| Year: | 1956 |
| Team: | Santa Barbara Gauchos |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | California Collegiate Athletic Association |
| Short Conf: | CCAA |
| Record: | 5–5 |
| Conf Record: | 1–1 |
| Head Coach: | Ed Cody |
| Hc Year: | 1st |
| Stadium: | La Playa Stadium |
| Bowl: | Citricado Bowl |
| Bowl Result: | L 14–25 vs. San Diego Marines |
| Next: | 1957 |
The 1956 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos football team represented Santa Barbara College[1] during the 1956 college football season.
Santa Barbara competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The team was led by first-year head coach Ed Cody, and played home games at La Playa Stadium in Santa Barbara, California. They finished the season with a record of five wins and five losses (5–5, 1–1 CCAA). At the end of the season, but Gauchos accepted an invitation to play in a charity bowl game. The game was the first and only Citricado Bowl,[2] played at Escondido High School in Escondido, California against a military team from Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.