A portrait of UCLA superstar and trailblazer Jackie Robinson in his Brooklyn Dodgers’ uniform, circa 1945.
(Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

UC athletes are at the center of America’s story, bringing people together in celebration, setting records and creating opportunities for the next generation.

A new UC Newsroom feature highlights Jackie Robinson and seven other UC sports legends whose influence reached far beyond the scoreboard. Robinson, a UCLA trailblazer, competed in football, track, basketball and baseball before breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier and becoming one of the most important figures in American sports and civil rights history.

The story also celebrates UC athletes who changed their sports and expanded what was possible for others, including UCLA’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, UC Berkeley’s Alex Morgan, UCLA’s Ann Meyers Drysdale, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, UC Irvine’s Greg Louganis, Cal’s Joe Kapp and UCLA’s Arthur Ashe.

Together, their achievements show how UC athletes have shaped culture, challenged barriers and inspired progress — on the field, in the arena and across society.

Read the story at the UC Newsroom

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