UC Santa Cruz – Turbo Slugs

2026 is the first time we’ve had three teams from a single school in the Winter Classic, and it’s an interesting story. When I reached out to Dr. Scott Beamer, the long time UCSC faculty advisor, he sent out word to the students about the competition and found a lot of interest. Enough to make two full teams of six students each – great! But then I started getting emails from a graduate student (PhD candidate, I think, but will confirm) who said he wanted to get in the game but the teams were full, and asked if I could help him out. I said I’d try to hook him up with another team but if he could find two more grad students, they could have a team of their own.

A couple of days later, he reports back that he has two other pals and I was happy to give them a slot. This sets up a great 3-way rivalry between Santa Cruz teams A and One and the elder Turbo Slugs. I can’t wait to stir the pot and see if I can get some competitive, and entertaining, trash talk wars going.