San Diego, CA
San Diego sports fan? Check out these 12 events (and dozens more) in 2026
The best part about living in San Diego is, well, that we get to live here.
But all too often, those of us in America’s Finest City stay close to home. Life’s easier when you don’t have to fight traffic, find parking or purchase tickets.
That ends today.
Here’s a look at 12 sporting events — one each month, all year long — that will help you become not only a better sports fan in 2026 but a more well-rounded San Diegan, too. The following list of local events is by no means comprehensive given that some teams have yet to announce their schedules and, of course, times and dates are subject to change. But consider it a good start.
So let’s get moving. The first one is Friday!
January: Take in the latest Holiday Bowl in history
This year’s Holiday Bowl will technically be played next year, part of a scheduling quirk that moves San Diego’s annual bowl game to Friday, Jan. 2. The past two Holiday Bowls were marked by opt-outs — USC star Caleb Williams missed in 2024, and Washington State left its quarterback and coach at home in 2025 — but this year’s matchup at Snapdragon Stadium should be a good one. Both No. 21 Arizona (9-3) and SMU (8-4) boast star quarterbacks and pass-happy offensive schemes that fit perfectly with the Holiday Bowl’s reputation as America’s Most Exciting Bowl Game. Just make sure you know the difference between “Pony Up” and “Bear Down” before you go.
Mark your calendars:
Jan. 11: USATF National Marathon Race Walk Championships in Santee
Jan. 16-18: San Diego Rodeo at Petco Park
Jan. 17: Monster Energy AMA Supercross at Snapdragon Stadium
February: Follow the leader at the Farmers Insurance Open
This year’s Farmers Insurance Open wraps on Feb. 1, giving San Diego’s golf fans a chance to take in world-class competition at Torrey Pines Golf Course. The Open returns to a more traditional Thursday-through-Sunday format after being held Wednesday through Saturday in past years. The vibe is coastal cool: even if you don’t know who won in 2025 (Harris English) or 2024 (Matthieu Pavon), you’ll never forget the sweeping views and good-time crowds at Torrey Pines. But bring a quarter-zip: It gets windy (and foggy) out there.
Mark your calendars:
Feb. 1: Final day of the San Diego Open at the Barnes Tennis Center
Feb. 3: San Diego FC vs. Pumas UNAM in Concacaf Champions Cup first-round play at Snapdragon Stadium
Feb. 22: Harlem Globetrotters at Pechanga Arena
Feb. 26: FIBA Men’s World Cup Qualifying game: USA men’s basketball national team vs. Dominican Republic at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside
Feb. 27: “No Boxing, No Life” fight card at SeaWorld’s Nautilus Arena
Feb. 28: UC San Diego men’s basketball “Senior Night” vs. Cal Poly at LionTree Arena
March: Step into the Madness at Viejas Arena
The NCAA Tournament returns to Viejas Arena March 20 and 22 for the first two rounds of regional play. And while San Diego State won’t be there — NCAA rules prohibit teams from playing on their home courts in the tournament – there’s bound to be men’s basketball blue-bloods in the building. The nation’s top-ranked team, Arizona, is a good bet to stay in the West if it continues to win; if not, perennial powerhouses like Gonzaga or UCLA could post up in San Diego for the Friday-Sunday series. Buy your tickets now, but be warned: Watching a full day of NCAA Tournament games in person is intense, exhausting — and exhilarating.
Mark your calendars:
March 1: FIBA Men’s World Cup Qualifying game: USA national basketball team vs. Mexico at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside
March 13-14: National Women’s Soccer League’s opening weekend; San Diego Wave’s schedule/opponent TBA
March 21-22: Savannah Bananas Baseball at Petco Park
March 23: San Diego Strike Force season opener vs. Northern Arizona Wranglers at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside
March 24-25: UC San Diego baseball vs. Oregon at Triton Field
March 26: San Diego Padres’ 2026 season opener vs. Detroit Tigers at Petco Park
March 27-29: San Diego Crew Classic on Mission Bay
March 28: Ironman 70.3 Triathlon in Oceanside
April: Guide the Gulls into the playoffs at Pechanga Arena
The San Diego Gulls last made the American Hockey League playoffs in 2021. They haven’t advanced past the first round since 2019. But hockey hope springs eternal, and there’s reason to believe that San Diego’s struggles won’t last forever. The club wraps the 2025-26 regular season on April 18 with a home game against the Coachella Valley Firebirds, and there could be a playoff spot at stake. This year’s Gulls have enough Anaheim Ducks prospects that they could make a push. And if not? Well, Gulls games are always a good time. The club finished eighth in the 32-team AHL in attendance last season.
Mark your calendars:
April 2: Final day of San Diego Lions Baseball Tournament, various sites
April 12: 40th annual Carlsbad 5000 race, Carlsbad
April 17: San Diego Seals Fan Appreciation Night vs. Las Vegas Desert Dogs at Pechanga Arena
April 23-26: Lakeside Rodeo, Lakeside
April 30: San Diego Mojo regular-season finale vs. Grand Rapids Rise at Viejas Arena
May: Put some heat on the Whitecaps
The last time the Vancouver Whitecaps visited San Diego, they scored two goals in the first 11 minutes and ended San Diego FC’s season in the Major League Soccer Western Conference final. Well, Vancouver is back in town on May 23, and SDFC will be eager to pay back its rival. Wear your tennis shoes, bring cough drops and prepare to stand, chant and sing in SDFC’s final match before its two-month World Cup break.
Mark your calendars:
May 7-15: Etchells World Championship Regatta at San Diego Yacht Club
May 22-27: NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad
May 29-June 3: NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad
May 29-31: Beach Soccer Championships (BeSoCha) in Oceanside
May 31: Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and Half-Marathon, finishing at Balboa Park
June: Witness San Diego racing history in Coronado
San Diego will host its first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race as part of a three-day celebration of racing and the military at Naval Station Coronado. The June 21 Anduril 250 is named in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States and the Navy. The Cup Series race caps a weekend that includes the June 19 Craftsman Truck Series race and June 20 Xfinity Series race. El Cajon native Jimmie Johnson, one of the greatest drivers in the history of NASCAR, will attempt to qualify for all three races.
Mark your calendars:
June 13-20: United States Police & Fire Championships, 28 venues throughout San Diego County
June 16: USA Surfing Junior Championships, Oceanside
June 26-28: San Diego Padres vs. Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park
July: Watch California’s best
The California State Summer Games return to San Diego in July. From July 17-20, more than 10,000 kids age 18 and under will participate in 29 sports competitions spread throughout San Diego County. (We’re talking everything from archery and artistic swimming to basketball, skateboarding, squash, track and field and wrestling.) The Games begin July 17 with an opening ceremony and Athlete Parade at Pechanga Arena.
Mark your calendars:
July 1: San Diego State moves to the Pac-12 Conference
July 11-12, 18-19: OMBAC Over-the-Line World Championships at Fiesta Island
July 17: Opening day of horse racing at Del Mar
July 26: Solana Beach Triathlon and 5K in Solana Beach
August: Get some sun in Oceanside
The 49th annual World Bodysurfing Championships will be held Aug. 15-16 at the Oceanside Pier. As many as 400 bodysurfers will compete for awards in numerous age divisions, with men’s and women’s grand champions crowned at the end of the second day. Bodysurfing begins at 6:30 a.m. both days.
Mark your calendars:
Aug. 16: CVC San Diego Triathlon in Chula Vista
Aug. 30: Pacific Classic at Del Mar
September: Party like it’s 1998 at Petco Park
It’ll be 1998 all over again on Sept. 4-6, when the New York Yankees visit Petco Park for an interleague series. New York is 21-10 all-time against the Padres, but it’s the Yankees’ first four wins that sting the most. Derek Jeter, Scott Brosius and Co. swept the Padres from the 1998 World Series, four games to none. The Padres haven’t reached the World Series since.
Mark your calendars:
Sept. 5: USD football opener vs. UC Davis at Torero Stadium
Sept. 11-20: World Surf League competition at Lower Trestles
Sept. 19: San Diego State vs. Oregon State football at Snapdragon Stadium
Sept. 27: San Diego Padres’ regular-season finale vs. Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park
October: Cross the border
October’s Binational Race might be the only half-marathon that starts in one country and finishes in a different one. The event starts at Las Americas in San Ysidro, takes runners through the San Ysidro-El Chaparral International Checkpoint and ends at Playas de Tijuana in Mexico. Race organizers say the Binational Race is “part of a regional movement promoting cultural, social, academic, sports, political, and family exchanges between San Diego and Tijuana.” Want to run? Be sure to bring your passport, global entry or sentry card.
Mark your calendars:
Oct. 22-25: USA Ultimate Frisbee Championships at Surf Cup Sports Park in Del Mar
Oct. 31-Nov. 8: USA Pickleball National Championships at Barnes Tennis Center
November: Stuff yourself with college hoops
The Rady Children’s Invitational has brought its fair share of basketball blue-bloods to San Diego, but UCLA is special. The Bruins of the (ugh) Big Ten Conference highlight the 2026 Rady’s field at Jenny Craig Pavilion, one that also includes Georgetown, Texas and Saint Mary’s. The two-day event starts with two games on Nov. 26 — Thanksgiving — and wraps the next day with championship and third-place games.
Mark your calendars:
Nov. 7: San Diego FC’s regular-season finale vs. Sporting Kansas City at Snapdragon Stadium
Dates TBA: CIF San Diego Section football championships, various sites
December: See Santa run at the Santa Run
One of San Diego’s enduring holiday traditions, the 14th annual San Diego Santa Run will take place Dec. 12 on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach. Runners can choose between a traditional 5K, a 1-mile kids run or the very P.B. “dog mile,” a 1-mile race you can run alongside your pooch. The event takes place just before the annual Pacific Beach Christmas Parade. Participants in the 5K receive a “Sunny Santa” suit, sunglasses and a drink ticket, while other racers get Santa hats, shirts and sunglasses.
Mark your calendars:
Dec. 19: San Diego Holiday Half-Marathon and 5K, starting in Rancho Penasquitos
Date TBA: Alex Spanos All-Star Classic at Mira Mesa High School
Dates TBA: Torrey Pines Holiday Classic basketball tournament, various locations throughout San Diego County
San Diego, CA
Sir Mohamed Mansour brought a global movement to San Diego, and nearly won MLS Cup in Year 1
As Sir Mohamed Mansour was finalizing a deal with the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation to invest in San Diego FC in 2022, he reflected on their combined history. The Sycuan said they’d lived in the San Diego region for 12,000 years. Mansour looked to his own Egyptian culture’s 7,000-year existence.
“If we have 19,000 years of history we can’t lose,” said the 78-year-old.
When San Diego FC finally lost in the 2025 MLS Cup playoffs, it was in the Western Conference finals, capping the best debut season in the league’s history. Mansour spoke about the experience Thursday morning during the Business of Soccer conference at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
“The first game, to me, meant everything. That night was a sleepless night because I’m very passionate about soccer,” he said.
Mansour would have settled for a respectable loss; they were playing defending MLS Cup champs L.A. Galaxy. But San Diego FC scored twice unanswered, winning the opener. And another sleepless night ensued.
Mansour discussed early life health issues, including being hit by a car when he was 10 years old, which left him bed-ridden for three years. He read American comic books and studied. His family’s wealth was confiscated by the Egyptian government during a 1965 revolution, and he later beat cancer as a 20-year-old while studying in the U.S.
Now the billionaire chairman of Mansour Group, an Egyptian conglomerate owned by his family, Mansour is also chairman of the Right To Dream Academy, which has made San Diego its fifth outpost. San Diego FC’s $150M Sharp HealthCare Performance Center includes residences and a school for Right To Dream participants in the club’s academy system. Mansour mentioned his plans to construct 100 pitches for underprivileged kids in San Diego.
“We are more than a football academy. We’re a global movement, built upon the belief that everyone has the right to dream,” said Mansour. “We’ve been rewriting the rules of talent development for over 20 years, guided by our core belief that excellence can be found anywhere.”
While creating hundreds of opportunities for children in underdeveloped countries, Right to Dream has generated tens of millions of euros in transfer fees for clubs within the network.
Mansour, who graduated from N.C. State in 1968 with an engineering degree and then earned a Masters’ from Auburn, differs from many MLS owners because he is a native soccer fan, he had extensive soccer business experience, and even an idea of how he’d like his team to play (possession-based).
Asked which he’d prefer — for Egypt to win the World Cup or San Diego FC to win MLS Cup — Mansour answered the United States (to win the World Cup) and San Diego FC to win MLS Cup.
“I tell you why. I’m a businessman too,” he said, grinning. “And if the US does well in this World Cup, soccer is going to grow.”
Rapid fire with Sir Mohamed Mansour
Comic book hero: Superman
Kryptonite: Worrying
Favorite athlete: Michael Jordan
Favorite soccer player: Mohamed Salah
Childhood hero: His father
The San Diego State Aztecs are bracing for some possible serious turnover this offseason and it’s not all going to be via the transfer portal.
Leading scorer Reese Dixon-Waters is out of eligibility, as are Jeremiah Oden and Sean Newman Jr. Newman can petition for another season based on his junior college years, but it’s anyone’s guess if he’d get it.
Obviously, San Diego State’s roster movement is far from complete and the transfer portal doesn’t even open until April 7, the day after the national championship game.
The Aztecs’ once-promising season ended when they were left out of the NCAA Tournament following their loss to Utah State in the Mountain West Tournament championship game.
There are some players we know will not be on the squad next season, which will be the Aztecs’ first in the new-look Pac-12:
Guard Reese Dixon-Waters
After missing all of the 2024-25 season with a broken foot, Dixon-Waters returned for his final season of eligibility and led the Aztecs in scoring at 13.1 points per game. He was a second-team All-Mountain West pick. He scored his 1,000th career point at UNLV on Jan. 24 and finished his career with 1,220 points.
Dixon-Waters played his first three seasons at USC before transferring to SDSU, where he started 23 of 37 games in 2023-24. He was a preseason All-Mountain West pick the next season before breaking a foot. He was so highly regarded that, despite missing all of last season, he was named to the preseason All-MW team in October.
One of his notable accomplishments was attempting more free throws (43) without a miss to start the 2023-24 season than any player in the country.
Forward Jeremiah Oden
Oden started 15 games and played in 30 of 33 games in his final season of eligibility after transferring from Charlotte, where he redshirted in 2024-25. He averaged 4.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 13.8 minutes.
Oden scored his 1,000th career point on Feb. 3 against Wyoming, where he played his first three college seasons. He finished his career with 1,024 points and 495 rebounds.
Oden didn’t play at all in a blowout home win against Utah State on Feb. 25, when Dutcher shortened his rotation from 11 to nine players. He had started the previous nine games.
Oden also played one season at DePaul.
Guard Sean Newman Jr.
The transfer from Louisiana Tech played in all 33 games and made four starts, including Senior Night in the regular-season finale against UNLV and all three games in the MW tournament, when freshman Elzie Harrington was out with an injury.
Newman averaged 3.3 points, 2.4 assists and 15.4 minutes.
Here is what you need to know in the March 25, 2026, Streamline newsletter:
This morning, we’re tracking San Diego Unified School District’s decision to rename Cesar Chavez Elementary School in the wake of serious allegations against the civil rights icon.
We’re also following the City of San Diego’s search for a new operator to reopen Tecolote Canyon Golf Course — and the neighbors pushing to safeguard and restore the surrounding natural space.
Plus, consumer reporter Marie Coronel shows why brand loyalty might be costing you more on your cell phone bill.
THE STREAMLINE
WATCH — ABC 10News brings you The Streamline for Wednesday, March 25 — everything you need to know in under 10 minutes:
The Streamline: Wednesday, March 25
TOP STORY
The San Diego Unified School District board voted Tuesday night to begin renaming Cesar Chavez Elementary School following allegations of sexual abuse against the labor leader.
The process will start with school leaders meeting with parents, teachers, students, and community members to select a new name.
While renaming a school typically takes several months, district officials said the timeline could be expedited in this case.
San Diego Unified usually limits itself to one school name change per year — in February, Clairemont High School’s mascot was changed from the Chieftains to the Captains.
However, board members said they would make an exception for this situation.
San Diego Unified initiates renaming process for Cesar Chavez Elementary over abuse allegations
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BREAKING OVERNIGHT
(AP) — Iran received a 15-point proposal from the U.S. to reach a ceasefire in the war, two Pakistani officials said Wednesday.
The Pakistani officials described the proposal broadly as touching on sanctions relief, civilian nuclear cooperation, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear program, monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency, missile limits and access for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.
The Trump administration reportedly offered the plan to Iran as the U.S. appears to seek an end to the war even while more troops head to the Middle East.
The plan was submitted to Iran by intermediaries from the government of Pakistan, which has offered to host renewed negotiations between Washington and Tehran, a person briefed on the plan’s contours but who was not authorized to speak publicly told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The U.S. military is preparing to deploy at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East in the coming days, according to three people with knowledge of the move who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.
Any talks between the U.S. and Iran would face monumental challenges. Many of Washington’s shifting objectives, particularly over Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, remain difficult to achieve, and it is not clear who in Iran’s government has the authority or would be willing to negotiate.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s office said he has been discussing the war this week with several counterparts, but Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, denied Trump’s claim of direct talks and an Iranian military spokesperson declared that the fighting would go on.
Alluding to progress in talks, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Iran shared an oil- and gas-related “present,” a day after telling reporters that the Middle Eastern nation is eager for a deal to end the war.
Story by The Associated Press
CONSUMER
While loyalty is usually a good thing, it’s possible it could be costing you money when it comes to your cell phone bill.
WATCH — Consumer reporter Marie Coronel goes over the simple checks you can do right now to make sure you’re not overpaying:
Comparing cell phone plans to save money on your bill
WE FOLLOW THROUGH
The City of San Diego is seeking proposals from companies to lease and reopen the Tecolote Canyon Golf Course. While golfers welcome the move, some nearby residents argue it could harm the environment.
WATCH — Reporter Dani Miskell spoke to some neighbors about their expectations for whoever comes in to run the golf course:
Concerns grow over future of Tecolote Canyon Golf Course
RELATED COVERAGE:
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