Estimated NIL Spend
$2M
2025–26 est.
Top Sport
Men's Basketball
$1M
UC Santa Barbara is a Big West program without football.
Basketball and Olympic sports receive NIL investment. The Santa Barbara/Goleta coastal market gives UCSB athletes good commercial NIL access. Swimming, water polo, and volleyball are strong programs.
Santa Barbara market gives good commercial NIL access
Swimming, water polo, volleyball, soccer, track, baseball, tennis, golf, softball
Hover any row for total spend & share of program budget.
UC Santa Barbara ranks #232 nationally in estimated NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) spending for the 2025–26 athletic year, with a combined budget of $2M across all sports. As a Lower-Tier program in the Big West, UC Santa Barbaracompetes with the nation's top revenue-sharing and collective-funded programs to attract and retain top recruits, transfer-portal talent, and returning starters.
The Sideline's NIL Tracker compiles UC Santa Barbara's reported NIL figures from publicly disclosed contracts, collective funding announcements, athletic department reporting, and cross-referenced industry sources. Numbers reflect estimates of UC Santa Barbara's 2026 NIL budget allocations including football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, softball, and Olympic sports where applicable. Men's Basketball represents the largest single-sport allocation at $1M.
NIL spending at UC Santa Barbara continues to evolve following the House v. NCAA settlement, which permits direct revenue sharing with student-athletes starting in the 2025–26 academic year. UC Santa Barbara's figures include both the school's revenue-share allocation and third-party collective deals from boosters and alumni networks. For broader context, view our complete NIL Tracker rankings or compare UC Santa Barbara directly to other programs on the NIL Compare tool.
UC Santa Barbara is estimated to spend $2M on NIL in the 2025–26 athletic year, including revenue-sharing allocations and third-party collective deals. This ranks #232 nationally among Division I programs.
UC Santa Barbara competes in the Big West at the Lower-Tier level.
Men's Basketball is UC Santa Barbara's top NIL-funded sport with approximately $1M in estimated 2026 spending.
UC Santa Barbara's $2M NIL budget can be compared against every Big West program and all 357 Division I schools on The Sideline's NIL Tracker.
UC Santa Barbara's NIL budget combines two sources: the school's direct revenue-share allocation (capped at roughly $20.5M industry-wide following the House settlement) and third-party collective deals funded by boosters, alumni, and corporate sponsors.
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Kirby Smart has beaten Nick Saban's Alabama in three of their meetings since Smart was hired at Georgia. Smart was Saban's defensive coordinator for 7 years. The student has beaten the teacher three times.