Oct. 8, 2009

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The Local Organizing Committee for the 2010 NCAA College Cup - scheduled to be held at UCSB's Meredith Field at Harder Stadium from Dec. 10-12, 2010 - was unveiled on Wednesday, Oct. 7 in a press conference conducted prior to the Gauchos' Big West Conference victory over Cal Poly.

UCSB Director of Athletics Mark Massari announced the formation of the Committee and discussed the event's importance to the entire area and community. 

"We will show off the greatness of this university on the athletic fields," Massari said, "but we'll also take that a step further to show off the greatness of this community - all the way up and down the Central Coast."

UCSB Chancellor Henry Yang echoed Massari's comments.

"Our local organizing committee was formed to bring segments of our local community together to form a holistic approach to producing a very successful event," Chancellor Yang said. "It is truly our entire community that is hosting this wonderful event."

The press conference also served to bring together two area mayors - Mayor Marty Blum of Santa Barbara and Mayor Roger Aceves of Goleta - both members of the Committee.

"It is truly going to be fun," Mayor Blum said of the College Cup. "The kids in our community are going to absolutely love seeing this. Thank you so much for making this happen."

"We are going to prove to the (NCAA Soccer Committee) that they made the right decisions," Mayor Aceves said. "With our fans and all of our communities' support this will be a great event. My city stands ready to help in any way we can."

The Organizing Committee consist of, Chancellor Henry T. Yang (Chancellor, UCSB), Gene Lucas (Executive Vice Chancellor, UCSB), Marc Fisher (Senior Vice Chancellor, UCSB), George Thurlow (Asst Vice Chancellor/Executive Director Alumni Assoc, UCSB), Jon Spaventa (Director of Recreation, UCSB), Paul Stumpf (Head Women's Soccer Coach, UCSB), Sergio Villa (Hispanic Chamber President and Alliance Wealth Strategies Financial Planner), Rick Wilson, Dr. Gary Cunningham, Mark Schwartz, Drew Wakeifield (Hispanic Chamber Board & Ramada), Mayor Helene Schneider (Mayor, City of Santa Barbara), Roger Aceves (Mayor, City of Goleta),  Jamie Shaw (Santa Barbara Visitors Bureau), Olé (official Soccer Town, USA mascot)