It's a really disappointing email. Across the Causeway, there is a committee of business and government leaders coordinating this effort to let the college football world know that this program is interested in going to the FBS/Pac-12. They have a website, have generated a lot of press coverage merely by forming this committee, and just announced a $35M fundraising achievement (which generates even more press coverage and support). Meanwhile at UCD, after waiting nearly 2 weeks following a cryptic tweet from the AD, we finally get this email that reveals UCD isn't serious about moving up and asking us to buy season tickets for basketball. What?

What catalyzes fan and donor support is having an athletics department actually take a leadership role in spelling out a vision that the fanbase and community can get excited about. Tweeting a picture and hoping the donations start pouring in, without any public expression that our program is interested in moving up, is an inferior approach.

In Plough's comments and now Rocko's, there seems to be this strange reluctance to commit to being interested in FBS without a commitment from the fanbase to support that move. But they'll never know if that support is there if they don't take ownership in ambitiously pursuing it, as Sac State has done. Sac and UCD each faced a decision about whether to keep its football program relevant or get left behind. Sac immediately told the world it wants to be in the Pac12 whereas UCD waited 2 weeks only to lecture its fan base on how we can't do this without money. That silence and inaction is itself a decision and the biggest question in the conversation now, unfortunately, seems to be whether the FBS would take Sac State without UC Davis.

That's not an encouraging message for those hoping to move up to FBS

boy I hope so - really screws up the basketball schedule.

Gah, with that email I’ve heard enough from the AD. Where is the Chancellor?

all driven by the power conferences apparently. That 90% compliance rule makes it tougher for FCS-> FBS; FBS schools only need to add 10 on both sides. With increased limits on sports like softball that’s east to do and be title 9 compliant.

It's extremely complicated and all the parts are moving. And what happens in 2-5 years when the top 60 FBS (TV) schools break off, take the money, and run?

Has Sac built anything DI level in 50 years?

I think you summed it up completely, Kerberos.

Sac may or may not get an invite to the FBS but they've made it clearly and emphatically known that they want to move up and they are ready and willing to do whatever they can to make it happen. Good for them, really.

Aggie fans naturally got excited when DeLuca posted that tweet with the photo of the expansion of Aggie Stadium at the same time that the PAC12 was announcing they had added 4 new members and they were looking to add a couple more members as well. We wondered what the timing of that tweet might mean about the future of Aggie Athletics? Were we really going to actively pursue a possible opportunity to move to FBS?

Now we get an email from him that publicly states that we are in no position financially to make any announcement of actively pursuing a move up. I think most of us thought it was mostly wishful thinking considering how it expensive it would be among many other critical issues that would have to be addressed but, nevertheless, his tweet made us feel like there might be something happening behind the scenes that was not being publicly announced at this time.

He must have known that his tweet was going to create some speculation and excitement among Aggie fans given the how it corresponded with the timing of the PAC12 announcement but now we know the tweet really didn't mean anything and that it's only Sac and not us who is serious about pursuing a move to the FBS. He shouldn't have posted that tweet in the first place, in my opinion. It just gave many Aggie fans taste of false hope...

As expected, the message is give and buy.

I’d love to hear Chancellor May on the pod specifically about this topic, because ultimately it would require his involvement if it were to happen (the prospects of which look dire).

he said he was willing to come on when we spoke!

Oops. Thanks for the correction.

If that is the message we get from the AD especially with all the nuanced messages regarding moving on up, we need a new AD. Simple as that. And if we want to play with the big boys and girls we need to be ready to show these people the door a lot quicker. That’s just how business is done. No handouts. None of us paid tuition or donate for lackadaisacal efforts.

We're playing with the big boys except for FCS football.

Is everyone here naive to the massive financial hole Cal ($500 Million) and others have dug for themselves building glitzy new facilities?

The PacX' Ms Gould was actually part of putting together that $500 M complex together which:

- the seat plan (financing) bombed
- attendance never boomed
- football and basketball prized recruits didn't flock there
- Cal wasn't a top-3 Pac12 team
- it didn't help them land an invite w UCLA or UW

Most also seem to skip over the pseudo student-athletes Cal and UCLA attract, all so we can root for the Old U at our local pub in the Fall?

I wish Sac State well, but am curious how $35M appeared out of nowhere in 24 hours. Will that $35M follow if Sac stays in the Big Sky or moves to the now downgraded MWC?

I've skimmed a few other sites, it looks like the PacX opened up the vault to raid the MWC (for their exit fees). It could be that the Ags were hoping for similar perks that didn't transpire.

I get it. It was kind of a pipe dream anyway, but it was fun to dream. And to be frank, do we want to join FBS in its current state? I say we let the dust settle and see where all this plays out.

Having said that, it's not a good email. Blaming donations is a copout for his careless tweet.

Well I haven’t lived in CA for over 30 years, but if money via the local community is a major factor, it seems Sac has a natural advantage. Here in NC, Waste Management (a big garbage implant out here owned by an alum I believe) bankrolled sports facilities and such for NC State. Also Wendell Murphy (Smithfield Foods). I don’t know of any big companies (such as Teichert construction, Bechtel, etc.) with Davis alums that control benevolence. Maybe AAC has some corporate pledges plus they have legislators - maybe some of them are alums? - that want to grease the wheels.

If the University and AD were real serious, there would be “development officers” pounding the streets as we speak. But besides facilities, I do not know how scholarships and operating funds related to stepping up would be funded.

A lot of money comes from students, and UC Davis Health has really stepped up. We're light years ahead in facilities. A parent even funded a new field hockey facility a few years back, Dobbins Stadium, The Pavilion, and our new high performance facility.

After Sac's announcement, our AD's Tweet, and today's AD email, this is my view of what has transpired over the past few weeks......

UCD Athletics saw Sac's plans on X, felt it had to do something, threw out a weird hail mary Tweet, and waited for a phone call.
We definitely haven't gotten one....and honestly, I wouldn't be so sure Sac has really gotten one either.
These conferences seem to be exhausting every last possible option before turning to an FCS program.

The Athletics Department and University obviously isn't ready, or planning to be in the near future, and that's fine! There is LOTS of work to be done where we are at.
The only mistake here was the Tweet by the AD. It was reckless.

I got the email too. Basically says, we're not going to do this just because Sac is.

Then again, I have a strong dislike of NIL whether it's for Cal, Davis, or any other team.

On a pragmatic level, we're a decade ahead of the Hornets. Maybe more.

Our AD sent out the tweet that generated all this FBS excitement and speculation just after we had a crowd of nearly 15,000 in the stadium for our first game. So, maybe he was just putting out a teaser that it might be time for a second tier expansion.

Unfortunately, it coincided with the PAC12 announcement that they were adding new members and Aggie fans got excited and thought it may mean that we might be considering a move to FBS. In hindsight, I think it just may have been an innocent tweet reflecting his excitement about the large crowd we just had and suggesting that maybe we'll need to add a second level at the stadium pretty soon.

No harm, no foul as I see it but it sure generated a lot of passionate discussion about the future of Aggie Athletics which is a good thing!

I’m confident there will be other opportunities for Davis in the future. Perhaps this was not the opportune time to participate. We don’t have to throw ourselves at the FBS. We are not that desperate. I bet the Pac offered Gonzaga a sweet deal to join. I agree we are light years ahead of our neighbors to the East. But we must not sit on our laurels. If our AD is serious about his stadium rendering, perhaps it’s time for serious discussions.
Winning programs bring in students and fans. Let’s make the playoffs this year. Go Ags!

Rocko - that was a terrible message. Rewrote for you. You need to do a better and more strategic job communicating.

As many of our fans are aware, the college athletics landscape continues to shift as conferences realign and athletic departments work to incorporate newly implemented policies. At UC Davis, we are incredibly proud to have one of the largest and most diverse athletic departments in the nation. The number and quality of our student athletes is unparalleled relative to the financial resources that we have available as an athletic department. And while we are mindful of the changing landscape, our institutional leadership is focused on providing the best experience for our student athletes and fans over the coming decades.

The path to ensure the success of UC Davis Athletics over the near and long term is through enhanced student, fan and partnership engagement throughout each of our programs. We are incredibly proud of the support that we have received, including our new football and student performance center, one of the finest facilities in the west. And following a month with big wins by Aggie Football (over #5), Volleyball (over UCLA) and soccer (over LSU), to name a few, we are excited to announce [insert development department/fan travel/whatever].

You are right about the terrible email but facts are facts and Davis football is at the low end of donations, paid tickets and unaffiliated sponsorship revenue in the Big Sky. I think this is largely attributable to failures of the administration through the years but substituting Utah state or San Jose for Idaho and Cal Poly does nothing to bolster anything.

I agree.
We got our upgrade-to-modern stadium (with a little capacity bump) 17 years ago.

They just announced their upgrade-to-modern stadium (with a little capacity bump). We may have them beat by 20 years by the time it opens.

you absolutely nailed this…

For what it's worth, the stadium rendering pic that Rocko had pinned on his twitter page is no longer pinned. I think the window has been closed. I don't know what the future holds for Sac, but it'll be pretty dang disappointing if they make this happen and we just sit around staring at the walls.

In some of the FCS fan boards, there are BSC fans touting Davis as the next to move up because we have a $2B endowment. Of course, only a mere fraction of that is set aside for athletics!

This discussion would have made more sense before the PAC12 blew up and the MWC was looking to expand. And before this new change in FBS scholarships (and related increased in other sports to aid in Title 9 compliance). At least, you’d know what you were signing up for in all sports.

Sac needs an improved football stadium and new basketball arena just to be on par with their current peers. I hope that happens for them regardless of where they end up.

This discussion would have made more sense before the PAC12 blew up and the MWC was looking to expand. And before this new change in FBS scholarships (and related increased in other sports to aid in Title 9 compliance). At least, you’d know what you were signing up for in all sports.

Should have commenced the instant Teresa Gould was announced as their new commissioner. Again, asleep at the wheel.

From Bob Dunning's column, "The Wary One:"

COMPETING PRIORITIES ... My friend Eric sent me a headline from The Sacramento Bee that stated "Sacramento State to build new football, multi-use stadium" and another headline from CalMatters that stated "Cal State budget woes: Officials warn of layoffs and academic cuts."

Who is going to win this battle?

https://www.thewaryone.com/p/friday-fish-fry-has-either-debate?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2582284&post_id=149742658&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=31ratq&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email