Update, or lack thereof, from the Bee:

‘Left in the dark’: UC Davis baseball suspension yields little public insight
By Joe Davidson
September 15, 2021 5:00 AM
-This story is a subscriber exclusive-
More than two months have passed since UCD suspended its baseball program after a hazing allegation and we still don’t now the answers to those questions, nor do we know why the school abruptly shut down the sport. The coaching staff has been on administrative leave while the school investigates the allegation. The school has refused to say what happened, when it happened or even whether anybody was hurt.
The school didn’t even initially say why the baseball program was suspended. School chancellor Gary S. May referenced hazing in a note in the middle of a blog posted for faculty and alumni under the headline, “Checking in with Chancellor May: Onward Toward Fall” and the subhead of “Checking in elsewhere.”
He wrote that “we are responding to credible allegations of misconduct primarily related to hazing” and that “the university will take appropriate steps to review those claims. The university has a posture of zero tolerance with respect to hazing.”
May followed his hazing comments with a list of UCD student-athletes who earned academic honors and concluded that the school is “in a golden age of Aggie Athletics and there’s never been a better time to root for our student-athletes and enjoy a game.”
After more than a dozen calls, emails, texts or in-person visits, nobody was willing to talk to The Bee about the baseball program’s suspension. Several spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the topic; they expressed varying levels of disgust that the investigation is still in process. They expressed concern about the future of baseball at the school, with no fall conditioning or games, and concern the spring season could be in doubt.
NO COMMENT ON HAZING INVESTIGATION
UCD went 14-43 this past spring and finished last in the Big West at 8-32, the program’s poorest showing since 2009. UCD said the investigation could last well in to the fall months. Classes start on campus on Sept. 22.
UCD athletic director Rocko DeLuca told The Bee that he could not comment on the investigation or on the baseball program.
The Bee learned from people close to the program that DeLuca held a recent Zoom call with baseball players and parents. He did not offer specifics of the investigation, according to three people close to the program, and added that the school’s plan is to resume the program once the investigation is complete.
UCD baseball players, it was noted in the Zoom session, are allowed to exercise in the Activities and Recreation Center, otherwise known as The ARC, which is close to Dobbins Field, but that Dobbins Field will otherwise remain locked. Lockers remain empty.
When UCD announced its investigation, DeLuca emailed incoming freshmen that the investigation would not deny anyone their scholarship or roster status, but they were free to renounce their commitments to the university to play elsewhere.
Some seized that opportunity. Catcher Michael Campagna transferred to the University of San Francisco. He led the Aggies in 2021 with a .403 on-base percentage and he threw out 22 base runners attempting to steal. He could not be reached for comment.
Zach Carrell was second on the UCD team with victories in 2021 as a reliever, but he transferred to Oklahoma. His brother, Luke Carrell of Davis High School, planned to play at UCD but instead enrolled at Oklahoma, where he will play baseball. At least five incoming freshmen have elected to attend other schools.
The father of the Carrell brothers is deeply connected to UCD. . As the school’s athletics representative, Scott Carrell notifies the NCAA of any program violations. He wrote in an email to The Bee that he could not comment.
Said the father of one son who remains at UCD, “No one is saying a thing. My son doesn’t even know what’s going on. Left in the dark. It’s all gone down hill. All players are hearing that the investigation is still ongoing, and that no players are to talk about it at all.”
Another parent of a UCD player still with the program said, “We know nothing. My son knows nothing. We haven’t heard of any hazing, and my son said he hasn’t seen any but he wasn’t with every player at every off-campus party or event, either. It’s sad. Players have left. Kids don’t want to play baseball at UCD right now. You put all this time into a program and have no answers or insight. Frustrating and sad.”
ALL QUIET FROM UCD
After breaking the news that the investigation was underway, The Sacramento Bee filed a request under the California Public Records Act seeking emails and other communications between administrators, coaches and other school officials to determine what prompted the investigation.
Administrators have denied The Bee’s request for most of the records, citing the ongoing investigation. Administrators said the investigation is being conducted in-house by the Office of Compliance and Policy, which is something of a departure for the university.
In past high-profile investigations, the university hired the Sacramento law firm Van Dermyden Maddux to investigate misconduct allegations independently. Van Dermyden Maddux investigated the 2019 allegations of misconduct that led to the suspension and eventual disbandment of the UCD Cal Aggie Marching Band. The firm also investigated the 2011 incident in which campus police Lt. John Pike calmly sprayed seated student protestors with pepper spray, leading to an international outcry. The university paid a $1 million settlement to the pepper-sprayed students, and Pike was dismissed in 2012.
Students on campus are also in the dark about the baseball program.
Omar Valdez is a fifth-year UCD student studying neurobiology, physiology and behavior. He is a member of the school’s club baseball team and has met UCD baseball players over the years.
“I know the school is pretty adamant about the fact that they don’t tolerate hazing at all,” Valdez said. “That’s really all I know. We’ll see how it goes down.”
The Bee’s Margo Rosenbaum and Ryan Sabalow contributed to this story.
https://www.sacbee.com/sports/article254112958.html

Isn't he on the practice squad? Hard to compile much in the way of stats there.

another example of scheduling problems…Simon Fraser plays one time FBS, back again FCS Idaho, then DIII Linfield, both on the road. (Linfield was up 25-0 before SFU scored and their kicker got her shot at Canadian record books. Linfield went on to win, 56-20.) Besides playing in the three team, home and away and home and away GNAC, SFU will also play the Lights of Montana State University-Northern, an NAIA school, on the road.

Is it possible that Idaho has found itself in a scheduling mess with the return to FBS? May take a few seasons before they can do something other than hunt and peck for non-conference teams in need of an opponent?

Better to remain silent and have people think I’m stupid than to say something and remove any doubt, eh? Thanks.

Thanks. So at this point the computers "Artificial Intelligence" is debating with it's "Actual Ignorance."

(I could make a wise(?)crack about the computers being hacked by Trojan U.F.O. Space Lazers, or rigged polling, or poll-voter fraud, but I've said too much already....)

Hard to put too much faith in polls in the early season especially with everything that has happened and not happened in the last year and a half.

I saw one of the FBS polls where though USC dropped out of the poll's Top 25 they still received something like 39 votes and Stanford, who just decimated USC, received ten????
https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2021-09-12/college-football-rankings-oregon-iowa-climb-ohio-state-falls-ap-top-25-poll-week-3

As I recall Jacksonville was a D-II power at the time we were. Like UCD they usually got a round or two into the playoffs most years.

Sorry, did not mean to do anything that would open this door. I've said too much, ...again.

UCD women defeated Sac 1-0 today in soccer. Causeway Cup tied at 5-5. Next scheduled event is men's soccer at Davis on October 30.

(This assumes there is a Causeway Cup competition this season. UCD has not updated their Causeway Cup webpage since 2019-20, Sac has not updated theirs since 2017-18.)

(We can speculate whether or not there will be baseball.)

And we're not talking a faculty or research job where background checks may take some time....this is for entry level service (housekeeping, food service, physical plant...) type positions. I can't get an email from a local restaurant that doesn't encourage readers to apply for a job. Restaurant jobs are going begging and restaurants are cutting back their hours, but takes forever for the U to do what it is that they do.....

Great field presence on the run after the catch, and great block by No. 9.

Having little to do directly with the investigation into the baseball team, but I know of someone who is dealing with hirings and promotions at UCD, (at both the Davis and Sacramento Medical Center locations). He/she says that the process is interminably slow and drawn out.

9-7, Sac at the half, but UNI opened up in the third quarter. 34-9 at the end of three.

East side stands at Sac are empty. We'll call it social distancing.

Two point conversion attempt failed. 28-23 with 3 minutes and change. Oklahoma State ball. Tulsa has one time-out left.

Hold that thought, Tulsa just went downfield with ease. Now 28-23 with extra point pending.

Happy Birthday to one of the few people on this board I can call “Old Timer,” …but I won’t. That would be rude.
Enjoy your celebration.

Maybe Kevin Thompson wanted to spend more time with his grandkids.

And Cal comes one step closer to asking Sac’s AD for permission to talk to Troy Taylor….Goes up 14-0 on Nevada in the first quarter and loses 22-17.

...however they did not incur the training, travel and accommodation costs of playing an FCS opponent either.