The entire press conference is now posted on youtube including the section that got cut out when the live feed went down. Go to the 14:36 mark to watch Hexter introduce Hawkins and the first few minutes of Hawkin's comments that we missed on the live stream. Hawk got really choked up talking about first coming to UCD as a student and what the experience of Aggie football has meant to him. He truly loves UC Davis and Aggie football.
Watched the press conference live and I was disappointed that they had technical problems. I was hoping that they taped it and would show the whole press conference again. So far I have been unable to locate a place to see it replayed. Not a good start IMO.
And I think you are going to see the donations start rolling in. He made a few comments about getting your visa cards out, and pointed out that his name is already on the list of donors. At the same time he made the comment regarding the fact that he can't do it alone.
You're right about that agalum. There are quite a few Aggie alums that have deep pockets and I hope this will motivate them to danate and help turn this program around and take it to great heights. There are also quite a few former players and coaches that have gone on to make big bucks. It's time for them to revisit their roots and remember the value that Aggie sports has had their lives and then reach for their wallets and financially help the program that launched their careers.
We need to give Hawkins the time to right this ship. Don't expect too much next year...if he blows us away, then great, if not, give him a break. I think a change in our offense will translate to a few (maybe 3) wins alone.
Hawkins, who received a five-year contract for a base salary of $262,500 per year, returns the college ranks as head coach for the first time since 2010.
I really think Hawkins is going to motivate these kids to reach the potential they couldn't meet under Coach Gould. Trying not to get overly optimistic, but I just watched the best Presser in UCD history......
Just out of curiosity, I checked around the Big Sky Football forums to see if there was any conversation by other Big Sky fans about the Hawkins hire. Nothing happening over on the Hornets forum except one post complaining that how their AD is doing nothing while Blue got the job done in one week. A thread on the EWU forum had the most comments and most were saying they thought that Hawkins was an impressive hire for the Aggies.
There were a couple of posts that were pretty funny too: From an EWU fan - "A ZEN master should be a good fit in cuckoo land," and from a Poly fan - "Zen-nut meets cows and such and smart kids/This is D1 football!"
If you look a at Hawk's twitter page you'll see that he muses philosophical quite often and I actually think that's a good thing. We're in for an interesting ride!
About a month ago I was waiting in line for a flight from Burbank to Sacramento that went on to Boise. Hawk was standing in the front of whatever line I was in, probably Z 30 to Z 60. I assumed he was probably heading on to Boise. Now I wonder if he stopped off in the Sacramento area for a look around and to spread his resume...Looked like a slightly aging college kid..jeans, backpack, playing with his phone the entire time.
Good luck to him. Now if he has one more Chris Peterson card to pull from the deck. This is FCS football, baby! This ain't intramurals, brother!
Dunning writes about Hawkins coming back home: "… it might be a bit early to buy your tickets to a future FCS championship game in Frisco, Texas, but that day is coming … trust me on this …"
More from Bob Dunning: “We need ‘Hawk’ here,” said Frank Scalercio, a center on the 1981 team that included Hawkins in the backfield.
“He will bring all the old players and alums back. With ‘Hawk,’ what you see is what you get. He was inspirational when he was playing here. He would pick you up, always looking for the best way to make you better. I’m so proud to have him as our head coach. People won’t believe how hard this guy works.”
There are several other nice photos of Hawk mingling with the students and imploring them to attend at least one game next year. The man certainly does hit the ground running!
More from the Aggie Athletics website: "DAVIS, Calif. - He's taken his family on vacation to Machu Picchu in Peru, he's been a science teacher, he's jumped out of airplanes and he's coached football in 11 different countries. For Dan Hawkins, who was introduced on Tuesday as the 17th head coach in the 101-year history of the UC Davis football program, those haven't just been items to cross off a bucket list, they've been opportunities to learn."