I'm guessing that you're referring to paying a lot for equestrian, and not seeing a string of conference championships?
For only being an ICA team for 10 years, I think equestrian has made steady, if unspectacular progress. Probably no different from many young programs at lots of universities. From a cultural standpoint - our roots in agriculture and vet med - I'm sorry to see it go. But I get the rationale.
And while I think Rocco generally does an excellent job, from what little looking into it I've done, some aspects might have been handled better. There's no easy, painless way to drop a program, so maybe it was the best option available.

What UCD WBB can offer, other than a scholarship and whatever NIL money that's available - certainly not much compared to many places?

High Quality Education
Especially if you're a grad student with little (overseas) or no prospects of playing professionally, the masters program at the Graduate School of Management implemented in conjunction with ICA should be very attractive.
The undergraduate programs aren't too shabby either.
And starting back with EVO, Aggie ICA has worked hard to develop opportunities for student athletes to prepare for life after college and athletic competition.

Playing Time
Players want to play. Most of the players in the portal have come off the bench most of their careers, often for less than half the game. Having an opportunity to play a lot should be a definite enticement.

With only 1 player currently big enough to play in the post. and that being an incoming freshman, there are definitely minutes available in the front court, including the opportunity to start. What exactly that opportunity might be depends on what the plans are for that incoming freshman, Marta Forsline, and how many post players Davis might bring in, and what eligibility they may have left.

There's also an opening on the perimeter up for grabs.
Right now, soon-to-be sophomores Emmy Ersdala and Sophie Lentfer would seem to be the leading candidates, based on their substantial experience during the 2025-26 season. Are either deemed ready for primetime by the coaching staff?
Other possibilities currently on the roster are soon-to-be sophomore Carrington Davis and 2026 recruit, Anna Bassett. Despite a high school resume very similar to Ryann Bennett and Avery Sussex, Davis got little playing time last season. But she showed flashes when given the opportunity, and certainly can't be counted out. Bassett is more of an unknown, but enrolled at the start of Winter Quarter, and has practiced with the team since, giving her a leg up on the fellow recruits..
Even more unknown are incoming freshmen Layla Dixon, Taylor Hicks and Rebecca Donnelly.
With no returning starters, and only sophomores and freshmen on the roster, an experienced perimeter player isn't out of the question.

Winning Tradition
If you're a competitor, winning is important to you...and winning is fun!!
With 11 consecutive winning seasons, 6 of those seasons of 20+ wins - including the last 3 in a row, the Aggies are definitely a program with a winning tradition. I've really only been looking at post players, since that's the biggest area of need. Most of them are intending to leave schools that haven't been winners while they've been there. Few are leaving schools with a record of winning like Jen Gross' Aggie teams.

Team Culture
If you're an athlete in the portal, sometimes it's about more than the physical aspect of the team. Sometimes, the physical part might the least of why you're looking elsewhere.
Year after year, we hear our graduating seniors talk about what a special environment the UCD Women's Basketball Team is. And we hear from incoming freshmen, as well as transfers, about how that environment sold them on accepting an offer to play at UCD. The intangibles can be significant.

For those interested, another site that one can use to find financial data is the Knight Newhouse College Athletics Database https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2025/03/nil-deals-california-college-athletes-sponsorships/.

One of the engineers that my dad knew at General Dynamics had worked on the Sprit of St. Louis at Ryan Aeronautical as a young man. He'd become good friends with Lindberg, who stayed with the Pearl's whenever he visited the San Diego area. Bud's last assignment was working on the General Dynamics bid for the space shuttle. His stories tended to put things in perspective.

Related, my grandmother would tell the story that when news of the Wright brothers flight at Kitty Hawk reached Boston, her teacher - probably junior high or high school - stated that man had reached the zenith of technical development. Little did he know...more perspective.

My dad was in charge of production for the Atlas rocket at General Dynamics in San Diego. I remember him getting all of us up very early on Mercury/Gemini/Apollo launch days to watch the launch. It was like a family religious ritual. Almost as important as Mass on Sundays.

I'm pretty sure Jen Gross and her staff will be looking for post players, either in the portal or the regular spring signing period. Currently, we have 1 incoming freshman to play the post and no returning post players. I doubt the plan is to go through another season with only 1 post player - an inexperienced one to boot.

There are several intriguing possibilities in the portal already, and I'm sure a few more to come. IMHO, Peterson is one of them, her time on the Farm certainly didn't boost her stock. I imagine how hard the Aggies look at her will be largely based on their evaluation of her coming out of high school.

The horses don't travel. Visiting teams use the home team horses. I'd think, Texas A&M, TCU, South Carolina, Oklahoma State, SMU - our non-conference opponents this year - have high quality horses in their stables.

The one complaint I've heard that, if accurate, would seem legit, is that the announcement came after other schools still offering equestrian had filled their recruiting classes for next year. So those kids who had accepted offers from UCD had nowhere to go. It was also my understanding that UCD wouldn't honor those scholarships, which seems out of character. I know UCD was honoring the scholarships of those students already on the team.

We have a 6'3" freshman post (Marta Forsline) from Minnesota in the 2026 recruiting class, but so far no one else with size to play that spot. Young and Tsami did their best when called on, but neither have the height (nor bulk to compensate). And neither really have the skillset or mindset for that position. Forsline seems something of a late bloomer, but reportedly has some of the same skills Megan developed.

Hopefully, we can find a grad or senior/junior transfer to bridge until the freshman is ready for prime time in the MW.

Before closing the book on the 2025-26 season a few final milestones of note.
Megan Norris leaves with the following team records:
Career Rebounds (1079); Season Rebounds (425); Season Rebounds per Game (12.5).
Also 11th all time in Career Points (1298) and tied for 4th in Career Blocked Shots (147). 2nd player
in program history to record 1,000 or more points and 1,000 or more rebounds.
20 double doubles might be a team record, though not listed in the current record book. Ditto 30 for
her career.
Avery Sussex's 236 Attempted 3-pointers are an Aggie season record, while her 82 made 3's put her 3rd on the season list in that category.
Ryann Bennett's 137 assists this season put her tied for 5th in that category with Courtney Eaton.
If both Bennett and Sussex duplicate their assist totals for this season for each of the next 2, they will both be near the top of the career assist list. And both have the potential to make it well onto other single season and career lists as well. Great pair of guards going forward!!
Finally, Jen Gross now sits at 281 career wins as head coach. Bob Hamilton's UCD career coaching record is 301. IF the Aggies can pull off a 4th consecutive 20 win season their first year in the Mountain West - maybe a tall order - Gross could tie or surpass Ham.
The program's 3rd consecutive 20 or more-win season mark the second time in Gross' career the program has accomplished that. Jorja Hoehn had 2 streak of four 20 or more wins - the second of which stretched to 5 total, with Sandy Simpson coaching the 1996-97 season in Hoehn's absence. Jorja returned for the following year, her last.

To tag onto your post, Les is as close to an alumni type - very committed to UCD - as we're likely to get. He wants to be here. And Dr. Mike (I believe) recently pointed out in another thread how much he obviously cares about his players. As well as the stability Zythe mentioned, those are value-adders at a mid-major.

Les has his weaknesses, which several have pointed out. But I think John Madden had it correct - teams shouldn't let go of a coach unless they have a better guy already lined up. Moving on from Jim Les to search for a better guy isn't a wise move.

who may not aware, the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database (https://knightnewhousedata.org) works to increase financial transparency and provide a better understanding of athletics revenues and expenses. The information is pretty straightforward, and informative. For my own interest, I've started a spreadsheet tracking the data available there for Sac State & UCD. Just curious how things change for the two schools over the next few years.

I know, I really need a life. Too many years teaching HS economics, I guess, and being married to a PhD in economics. :>)

Anyway, I sent a couple of questions, and thought the reply might interest some of the people who post on AST.

"We will be uploading the FY 2025 data starting next month, which will include most of the public
Division I institutions. We will publish the rest at the beginning of the summer. On the NIL data, the
new FY 2025 reports include a new item, item 44, titled "Institutional NIL Revenue Share." We will
start including this as an expense category; however, you should not expect a lot of data from this
category for this year because the House settlement was not implemented until after FY25 ends for
most institutions.

"This information will likely be more valuable next year when FY26 reports come out and more
institutions include it as expenses.

"On the source for this NIL money, we do not know where it comes from. Also, and this might
answer another question you have, because we cannot file Freedom of Information Act requests,
we do not have information about third-party NIL deals.

RE the final paragraph, it looks like there will still be room for lots of hidden money in the system

Of the players on the Pepperdine roster, 3 of 12 are grad transfers; 4 others are undergrad transfers. 8 of 12 are from out of country, 3 from Australia. All 5 starters and 2 of 3 primary subs are transfers.
Starters are Guards: 5'6' Maria Sta, 5'11 Ellie Guiney, 5'10" Meghan Fiso, 6'2" Lina Falk & Forward 6'1" Shorna Preston
Primary subs are Guards 5'10" Selah Harmon, 6'0" Bella Green, and 5'10" Ivory Finley

Leading scorers are Guiney (14.0), Falk (11.7) and Fish (11.2).
Leading rebounders are Preston (8.4), Green (5.6) and Fish (4.9)
Sta & Guiney average 3 assists each.

Pepperdine (9-12, 10-8 WCC).
Common opponents:
Beat Fullerton (84-70; 1st game of season) and CSUN (69-63 just before Christmas),
Lost at Gonzaga (52-75 on Dec 30
Stats:
FG: 44% 3PT: 34% FT: 75% Reb: 39/game Assists: 16/game TO: 16/game Steals: 6/game
Score: 71
Opp. Stats:
FG: 38% 3PT: 33% FT: 74% Reb: 35/game Assists: 14/game TO: 14/game Steals: 9/game
Score: 66

UCD Stats:
FG: 41% 3PT: 31% FT: 76% Reb: 39/game Assists: 15/game TO: 15/game Steals: 7/game
Score: 69
Opp. Stats:
FG: 38% 3PT: 32% FT: 72% Reb: 37/game Assists: 11/game TO: 13/game Steals: 9/game
Score: 64

Notes:
About 1/3 of Pepperdine's FG's are 3-pointers, while about 1/2 of UCD's shots are 3 pointers. Pepperdine shoots fewer FT's than their opponents, while UCD shoots more FT's than their opponents.
Pepperdine is 13-3 at home; UCD 9-6 on the road - 12-7 if you count neutral court.
Pepperdine has 3 players who average between 30-32 min/gane; UCD has 4 averaging 31-36 min/game.
Pepperdine average attendance: 334; UCD average attendance: 963 (609 if Idaho game - Field Trip Day - attendance not included)

Maybe looking at rankings (NET, RPI, etc.)? Probably the potential attendance figures in.? UCD in midst finals, so some students would be gone. Pepperdine not on qtr system.

Pepperdine 19-12, 10-8 WCC; 6th place in conference. 127 in Massey ratings - below UCI, UCSD & Hawaii. Definitely a winnable game. Davis 152 in Massey ratings.

UCD at Pepperdine (19-12) on Thursday, 3/19

UCSD down early to Hawaii, but now up by 12 with ):15 left. I THINK this assures UCD of an invitation to the WNIT.

Aggies go down fighting, 84-79.

Gotta be rooting for UCSD to beat Hawaii in tomorrow’s championship. If Hawaii wins, they go to the NCAA, Irvine gets the bid to the WBIT, and San Diego gets the WNIT invite. Aggies odd team out. As we know a 17-16 SEC or A10 school will somehow be deemed more deserving.

Good response.

I think it really started to change at the college level when UCLA recruited Lew Alcindor, later Kareem. I remember hearing that Lucius Allen and Kenny Shackelford went to UCLA specifically to play with Kareem. Allen had all but committed to Kansas if I remember correctly. That started a parade of top players to the Bruins who attracted other top players.

At the same time, wealthy LA area businessman, Sam Gilbert, became heavily involved with the Bruin program. Wooden personally kept a distance, but the AD, and probably Wooden let Gilbert have lots of direct involvement with players, their families and influential friends.

I imagine other schools started to allow the same thing as far as boosters, if only to compete with UCLA. Not that it helped much. As John Madden said of Wooden, "He can take his and beat yours, then take yours and beat his." But after that, the "blue bloods" became even more dominant. I can only remember Marquette under Al McGuire and Georgetown under John Thompson being like La Salle and UTEP. Probably forgetting some.

First, I wasn't trying to be smart-ass. I just read that line last night, and liked it. So, apologies if it came across the wrong way.

A discussion of fairness in sports would be interesting. And probably a whole other topic I know that we, myself included, want to believe that 'fairness is a central tenet of sports', but I'm not sure that's accurate. Aren't upsets when an underdog defeats a team with "all the advantages"? Isn't that why we've loved Gonzaga? Boise State? Loyola of Chicago? They overcame the disadvantages, right?

If we acknowledge that some teams have a distinct advantage, like financial resources, facilities, etc, when it comes to obtaining/signing players and coaches - be it Alabama, USC, Ohio State or the Lakers (Showtime era), Yankees (1960's), 49ers (Eddie Debarolo era) or Patriots (Brady-Belichick era), how can we claim competing with them is fair - i.e a level playing field?

Doesn't NIL, by its nature, by and large do away with fairness? The whole discussion about NIL isn't about making it fair for all D1 schools, but making it manageable or at least marginally enforceable. It's been said in other thread on this site that the top 40 or so schools, don't want to share the pie.

Or prior to NIL, the booster networks at some schools that were already paying players under the table?

Even at the youth level, we hear about high schools recruiting players. About parents holding a chid back so that he/she is more mature for their grade level, and therefore have a competitive advantage. In youth soccer, it's an openly acknowledged fact that the better players (and/or their parents) gravitate toward the best teams...the good kids want to play with the other good kids. I've watched that happen on my granddaughter's club team, and listened to the conversations. Year after year, the top clubs field the strongest teams, while other clubs see their players move to those teams. None of that contributes to a level playing field.

What's fair or unfair, anyway? And who decides that? A UCD anecdote to illustrate: I remember watching the UCD men's basketball team win the D2 National Championship in 1998. During the telecast, the announcers repeatedly mentioned that Davis had an advantage - they didn't quite call it unfair, though it was obvious they meant it was - over ALL OTHER D2 schools because of the size of the school. They went so far as to say that UCD really needed to move to D1 because of school enrollment. Even though their opponent in that game, Kentucky Wesleyan, had already won 6 national championships, and had 16 D2 Final 4 appearances on its resume. UCD was in its 1st Final 4, but apparently had an unfair advantage.

Go figure.