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| Founded: 1965 Enrollment: 36,500 (2021) Played baseball since: 1970 Team name: Anteaters School colors: Blue and gold Home ballpark: Anteater Ballpark Conference: Big West (NCAA Div. I) |
The University of California, Irvine was created the same year as University of California, San Diego. It opened for classes in the fall of 1965 on former ranchland that had been donated by The Irvine Company.
UC Irvine began playing intercollegiate baseball in 1970, in what was then the NCAA Collegiate Division for small schools. An independent, the Anteaters won the NCAA small school championship in 1973. The next year, with a reorganization of the NCAA into Divs. I, II and III, UC Irvine became a Div. II independent – and won the first Division II College World Series.
For the 1978 season, the Anteaters moved up to NCAA Div. I, with the baseball team in the Southern California Baseball Association as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association the university was affiliated with did not sanction baseball in that period. For the 1985 season, the baseball team rejoined the PCAA, which renamed itself the Big West the following year.
In 1992, the baseball program was eliminated as a budget-cutting measure. It was restarted for the 2002 season, still in the Big West, where it has remained.
In addition to its lower-division championships, UC Irvine has also been to the Div. I College World Series twice, in 2007 and 2014.
Baseball Almanac lists 10 Anteaters who have made it to the Major Leagues. Among them is three-time American League All-Star Brady Anderson, as well as pitcher Doug Linton.
The Anteaters’ home field is Anteater Ballpark. It opened in 2002, and has permanent seating for just under 1,000 – with capacity for another 2,500 in a grassy viewing area.
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