When you arrive on campus, you’ll see students all over the place wearing shirts that say RUFF RIDERS—they’re the official student fan club for all Bronco sports. Join up and start rooting for the home team and you’ll feel the energy right away. Stuart Poulter ’08 explains the appeal:

“Sports are a big deal, it’s an early sign that you’re in college and part of this community. It’s part of being a student here, something everyone can share. And coming into your freshman year, it’s a good way to build school spirit. The Ruff Riders get people going to games, making sure you know when big games are coming up and when teams are doing well. We get people going to away games locally, like at St. Mary’s, USF, or Stanford. Once when I was visiting people at Cal Poly, I went to a women’s soccer game and saw Ruff Riders there, too.”

Soccer is our football: “Santa Clara is well known for sports, especially soccer. You never know if you’re going to see the next big star, if you’ll be able to say ‘I went to school with him or with her’—and that always gets people interested in the game.”