Good for him - nice story ending. I do remember Ron as a very good running back and if I recall correctly he had some nice spin moves.

I love this and, yes, I remember Ron Austin well from watching electrify Aggie fans at The Toom. Congratulations to him!

I saw a story on the national news last night about an 88 year old woman in Maine who just got to go through the 2025 Maine graduation ceremony to be given her degree that she had actually completed in 1959. She was prohibited from going through the graduation ceremony in 1959 because she and her husband had just found out that she was pregnant and pregnant women were not allowed to go through the graduation ceremonies. Thank God for the women's rights movement for eventually getting these kinds of misogynistic rules put behind us.

So how is it that you thought you had a degree but didn’t? As i recall there was paperwork to fill out to walk.

This story sounds more accurate. Left school to pursue opportunity in CFL, so didn’t finish probably needed another quarter.
https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/uc-davis-student-graduates-after-more-47-years

I would think that your parents would have told you that making negative comments on an otherwise very uplifting human story means that you were being a bad person and should not do it. Maybe no dessert and early to bed. Hey, this guy was an Aggie legend. I am so sad to see these silly comments coming about how he “should have seen the documents to get his degree” or “he left for the CFL early” hey guys this guy was a legend Aggie and do not dis him in any way.

What is negative about saying a guy, after he used up his eligibility left to see if he could play professionally?

I guess we are opting in.

Per Team Aggie Insider news letter:

A note from Athletic Director Rocko DeLuca

With graduation just around the corner, we are sending off our seniors into the world and already looking forward to the fall. As we plan for the continued growth of UC Davis Athletics, I want to provide some updates to you, our valued stakeholders. As you may have seen in the news, the House v. NCAA settlement has been approved and will bring significant changes to the structure of college athletics. While much of the national conversation is centered on high-revenue programs, I want to take a moment to share what this means for UC Davis—and how we’ve been preparing.

After thoughtful review, we plan to opt in to the revenue-sharing model beginning with the 2026–27 academic year. This timeline gives us the opportunity to continue building the financial and operational foundation necessary to deliver a system that reflects our values and long-term aspirations.

While the settlement sets an initial national cap of $20.5 million per institution, that figure is based on commercial revenue models that don’t align with programs at our level of competition. Our focus is on developing a sustainable plan that allows us to support student-athletes in a way that’s consistent with peer institutions in the West—particularly as we look toward future competition in the Mountain West. The extent to which we can do this will depend on growing our base of support and continuing the work already underway:

Restructuring our annual fund to drive broader, long-term philanthropic engagement and increased investment in NIL.

Expanding sport-specific and unrestricted giving through targeted campaigns and storytelling.

Creating new ticket programs focused on expanding our group of season ticket holders and driving attendance from the community.

Identifying new coaching and program endowments to strengthen stability and competitiveness.

Investing in student-athlete services through IGNITE and additional life skills, academic, and career development resources.

Enhancing our NIL strategy to increase clarity, community support, and third-party opportunities for student-athletes.

In addition, student-athletes will continue to participate in third-party NIL agreements with businesses and organizations, supported by a new national clearinghouse for transparency and oversight. This remains a vital area of opportunity, and we’ll continue to help our student-athletes develop the skills and relationships needed for meaningful and lasting success.

These are significant changes, but we’re not starting from scratch. We’ve taken proactive steps to prepare, and with your continued support, I’m confident we will navigate this transition in a way that upholds our mission and strengthens the student-athlete experience. We will be communicating more around our annual fund efforts later this summer but please do not hesitate to reach out directly to me or Chief Development Officer, Liz Gullett, emartinatucdavisdotedu, with any questions about what I have outlined above.

Thank you for all you do. We look forward to raising the bar for UC Davis Athletics and upholding Aggie Pride—together.

With gratitude and Go Ags!

-Rocko

He used about every possible way to say "we'll be looking for more money from more people." Fundraising-speak uses lots of fluff to say very little.

If this is so do-able, why only now implement it ? Like they can just snap their fingers + there's more money. Did they previously turn away some donors whom they will now contact? Dear strategic partner, we have enough money, so we don't need yours (maybe later).