| UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | University of California, Santa Cruz |
| Conference | Coast to Coast Athletic Conference/ American Southwest Conference (women's golf only) |
| NCAA | Division III |
| Athletic director | Courtnie Prather (Interim) |
| Location | Santa Cruz, California |
| Varsity teams | 15 |
| Basketball arena | Kaiser Permanente Arena |
| Mascot | Sammy the Slug |
| Fight song | Banana Slugs Racing Down the Field |
| Colors | Navy blue and gold[1] |
| Website | www |
The UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Santa Cruz. The Banana Slugs compete in Division III of the NCAA, mostly in the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C). There are fifteen varsity sports – men's and women's basketball, tennis, soccer, volleyball, swimming and diving, cross country, track & field, and women's golf. UCSC teams have been Division III nationally ranked in tennis, soccer, men's volleyball, and swimming. UCSC maintains a number of successful club sides.
UC Santa Cruz joined the NCAA in September 1980 after years of playing in unofficial club competition. In 2016, due to mounting debt in the funding of the athletic program, the university polled its students on whether or not they would approve an increase in student fees which would be necessary to maintain the athletic program. There was a significant doubt that the students would approve this increase. Contrary to predictions, a majority of the students approved a significant addition to their annual fees to maintain the existence of the athletic program.[2][3]