletic teams.

[50] UCSB has produced several top rugby players, including international team members Bill Leversee, Stuart Krohn, and Kristine Sommer.

[64] The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos competed in the NCAA tournament across 20 active sports (10 men's and 10 women's) 184 times at the Division I level.

[66] Results UC Santa Barbara won 1 national championship at the NCAA Division II level.

This new format calculates earned points between UCSB and Cal Poly to determine a winner based on their teams' competitive results against each other.

[75] Following the completion of Rob Gym, the inaugural class was announced as C. James Anderson, Sam Cathcart, Tom Guerrero, Doug Oldershaw, Ernie Saenz, and Howard Yeager.