Santa Clara Broncos The Broncos is the nickname of the athletic teams at Santa Clara University . The athletic program currently has 19 varsity sports , 9 men ' s sports and 10 women ' s . Additionally there are 18 club sports teams that compete intercollegiately . The school colors are red and white . The mascot is a bucking bronco and the fans are referred to as the " Ruff Riders " . Rivalries . Santa Clara vs . Stanford . The Santa Clara vs . Stanford rivalry can be traced back to 1902 with the rivalry of their football teams with such events as the " The Big Game " in 1916 . When Santa Clara discontinued their football team , the rivalry continued through their rugby athletic programs . From that point on the Santa Clara vs . Stanford rivalry has grown to include many of both schools ' athletics programs , resulting in highly heated battles . In the sport of soccer the rivalry is one of the most competitive for both schools , with both teams often finding themselves competitors on the road to national titles . The rivalry is Stanford ' s longest uninterrupted rivalry with any team except Cal . Santa Clara vs . Cal . The Santa Clara vs . Cal rivalry has existed for many decades as both schools are the two oldest schools on the West Coast . The rivalry first started with the competition between both schools football teams , and then rugby teams in response to dangers present in American football . The rivalry now includes many of the two schools ' programs . Conference Rivals . Within the West Coast Conference , Santa Clara ' s bitterest rival is the University of San Francisco Dons . As comparably sized Jesuit schools within an hour ' s drive , these two schools have competed against each other for decades . The Rivalry was originally rooted in the two schools ' football programs , who both played home games at Kezar Stadium . After USF dropped football in 1952 , the rivalry was most heated in men ' s basketball , as both teams were nationally ranked in the 1950s , with Santa Clara appearing in the tournament in 1952 , 1953 , and 1954 and USF winning the tournament in 1954 and 1955 . The Saint Mary ' s Gaels are considered , second only to USF , as Santa Clara ' s most heated rival . The school is located within an hour and a half drive and is also a member of the West Coast Conference . While Santa Clara and USF are comparable in size and are both Jesuit , Santa Clara and St . Mary ' s are very different . The more rural St . Mary ' s is a Christian Brothers school and is much smaller than Santa Clara . With USF dropping football in 1952 , St . Mary ' s became Santa Clara ' s most heated football rival until both programs meet their end in the 1990s . The football game between the schools was known as the " Little Big Game " , a reference to Stanford and Cal ' s " Big Game " . The game may have been called little , but in the 1920s and 1930s , it was attended by more than 60 , 000 fans . Although the schools no longer meet on the gridiron , basketball games remain fierce and competitive . The Gonzaga Bulldogs were not well known athletically until they made inspired runs in the NCAA tournament in the 1990s and 2000s . As an West Coast Conference opponent and a Jesuit institution , the Bulldogs are a natural rival for the Broncos on the hardwood . On February 12 , 2007 , the Bronco basketball team snapped Gonzaga ' s 50 game home winning streak . At the time , it was the longest ongoing home winning streak in the NCAA . Varsity sports . Men ' s Basketball . Men ' s Basketball played its first season in 1904 . Since then , the men ' s basketball team has historically been a strong program within the West Coast Conference . The program has produced 13 All - American s , with their first , Bob Feerick , coming in the 1942 season . The program has produced NBA stars Steve Nash , and Kurt Rambis , as well as college stars Ken Sears , and Bob Ferrick . The Team has played in the NCAA tournament in 11 different seasons , reaching the 1952 Final Four . The 1992 - 1993 Santa Clara team , led by future NBA MVP Steve Nash , was one of 6 # 15 seeds to defeat a # 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament . On February 12 , 2007 , the men ' s basketball team snapped Gonzaga ' s 50 game home winning streak . At the time , it was the longest ongoing home winning streak in the NCAA . Women ' s Basketball . Women ' s Basketball played its first season in 1963 . Since then , the women ' s basketball team has historically been a strong program within the West Coast Conference . The Women ' s Basketball team won the WNIT in 1991 . Men ' s Soccer . The men ' s soccer team is one of the nation ' s elite teams having since 2006 been among the top eight programs of the NCAA for developing professional players overall . The men ' s soccer team has reached the championship match of the College Cup three times . In 1989 , they faced the University of Virginia and played to a 1 - 1 tie that was called due to darkness after 2 overtimes , earning both Santa Clara and Virginia a share of the National Championship . In 1991 they again faced Virginia and again tied after regulation , this time 0 - 0 , but lost to the Cavaliers on penalty kicks . In 1999 , they lost to Indiana University , 0 - 1 . Santa Clara , is the only school in NCAA history to twice have both its men ' s and women ' s soccer programs ranked No . 1 simultaneously . Women ' s Soccer . The women ' s soccer team is one of the nation ' s elite programs in the NCAA consistently ranking among the top ten teams nationally with twenty consecutive years in the Top 10 . The program won the national title in the 2001 NCAA Women ' s Soccer Championship , beating University of North Carolina 1 - 0 . The team was mentioned several times in the film " Bend It Like Beckham " . The team has had thirty three players in Women ' s Professional Soccer and has won seven Olympic Medals . The team ' s most famous player is Brandi Chastain who took the Broncos to two NCAA Final Four appearances in 1989 and 1990 . She would later be on the American Olympic team that won the gold medal in 1996 and the American World ' s Cup team that won in 1999 . Her husband Jerry Smith is the coach of the Santa Clara women ' s team . Notable other sports . Former football program . Santa Clara University fielded an intercollegiate football team from 1896 to 1992 , competing against traditional arch - rivals the University of San Francisco and St . Mary ' s College , as well as maintaining what were then much more fierce rivalries with Stanford University and the University of California . The Broncos were the first team to play the Cal Bears in Memorial Stadium . In Santa Clara ' s football heyday , they drew crowds of up to 60 , 000 to Kezar Stadium in San Francisco , where they played home games . The Broncos competed favorably on a national scale , winning the 1937 and 1938 Sugar Bowl s ( both against Louisiana State ) and the 1950 Orange Bowl against Paul " Bear " Bryant ' s Kentucky Wildcats , 21 - 13 . Combatting increased costs , rising enrollments at public universities and the advent of professional football , Santa Clara dropped football in 1952 , never to return to national prominence . The team was reinstated in 1959 and competed favorably at the college division ( later Division II ) level until football was once again discontinued in 1992 , due to new NCAA regulations which mandated all sports be played at the same level at each university . Santa Clara had fielded all Division I teams with the exception of the Division II football team , and elected not to field a team at the Division I - AA level . There is no indication football will return to the school in the future , although rumors of the return of Bronco football have not been put to rest . Advocates for the reinstatement of the football program argue that major collegiate football will generate enormous media buzz surrounding the small university . Rugby . In 2008 , the Santa Clara men ' s rugby club made it to national playoffs which were held that year in Orem , Utah . They ousted a powerful Western Washington club before falling to eventual division champion Utah Valley State . The Santa Clara University Touring Side ( SCUTS ) have built upon that success and followed with a strong 2009 campaign . In 2011 , the Santa Clara Women ' s rugby team competed in the USA Rugby Women ' s College Sevens National Championships . Other club sports . In 2008 , the Santa Clara Paintball Team made it to the final rounds of the NCPA competition in Florida . The Santa Clara Women ' s Lacrosse team has made it to nationals multiple years and ended up placing 3rd in the 2011 season .