Yes I see the same thing. The country as a whole is undergoing some real challenges and I'll be honest if I had a kid going to college right now, I'm not sure I want him outside the state in the current state of the country. There are so many California kids playing out of state who after a year or two realize South Carolina or Texas is not California and are looking to come home. This to me, is the biggest data point for Davis to continue doing what its doing.

In the podcast with Coach, he said a ton of D1 players sought to come to Davis to replace Caden but he turned them down because he prefers developing kids out of HS, which I support. But the bigger point is the UC Davis football name is getting out there. Kids are now looking at Davis as a viable option to attend school and play football. This is huge.

You are right about Stanford and Cal, but I'd suggest USC and UCLA are not happy with the current situation as well. USC for all its pomp and arrogance is quickly realizing they are turning into Nebraska by being in the BIG. UCLA has become a nobody in sports. Which is wild to me considering their location and history.

So what does this all mean? I think the conference realignment isn't over yet. I've said it for years, if California as a state were to invest in the college sports with just California schools, it would be the solution we are looking for. It creates scholarships for California kids. It allows for natural rivalries to develop based on geographic region...SAC vs Bay Area or Bay Area vs LA....etc and it creates jobs...a lot of jobs. Don't laugh, if you go to the SEC you see this with Miss ST/OldMiss vs Alabama/Auburn...none of those places come close to the population of California but the local communities are bought in and it makes the SEC the SEC. There is no reason we couldn't do that in California.

Imagine for a second the California Conference was in existence, check out this potential schedule:

UC Davis Hypothetical Schedule:

vs Stanford
@ Fresno St
@ San Jose St
vs USC
vs CalPoly
@ SacSt
vs San Diego St
@ Cal
@ OOC game (pick)
vs UCLA
vs OOC game (pick)

This schedule would curb travel costs both financially and education wise (kids are not taking 6 hr flights across the country during finals). Families and fans could easily travel to watch their kids play. Imagine the economic impact on Davis, San Louis Obispo, etc. if we hosted a game with USC or Stanford...the money spent in Davis would supercharge the local economy.

The more I look into the state of college football the more I'm convinced this is the only viable long-term solution for California college athletics.

I have to admit I'm changing my mind on moving to FBS. Taking into account the entire FBS model I'm not sure moving to the MWC will be good move anymore. Things are changing fast and it might be good to sit back and keep developing the program slowly. I like where we are headed. No rush.

I remember my sophmore year they were looking at changing the name. I just think times have changed. Do I think it would be a net positive? yeah, but do I think it will happen? Prob not. I mean go look at Downtown Davis....its a shell of what it used to be...it is very hard to change peoples minds.

Oh that would awesome! "Welcome to Mondavi Vineyard Field...." That would cool.

LOL, I'm not serious this would ever happen, but if I had a vote that is what I would do. I've never really felt the horse was a great fit as a logo, it always felt forced. When you think of Aggies what do you think of? Texas A&M? NM State? Utah St?....its kind of a blah name to be honest. I've always loved the unique names in college, from the Banana Slugs, Buckeyes, Gorillas, Boilermakers, etc. those names are just great. I mean look at Stanford...they are the Cardinal...the color..not the bird....I always thought that was genius.

Love seeing the younger generations sharing their thoughts!! This is your university!! Once all of us old guys are gone, this will be yours to continue our legacy.

If you really want to make some noise and completely change the perception of Davis....change the mascot from the "Aggies" to the "Winemakers". I know it will never happen, but if we changed the name it would highlight one of the main things we do better than anyone else in the world and it gives us a immediate unique narrative...instead of "stinky cow smell university"...its "the home of Wine producers"...

Now when TV and writers talk about Davis its not through a "Its a UC...but we really don't know the difference between Davis and Fresno St...." but when you say "welcome to UC Davis, the home of the best wine makers in the world..." that rings a whole lot different....and people with money....like wine....
they like status....and a simple name change does that.

It's just lazy recruiting. There are a ton of athletes who are given a ton of rope because of the perception of how good they are, vs. how they actually play.

ha! These guys know what they are doing.

We need defense line help. big bodies is my guess.

It's happening. I'm loving what the coaching staff is doing. Excellent work. I've said for years, a ton of California kids want to stay in California, most didn't know Davis was even an option, but the more we are on tv, more winning, more exposure, and Davis can become a power.

Well done!!! Spring ball is going to be fantastic!

My point is simply, recruiting means evaluation of talent. This means coaches need to see players where they are regardless of where they attend school. California has the largest JUCO program in the country with over 66 football programs and over 5000 football players. It is a gold mine of talent that should be tapped until exhaustion. It's not a weakness at all, its a strength. And if the Vandy QB's lawsuit that is currently underway in the courts rule JUCO time does not count against the eligibility clock, then you are getting a 4 year player with 2 years of experience.

Don't fall for the "star" system that has been corrupted by money. Most of the stars are now bought...its all about marketing now....get the kid a NIL deal at the highest someone will pay...is he any good? Who knows but get the bag....that is paying for the "brand." We saw this with Jayden Rashada who came out of high school with a bang...hype machine went crazy...Miami, Florida, Georgia...all were interested...but when the kid got to the field it became pretty obvious the kid wasn't a 5 star. He couldn't even make it a SACST and was benched there too. So be careful with chasing end of the bench talent on brand teams.

JUCO is a fantastic route for kids to play in cfb. What is wrong with a JUCO? If we took your advice, do you know how many great football players you would miss? OJ Simpson, Aaron Rogers, Larry Allen, are just a couple names that pop out in my head of great JUCO players who went on to be great players.

Stop falling in love with the "brand".

Thank Doc!

Hey guys, just got tickets for me and the wife. Question, is there going to be food there? Planning the event and trying to figure out if I should take the Mrs to dinner as well.

thanks,

-g

I 100% agree. Moving to WSU is a bad move in my opinion. He just left one of the best QB developers in the league to maybe play in D1. I wish him well, but bad move long term.

No.

Agree with you. Do I think its possible? Yes. Do I think its probable? No. Why? Because of the same mindset you mentioned. I'm not sure what the future holds, but the current protectory isn't good.

We will see. I think we have the right coach and whoever gets the nod next fall I'm pretty confident we will be ok. I wish Caden well and hope he finds the home he is looking for (I'll be honest I knew he was gone months ago after talking with his mom), but I think the next great QB is already on the team.

The old days of doing football are over. You have to rethink the entire model.

Excellent post, TrainingRm67. You actually laid out the exact reasons why a California Conference may be the best—and perhaps only—path forward for sustaining college football in California.

The so-called “power” conferences are bleeding money. They’re relying almost entirely on TV revenue to stay afloat in the next media deal, yet the economic and technological landscape has fundamentally changed. Traditional television—the NBC, CBS, ABC, and even ESPN model many of us grew up with—is dying. The next generation simply doesn’t engage with those platforms. Streaming has already replaced them. YouTube, Amazon Prime, Apple, Google, and similar companies are now the real distribution channels.

So what happens in 2030 when the current TV deals expire? Do we really believe that same level of money will still exist? I don’t. I think the endgame is a semi-pro super league made up exclusively of blue-blood programs—Notre Dame, Florida, Ohio State, and the like. That leaves schools such as Stanford, Cal, UCLA, San Diego State, Fresno State, and others on the outside looking in.

When that happens, schools will face a few options:

Scramble to rebuild old conferences with new members.

Drop down to the FCS level.

Eliminate football altogether.

Or rethink conference alignment with geography playing a much bigger role.

This is where a California Conference makes the most sense.

California has the population—nearly 40 million people, the largest in the country.
California has the economic power—the largest GDP in the U.S. and the fourth largest economy in the world.
California is the global center of technology and media.
California also has a deep and diverse education system, from junior colleges to the CSU and UC systems, along with strong private institutions.

The only real reason college football hasn’t reached the same level here as in other regions is simple: culturally, we haven’t cared as much. The biggest football programs in the state—Stanford, Cal, UCLA, USC—are elite academic institutions that relatively few Californians actually attend. Compare that to a place like Ohio State, where a large portion of the state’s population attends and passionately supports the flagship university. As a result, local investment and emotional buy-in in California has been lukewarm.

If you doubt that community support exists here, go watch a Cal State Fullerton baseball game. That program is a national powerhouse and draws strong local support—proof that Californians will invest when they feel connected.

Now imagine a California Conference where UC Davis plays at Stanford, San Diego State, San Jose State, Cal Poly, UCLA, and Sacramento State. Travel costs drop dramatically. Trips are shorter. But more importantly, real local rivalries form. Communities become invested. The state’s massive population gets engaged. That drives business, media interest, and long-term investment.

Finally, leverage what California does better than anyone else: technology and entertainment. Silicon Valley is here. Hollywood is here. Google was born here. Create a California Conference YouTube channel. Use Hollywood-level storytelling and marketing to promote the league. Make playing a California school a national event. Keep California talent home and build something unique.

If college football is going to survive in this state, it won’t be by chasing a dying national model. It will be by embracing what California already is—and building a conference that reflects it