Harder Stadium

Harder Stadium
Soccer Heaven
	August 2018
	Santa Barbara Location in the United States Santa Barbara Location in California
Full name	Meredith Field; at Harder Stadium
Former names	Campus Stadium; (1966–1981)
Address	Stadium Road
Location	University of California, Santa Barbara; California, U.S.
Coordinates	34°25′12″N 119°51′14″W / 34.42°N 119.854°W
Public transit	El Colegio & Stadium Rd., Santa Barbara MTD
Owner	University of California, Santa Barbara
Operator	University of California, Santa Barbara
Type	Stadium
Genre(s)	Sporting events
Seating type	Reserved seating and benches
Executive suites	0
Capacity	17,000
Record attendance	20,000+
Field shape	Rectangular
Surface	Natural grass
Scoreboard	Yes
Construction
Opened	November 12, 1966;; 57 years ago
Renovated	2010
Expanded	1970
Tenants
	UCSB Men's Soccer (current); UCSB Women's Soccer (current); UCSB Football (1966–1971, 1986–1991)

Harder Stadium is a 17,000-seat, outdoor multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara, California. It serves as the on-campus soccer stadium for both the men's and women's programs. Currently used occasionally by the university's club rugby and lacrosse teams, it was originally the home of the defunct football program.

History

The stadium was built 58 years ago in 1966 and is named after Theodore "Spud" Harder, a former coach of the Gauchos' football team. The stadium hosted Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers in January 1967 for their practices in the week ahead of the first Super Bowl.^[1]

The UCSB football team played their home games at Harder Stadium until football was cut after the 1971 season due to budget cuts. UCSB brought football back as a non-scholarship sport in 1983 and by 1987 was playing a full

UCSB Events Center, it is one of the more well-attended athletic venues in the central coast.^[2]

Harder Stadium hosted a memorial service for the victims of the

2014 Isla Vista Killings. Guests in attendance included UC President Janet Napolitano, and over 20,000 students, staff, alumni, and community members. The stadium seats were filled over capacity as thousands more sat on the grass field.^[3]

Soccer legacy

Harder Stadium sees most of its present-day use as a

UCSB men's soccer and women's soccer teams. The stadium hosted the final three matches of the 2010 College Cup

. However, a number of professional club and international teams have played in Harder Stadium as well.

UC Santa Barbara teams

Due to the success of the men's program, the stadium has hosted numerous NCAA soccer playoff games in addition to the regular season games. Despite the men's program recent success, it was the women's program who first brought the NCAA Tournaments to Harder Stadium. The women hosted the first soccer NCAA Tournament game in a 1985 4–3 victory against

Cal State Hayward. In total, the women's program has held 4 NCAA Tournament matches at Harder Stadium, bringing such opponents as the Wisconsin Badgers, Stanford Cardinal, and Hartford Hawks

.

The men's program hosted their first men's NCAA Tournament game in 2002, blanking the San Diego Toreros 2–0. In total, they have hosted 9 NCAA Tournament games.

In 2004, 11,214 fans saw UCSB defeat

College Cup

(NCAA Soccer's "Final Four"). After the game, a group of students celebrated by carrying one of the soccer goals out of the stadium. They had planned to throw it into the Pacific Ocean (about 1/3 mile away), but were stopped by a combination of law enforcement down the block and tiring out from the weight of the goal.

However, in 2006, the UCSB won the

Del Playa Drive

.

In 2009, the NCAA awarded UCSB and Harder Stadium the 2010 Division I Men's College Cup, which is the "Final Four" of Division I men's soccer.

On September 24, 2010, the UCSB gaucho fans set a record on the highest attendance at any NCAA (on campus) soccer match. UCSB beat the visiting UCLA team (2-0) in front of 15,896 who attended the game.

Additional UCSB teams that use the stadium for select contests are the UCSB women's lacrosse,^[4] men's lacrosse and rugby^[5] teams. These teams are part of the UCSB Recreation Department^[6] and open to all students.

Other teams

Due to the large capacity of Harder Stadium, it is often used by professional teams exhibition games. In 1991, the US Women's National Team played there before the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup. Likewise, the US Men's National Team played there in 1994 against the Romanian National Team.

Club teams also have played at Harder Stadium. In March 2004, the

Monarcas Morelia played,^[7] while UCSB has scheduled to play the Mexican U-17 National Team. A friendly between Wrexham and Bournemouth

will take place on July 20, 2024.

Non-sporting activities

Every year, the school's

The Black Eyed Peas, Jane's Addiction, MxPx, Social Distortion, Eve 6, Pepper, Slightly Stoopid, Ludacris, Nas, Hellogoodbye, and E-40

.

Harder Stadium also houses 18 art studios located beneath the seating risers. They are primarily used by graduate students and faculty.

References

^ "Green Bay to train at San. Barbara". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 5, 1967. p. 20.
^ "Stadium History". UCSB.
^ "Thousands Honor Isla Vista Victims at UCSB Memorial Service". KTLA. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
^ "UCSB Women's Lacrosse". ucsbwlax.com.
^ "Personal Injury Class Action Lawsuits". ucsbrugby.com.
^ "University of California, Santa Barbara - HOME". ucsb.edu.
^ Zant, John (31 March 2009). "Harder Is a Happy Home for Soccer". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 21 September 2009.

External links

Preceded by Talen Energy Stadium	Host of the College Cup 2010 2018	Succeeded by Regions Park WakeMed Soccer Park

[pctrsb-1] "Green Bay to train at San. Barbara". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 5, 1967. p. 20.

[2] "Stadium History". UCSB.

[3] "Thousands Honor Isla Vista Victims at UCSB Memorial Service". KTLA. Retrieved 1 April 2015.

[4] "UCSB Women's Lacrosse". ucsbwlax.com.

[5] "Personal Injury Class Action Lawsuits". ucsbrugby.com.

[6] "University of California, Santa Barbara - HOME". ucsb.edu.

[7] Zant, John (31 March 2009). "Harder Is a Happy Home for Soccer". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 21 September 2009.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer
Venues	Harder Stadium (1966–present)
Rivalries	Cal Poly UCLA
People	Head coaches
Seasons	2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 2015 2019
National championship seasons in bold; College Cup seasons in italics

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos football
Venues	Peabody Stadium (1921–1937) La Playa Stadium (1938–1965) Harder Stadium (1966–1995)
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972–1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991