UC Riverside Highlanders
| UC Riverside Highlanders | |
|---|---|
| University | University of California, Riverside |
| Conference | Big West (primary) Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (indoor track & field) |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletic director | Wes Mallette |
| Location | Riverside, California |
| Varsity teams | 15 |
| Basketball arena | Student Recreation Center Arena |
| Baseball stadium | Riverside Sports Complex |
| Softball stadium | Amy S. Harrison Field |
| Soccer stadium | UC Riverside Soccer Stadium |
| Other venues | Ag/Ops Course Amy S. Harrison Field SRC Tennis Courts UC Riverside Track Facility |
| Mascot | Scotty Highlander |
| Nickname | Highlanders |
| Colors | Blue and gold |
| Website | gohighlanders |
The UC Riverside Highlanders represent the University of California, Riverside (UCR) in Riverside, California in 15 men's and women's intercollegiate athletics. The Highlanders compete in NCAA Division I; they are members of the Big West Conference.
In 1954, UCR's founding class adopted the name "Highlanders", reflecting the campus's high altitude. After the student body passed a referendum to move to Division I competition in 1998, the bear mascot, formerly called "Scotty", was professionally redesigned to look more ferocious. The new mascot featured a half-blue face in homage to William Wallace, the subject of the movie Braveheart. In line with the Scottish motif, UCR assembles a bagpipe band made up of students and staff who play at graduation and other campus events. The blue and gold tartan worn by the pipe band and the mascot is a registered trademark of the University of California. For the women's basketball team's first appearance at the NCAA Tournament in 2006, UCR sent 22 members of the pipe band to play at halftime.
In 2020, the future of UCR's sports program was placed into doubt, as the university's leadership were considering cutting the entire athletics department in response to financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in May 2021, the university announced that they had decided against eliminating athletics and would instead continue sponsoring all sports at the Division I level.