Cuba

While a part of the university youth in Argentina was divided in favor of the allies or Germany (speaking of World War I), another in radical or conservative, or socialist and anarchist, a group of students wanted to stay away from these conflicts, seeking to channel youth sociability and dedicate themselves to sports, artistic and cultural activities. The founding students came from three sectors: those who were dedicated to artistic activities, those who wanted a sports club and those who fought to unite students in a club freed from politics. The movement that culminated in the creation of "Club Universitario de Buenos Aires" originated in the UBA's Faculty of Medical Sciences, the first to bring together university students without distinguishing careers, a uniting axis of students and professionals. From the beginning they defined that the club was only for university students, which was a sine qua non condition to join it.

On May 11, 1918, in a laboratory that university students Luis Agote Robertson and Lorenzo Galíndez had in a house on 1200 Avenida Corrientes, a group of 26 young people formed a private entity to bring together university students outside of the political turbulence. They deliberated until late into the night and once they agreed on the fundamentals they wrote the club's founding act. The first president of the institution was Dr. Carlos P.Waldorp. That same year, the first badge of the club is chosen from more than 20 drawings.

The practise of boxing (after the club was donated a ring) and rugby union started in 1919, despite the sport was banned in Argentina by then. The first CUBA's headquarters were located on Av. Corrientes 327, where the club settled down in 1920. Its facilities included rooms for billiards, boxing, fencing, wrestling, apart from a reading room and a hair salon. That same year, the gymnastics section was opened. In rugby, CUBA affiliated to the RPRU in 1921 after the club got a field to play their home matches (which was requested by the Union to allow affiliation). That same year, Universitario won the second division championship and promote to Primera.

In basketball, CUBA was a founding member of Federación Argentina. In 1921 the club was runner up in the championship. The club won the "Copa Félix Bunge" boxing cup in 1922 and 1923. CUBA was represented by two boxers at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, Manuel Gallardo and Héctor Méndez, who won a silver medal.

The club acquired a land on Viamonte street to set its headquarters there. Construction began in late 1923. Five years later the club celebrated its 10th. anniversary in the recently opened heaquarters. That same year, the sailing section is opened. CUBA's sailors use other clubs to practise the sport so the club did not have a facility by then. Association football began its development also in 1928, with a group of enthusiasts coached by Alejandro Pavlovsky and Romualdo Alfiere. The sport has been practised at amateur level only so CUBA did not affiliate to the AFA.

In 1938 and after long negotiations, the club inaugurated the "Sede Núñez Hípico", a sports ground in the Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires that was owned by club Obras Sanitarias. Practise of volleyball started at CUBA in 1939, with the club affiliating to Federación Argentina one year later. Nevertheless the sport would be discontinued for several years. Tennis was added as sport at Sede Núñez, affiliating to Asociación Argentina de Tenis in 1944.

When the club's concession to use the Núñez Hípico facility ended in 1948, it was not renewed by the national government. After that, CUBA acquired a 37-hectare land in Villa de Mayo, a town in Malvinas Argentinas Partido to set its new headquarters. The first sport to be added in Villa de Mayo was golf in 1951. The government of Juan Perón took over the club in May 1953. The reason alleged was "To structure the association so that membership is open to all students and university students, without their economic means being an exclusionary factor." Because of the intervenction, many members left the club while some of its most notable athletes chose to play for other clubs.. The intervenction ended following the Revolución Libertadora in 1955.

In 1959 CUBA opened "Sede Núñez", a sailing facility. Four years later, squash is added as sport in Viamonte headquarters. That same year the club acquired an abandoned facility –next to Velódromo Municipal– that had belonged to Club Industria y Comercio. Women's field hockey started its tenure in the club in 1968, opening a field in Villa de Mayo. By 1970 there was 70 players. New sports included scuba diving (1969), taekwondo (1973), and windsurf (1976). In the 1980s, CUBA opened a new facility in Fátima, a small town in Pilar Partido that included golf courses, tennis courts, and swimming pool. In 1991 the hockey team promoted to Primera División after defeating Banco Nación.

The club rented a golf course to Club Los Cedros, located near the Villa de Mayo facility, in 2001. The 2000s saw the addition of new sports to the club such as artistic gymnastics (practised in Sede Palermo) in 2011, aikido (2014), mountaineering (2015, with a climbing wall in Palermo). Also in 2015 CUBA acquired a 16-ha land in Don Torcuato (where Buenos Aires Cricket and Rugby Club was located). In 2017 the club signed an agreement with the Government of Buenos Aires (GCBA) to build and operate a field hockey pitch with artificial turf surface. CUBA would be the exclusive operator of the pitch for a term of 5 years.

In 2018 (centennial of the club) more than 2,500 members attended an assembly at Sede Palermo where the statute was modified in order to allow the incorporation of university women as full members of the club. Until then, it was an "only-men" club. In 2024 the construction of a women's locker room in Sede Viamonte started.

CUBA added a new facility in 2019 when the club signed an agreement with Mar del Plata's Club Mar y Pesca. The facility was located in Punta Mogotes.