NCAA awards 2010 College Cup to UCSB

In an announcement made by the NCAA on Thursday, UCSB was awarded the 2010 men’s soccer College Cup, signifying a historic breakthrough for not only the university, but also the west coast.

The announcement guarantees that UCSB will host a national championship event for the first time since the men’s volleyball championship of 1974. This also signifies just the second Men’s College Cup to be awarded to a west coast university since 1986. The previous time came in 2004 when UCLA hosted college soccer’s championship at the Home Depot Center in Carson, a game UCSB’s men’s soccer team played in.

This time, however, the College Cup will be played at a university site – UCSB’s Meredith Field at Harder Stadium.

“This is tremendous news,” Director of Athletics Mark Massari said. “UCSB, Santa Barbara and the central coast area is a great choice for celebrating the College Cup. I want to personally thank Chancellor Henry Yang for his support of our bid, (Executive Associate Athletics Directors) Diane O’Brien, Tom Hastings and their support staffs and the nation’s premier coach, Tim Vom Steeg, for working tirelessly on the execution of the `Soccer Town, USA’ campaign. Now the fun begins and we look forward to working with our local community and civic leaders to make this event a huge success. We are on the national stage.”

UCSB’s Harder Stadium, which holds nearly 17,000, will host its first College Cup. The 2009 College Cup will be hosted by Cary, North Carolina.

“We are so pleased and honored that the NCAA and the NCAA Soccer Committee has awarded the 2010 College Cup to UC Santa Barbara,” said Chancellor Henry T. Yang. “This is such an exciting opportunity for a great soccer community. I applaud our Intercollegiate Athletics Director Mark Massari, Coach Tim Vom Steeg, our coaching staff, our student-athletes, and all of our devoted Gaucho alumni and fans for their contributions to this successful bid. UC Santa Barbara looks forward to welcoming the nation’s soccer fans to our beautiful campus.”

The Gauchos, who have finished ranked in the Top-25 in a school-record seven consecutive seasons, have led the nation in average home attendance each of the past two seasons, the only school to accomplish the feat. Three of the NCAA’s Top-10 regular-season crowds have been at Harder Stadium.

“This is a great opportunity for us to showcase our facilities, our university, our community and the great fans of the central coast,” UCSB head coach Tim Vom Steeg said.

Harder Stadium has hosted nine NCAA postseason matches, including this past season’s Second Round game vs. Cal. UCSB set a school record with its 11,214 fans to see the 2004 NCAA Quarterfinal match vs. Virginia Commonwealth, hosted 9,641 in a 2007 postseason match vs. Washington and had 8,784 in attendance vs. Northwestern in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.

Harder Stadium has hosted events since it opened in 1966, including UCSB football games, numerous NCAA postseason men’s and women’s soccer matches, professional soccer matches and national rugby contests as well as countless concerts including one last summer by UCSB alum Jack Johnson.

Fans interested in tickets and more College Cup information should click here.

West Coast Sites to Host the College Cup