Athletics

UC Merced Launches Bobcat Club to Support Scholar-Athletes in NCAA Division II Competition

August 8, 2025

To mark UC Merced’s entry into National Collegiate Athletics Association NCAA Division II competition, the university is launching the Bobcat Club – an initiative designed to support scholar-athletes and the campus’s elevated level of intercollegiate sports. The Bobcat Club...

More than 2,000 people were on campus for Homecoming events Oct. 20-22.

Homecoming Unites Campus With Community

Traditional UC Merced events — Homecoming, Preview Day and Family Weekend, plus the Chancellor’s Scholars recognition ceremony — came together for a first-of-its-kind bundle of...

Rufus is the real-life iteration of the UC Merced bobcat.

What’s In a Name? The Strength of Bobcats

Five years before it opened, UC Merced held a mascot-naming contest for local elementary school students. Among the nominees: the Marmots, the Hawks and the Black-Tailed Hares “There was an...

The UC Merced Journey 5K Fund Run is Sept. 9.

Journey 5K Fund Run Honors Late Cross Country Coach

Saturday’s annual Journey 5K Fund Run has special meaning for the UC Merced community. Last November, the campus lost Ryan Nunez — head coach of the men’s and women’s cross...

Prachumsri Named Men’s Volleyball Coach

UC Merced’s Athletics Department has hired women's volleyball coach and alumnus Surabordin “Ai” Prachumsri as the men's volleyball head coach. He will remain coach of the women’s team, as well. After...

Golf Fundraiser Catapults to New Record

The seventh annual Building Future Champions Dinner and Auction and the 20th annual Ma Kelley Memorial Shoot-Out golf tournament, held over two days last month at the Turlock Golf and Country Club,...

Mike Barbee Named New Cross Country Coach

UC Merced’s Athletics Department has hired Mike Barbee as men's and women's cross country coach. A 14-year coaching veteran with experience at the NCAA, community college and high school levels,...

Cheer Team Takes Second Place at National Competition

UC Merced’s Cheer Team traveled to Anaheim last month to compete alongside 11 other teams in the 2017 USA Collegiate Championships, placing second in the Four-Year Large Coed division. ...

Hannah Brown Named Second Women's Soccer Coach

With nine seniors graduating, the UC Merced’s women’s soccer will take to the field with many new faces in the fall, including Hannah Brown at the helm. Brown was recently named the team’s second...

Alumni Bring Unique Experience to Bobcats’ Coaching Ranks

Some of UC Merced’s most celebrated sports stars of the recent past are now helping to lead the newest generation of student-athletes at their alma mater. For these former players, coaching is a...