As someone who works in an east coast city, the value does not only come in name recognition but networking opportunities. Every weekend FBS schools are hosting watch parties and univesities affiliated happy hours where alumni and interns network and yes land valuable jobs, some of which never even get posted. And to further that networking conferences, like the PAC12, Big 10, etc host conference wide happy hours that only further the networking and collaborations.

While we may not NEED boosts in applications, it certainly wouldn't hurt. Oh and Davis has one of the lowest enrollement rates in the UC system among accepted students. Improving the schools image and noterity could lend itself to a student choosing UCD over a UCSD or UCSB. It would really cement the school as the college town that it is trying to portray.

I say all this while recognizing, based on communications from Rocko, that this is unlikely. But at this point I'd say we are as likely to lose football entirely if this is not being further explored. If the school shared a vision and actually asked for money maybe they would get it. I have yet to receive an email asking me for a dime for athletics. If our alumni are so prestigious then we should have some business leaders with deep pockets, like Sac has been able to leverage by sharing a vision.

Exactly, and do we really want the country thinking Sac State is the premier University in the region? If Sac State makes this move I really do think UCD will have to consider not having football, and without football, yes women's sports will have to be cut to maintain the Title IX balance.

Or which mens sports might get cut.

I don't see this as a legitimate argument against moving to FBS. If UCD were to jump up at it's enrollment level it would be a top 30 FBS school by enrollment and Sac State would be a top 40 based on it's enrollment. Clearly 134 schools have figured out how to do this, most of which have smaller student enrollments and smaller alumni networks.

Exactly! It's time for our administration to strengthen the power and reputation of our school and our degrees by GROWING UP and acting our size. We shouldn't be scared to make our mark.

And since the school is touting our US News ranking this week, we are also the highest ranked public school that is not competing in the FBS. (UCSD is ranked just above but does not field football and one could argue they need to grow their brand as well).

I completely agree with you. Unfortunately it is clear Sacramento news media wants to ignore that Davis is in fact in their region, but our administrators are already delayed in either making a statement of UCD's intentions. It is time to clear the air and tell the folks what the future holds. If the decision is to stay FCS they should probably also consider if football should remain a sport that the school supports. And a good journalist would also be asking Davis about these developments.

When looking at the landscape of college sports Sac State has the makings of another SJSU (commuter school with a small local allegiance) and UCD has the pedigree of a Colorado State, just think about which would be more successful at the next level.

Possibly the most important part of this tweet is that Chancellor May retweeted it. I'd say these leaders are putting out the feelers and likely seeing if the big donors are willing to pony up enough for a commitment to expand the stadium.

Thank you all for the warm welcome, it'll be fun to banter with you all about our beloved Aggies!

In the new world of college athletics football and TV money are king... not saying it should be that way, just a fact of American life. Just about every one of our academic peer institutions has chased that almighty dollar, and clearly the Pac-X has more to offer if the biggest schools in the MWC decided it was worth the jump. Here is the most interesting part, should Davis or Sac State come into the new Pac-X it would immediately be the largest TV market, yes, bigger than San Diego. That is incredibly enticing for TV dollars. Regardless of butts in seats, which I would argue are more likely when you're playing schools like SDSU and Fresno State, there is television revenue sharing which helps fund football and other programs.

Top 100 U.S. TV Markets here: https://www.stationindex.com/tv/tv-markets

I don't think Rocko pins that tweet if conversations are not at least being had to consider if this should happen. Something else to consider would be if UCD doesn't consider this, do other Big Sky schools make the jump to FBS and suddenly we are left in the shambles of a weaker conference.

so there IS a chance :cheer:

I appreciate those concerns. But many smaller schools have taken the chance and made the jump. As someone who attended Davis in the 2010s nobody wanted to attend football games against schools they had never heard of, with academic programs far inferior to those of Davis. As a student our peers (other than those at say Cal Poly) were attending institutions with far better reputations at schools we could all name off the top of our head. (I doubt you could find a single student on the UC Davis campus that has a friend at SUU) I think there would be considerable excitement if Davis and it's students had the opportunity to compete with it's peers -- on and off the field.

Yes, it will take resources but the school has never laid out a plan which would garner the support to recruit those resources. Institutions with enrollment less than half of Davis have figured out how to do this. There is a growing market in Sacramento that is RIPE for competitive top tier football. Let's not let Sac State take this opportunity and leave Davis behind because they were willing to take the chance.

Leaders lead, they don't make excuses for why it can't be done. That is not a dig at the hurdles you have outlined but an aspirational statement meant for the leaders of UC Davis to further enhance the reputation of our school.

Long time observer of the conversation on Aggie Sports Talk but a first time poster. As someone who lives on the East Coast where nobody is aware of UC Davis but are constantly surprised by just how big the school is and how great it's academic reputation is I think this could be a huge moment for the Aggies to enter this conversation about making a move. When you look at the demographics of the schools entering this new Pac Conference - particularly Colorado State (and Oregon State and Washington State) UC Davis mirrors these institutions more than any of the schools in the Big Sky! It's time for Davis athletics to make a name for the school that is so strong academically.

JMU in Virginia is a great example of how elevating to FBS can wholly change the reputation and national presence of a school. From no name Shenandoah Valley FCS school to hosting events like College Gameday and arguably being the elite football program in the state in under 5 years.

I realize there are folks that wouldn't love this idea but these opportunities don't come around every day. And it is reasonable to believe that if the Pac can become competitive they could easily bring Stanford and Cal back into the fold.