UCI's beginnings were chronicled in the local and national media. Even before ground was broken, the campus quickly gained a place in the national limelight. Coverage ranged from local newspaper articles to nationally-broadcast TV programs, in part because the master plan for the campus and its surrounding community distinguished UCI from other educational institutions throughout the country. Here is a sampling of media coverage from UCI's early years:
| Date | Media Source | Title |
| September 6, 1963 | Time | William Pereira cover story |
| 1964-1965 | Daily Pilot | Various articles and editions dedicated to UCI. |
| 1965 | NBC | Birth of a Campus (TV documentary) |
| January 3, 1965 | LA Times | 1965: A Look at Big Events, UC Irvine Opening Tops List of Predictable News |
| September and October 1965 | Fortune | On the Campus: A Troubled Reflection of the U.S., Parts I and II |
| February 20, 1967 | Newsweek | The Campus Boom: A New College a Week |
| April 23, 1967 | IBM News | "BMOC" Means "Big Model 50 on Campus" |
University of California, Irvine, University Advancement records. AS-086. Box 4 (University Relations: Site Dedication, News Releases, and Press Facilities, 1964) Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Accessed Oct. 27, 2017. (list of press at site dedication)
Time: http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19630906,00.html
Daily Pilot: Four issues of the Daily Pilot containing articles on UC Irvine. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Accessed Oct.27, 2017.
NBC: University Relations Motion Pictures. AS-136. University Archives, University of California, Irvine. Accessed Oct. 27, 2017.
Photograph: University of California, Irvine, University Communications photographs. AS-061. File SOOO 29, Photo POO 1007 1964. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Accessed Oct. 13, 2017.