One of the many great features of a beautiful city like Santa Barbara is its size. A small coast town nestled in between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific ocean. The benefits of a small town are great — less traffic, easy access to nature, minimal pollution and the list goes on. One thing Santa Barbara may be missing is professional sports.
As part of an initiative to inform students of local events, Odyssey Online has come up with a comprehensive list of sporting events available without having to leave the county. Events ranging from NCAA Division I level Athletics to Professional sporting events.
University of California Santa Barbara Gauchos
The UCSB Gauchos are a NCAA Division I institution with a wide variety of intercollegiate sports. Harder Stadium is the home of the Men’s and Women’s soccer teams and hosts a fun and wild crowd at every game. Games against long time rival Cal Poly San Luis Obispo tend to spice things up a bit. The stadium was home to the NCAA National Championships in 2010. For those that are more inclined with indoor events, go take a peak at UCSB’s ThunderDome. This indoor stadium is accurately named after the electric atmosphere that the students introduce to the place. Gauchos Basketball qualified for the March Madness Tournament in 2011.
For more information on tickets prices and scheduling check out: http://ucsbgauchos.com/
Santa Barbara City College Vaqueros
La Playa stadium is one of the most perfectly located stadium on the entire West Coast! The football field is surrounded by a brand new track and fits a couple thousand seats on ocean viewing stands that overlook the stadium. The height of the stands make for a beautiful perched view of both the ocean and the field. Beware, those steps are steep! During the fall, you can head down to the stadium on a Friday night and watch the best football team in town play community colleges from Southern California.
For more information on ticket prices and scheduling check out: http://sbccvaqueros.com/
In addition to wonderful Collegiate team sports, Santa Barbara hosts some elite and professional Endurance events.
Santa Barbara Triathlon – Santa Barbara Triathlon hosts professional and amatueur athletes who jump into the Pacific for the swim, grab their bikes and ride along the coast before putting their running shoes on and paving their way to the finish line.
http://www.santabarbaratriathlon.com/
State Street Mile – This race is considered one of the most iconic Mile races in the United States. Every year downtown State St. hosts thousands of runners who compete to clock in and figure out their mile time. One of the biggest attractions is the Dog Mile which consists of owners getting tugged and pulled by their fellow companions down State St. and sometimes even further!
Tour of California – The largest bike race in the United States always makes its way through Santa Barbara. The Tour is a 7 day event that leads cyclists across the state of California. Every year the course changes and the layout is different, but there is one guarantee – the race will pass through Santa Barbara.
