or that part of the contract no longer applies, since we were don’t get the first spot and now it is open season for the next team, even if it’s Sac St.

That clause of the contract has passed, we no longer have leverage or a “right” to the next spot. That’s what we gave up by not fighting for our brand.

that put me to sleep as has every UCD ICA statement from the last 30 years.

Requiring an FCS Championship before being ready to move up is like saying let’s win the lottery. We’ve proven we are as good as any team, but you never know when Illinois St. will show up and ruin everything.

North Dakota State Athletics program revenues and expenses

you'll have to scroll through, but once you do you'll see NDSU athletics department revenues at $29 mil and expenses at $30 mil.

and now they just spent $17 mil to become FBS...

So the Instagram post post by UCD Athletics and football is a little upsetting. Allegations of posts being deleted, and then, that post is no longer visible as well as I watched in real time.

Pretty sad if what I actually saw what I saw. We should be better.

Thanks for the perspective. I've only been on the bandwagon for 25 years and that's from a distance. I honestly don't have a great understanding of what drives the Aggie alumni base since I ain't one. I've just looked at a lot of college football, seen a lot of programs drop the sport and others make a go of it way over their skies only to get stuck in football purgatory, hoping at best for that bid to the Toilet Bowl sponsored by Ajax. Personally, I like the concept of playoffs and to be a part of those every year at the D1 level took a lot of work by UCD. They've gone from hoping to get in to expecting to get in. Plenty of teams would kill for that. I support a move to the MWC if and when our facilities are ready and the program (players and coaches, support staff, operations budget) is funded at a level to be competitive in the MWC. We don't need to be Cal or Fresno St., but we need to be on par with UNLV, New Mexico, and even North Dakota State before it makes any sense to move-up to me.

I think we just need the season to start again to shut us up. I need CFB right now now!!!

Very true…being on par with UNLV may be tough given their Gameday facilities and investment in practice facilities by the Raiders. No reason we can’t be with most others in the MWC.

We also need to position for the “next” division of D1. It’ll be hard to be in the second group when the super conferences happen if we aren’t already there. Then, we are effectively back to D2.

I have hammered home the opinion that it should not be if but when about joining the MW but as an unrelated point from this whole debate: I would really much rather be debating whether we want to be perennial national championship team at the FCS level or move to the Mountain West than talking about joining the CUSA or the MAC . Actually setting ourselves up to play teams that actually make sense to play against (regionally, rivalry-wise, logistically) makes me happy. I have my own strong opinion on this topic obviously, but I love everyone here debating these realistic, logical and exciting futures that we can see happen.

"Perineal" is a poor word choice.

You would think an English major could actually spell :lol: *fixed, thank you haha

My conspiracy theory is that Rocko reads this thread.

Most of my alumni friends and work colleagues view Davis as D2 in football but all began to get interested the previous few months since they thought football was also moving to “real D1”s/mountain west conference but were disappointed when I told them that was for all sports except football. I feel like we will get a lot more attention and donors once we move up but agree that we gotta walk before we run. So I am hoping we break ground on phase 1 of stadium expansion asap and the. Add the additional seats in 2028 so that we move up by 2030.

upvote this times a million.

I blame us and for that…I thank us

“ Our product is stagnant/stale after 23 years. Not sure within FCS there is much we can do to elevate it. Dare I say…ascend?”

I don’t agree with that. During the Gould era, things were definitely stagnant. But Hawk got us going in the right direction and with Plough at the helm and Rocko’s help, the games have been fun to attend. Attendance has gone up, donations have gone up, and we actually are making a dent in NIL funding. Yes we need more big time donors. But success (at the fcs level) will build success and make us relevant for the big move. And we need the updated facility to be fbs anyway, unless we want to share Cal Expo with those other guys, lol.

Everyone here dreams of the day UC Davis is playing in the FBS, lining up against Notre Dame and USC. That day will come… just not yet.

Let me be clear:

We are not ready.

Before we make that leap, we need fans in the stands — sellouts, packed games, real energy. And the only way to do that is by winning. Not just occasionally, but consistently. UC Davis football has to become an event people don’t want to miss.

The administration understands this and is already building toward it. We have a great President, a strong Athletic Director, and an outstanding Head Coach. They are laying the foundation for a culture of winning while protecting the university’s reputation.

You’ll know when the time is right — trust me.

Watch this season closely. My gut says we’re about to take the next step. And imagine if we win the FCS championship next year… maybe even repeat. What’s right around the corner in 2029? New college football TV deals. Do you think conferences won’t be forming or looking to expand? Programs like ours will be on the radar.

The transition is coming.

Be patient, my friend.

Most people I've chatted with don't even bring up D1 and DII. They mention big programs, and less well known. Most people know the big schools.

Getting 1,000 alums to kick in $1,000 is one big step. Heck, even 800.

A simple step is student marketing, where we seem lost. How obtuse are we not being able to get the word out when we have a classic college campus?

New premium seating, boxes, event space. Win-win-win. Would love to see the cost of the new addition suspended over the current press box, to a tear down and 100% new structure from ground floor up. Could it be built in nine months?

+ Cisco

Tell us more about these people. The folks that think Davis is playing in DII. These savants are juiced for SJSU, New Mexico and the Nevada schools? Seems far fetched.

truthfully not for SJSU but yes for New Mexico, UNLV, Nevada -Reno, Air Force, and even Hawaii (football). Plus we will likely play more Top tier OOC games rather than our yearly single FBS game.

Bball attendance off, possibly across our whole conference, too. Portal blowback?

Part of the reason that nobody goes to games is because the game day experience sucks and they don’t market sports well at all. Along with the fact FCS football isn’t going to be popular with the 49ers, Cal, Stanford all in the area playing big name football teams. At the end of the day sports is just entertainment and going to a Davis game is no where near entertaining. Whoever picks the music for the games should never do it again.

No one is dreaming of the Irish or Trojans. Just not some school in a state we need directions to get to and Wikipedia to learn about our opponent.

We will not get donors to donate for a “mid” program (as the kids say). They haven’t gotten a dollar from me because they haven’t shown me a reason to give. Provocative tweets and false hope is working against Rocko’s tenure at this point as well as the ticket revenue for next year.

Excite us. They have not. Zero “ascension.”

this

Some AI help:

In 2024, the Indiana University (IU) athletic department generated a record $173.5 million in total operating revenue, with football driving significant gains. Ticket sales for football increased by roughly $4 million to $12.8 million. Following a successful season, the team was set to earn a $20 million NCAA payout, alongside a $50 million, 20-year stadium naming rights deal attributed to program momentum.
Key financial highlights for IU Football:
Revenue & Growth: Ticket sales grew significantly, with athletic director Scott Dolson noting a more than 50% increase in sales, driven by coach Curt Cignetti's first year.
Investment & Spending: IU increased its annual football spending to $61.6 million, exceeding the conference median.
NIL and Donations: The football program raised over $2 million in NIL funds via a matching campaign, with significant contributions from donors like Mark Cuban.
Overall Department Health: While the department had record revenue, it reported a $3 million deficit in 2024.
The 2025 figures (covering the 2024-25 season) are not yet fully finalized, but the team's success resulted in massive, unprecedented revenue growth from tickets, concessions, and donations.

So what is your solution to these problems?

You just described the 2026 Mountain West Conference.

Yes let’s use the single biggest outlier in the history of a 150 year old sport as our guiding light…

Hahaha. Not our guiding light but just an intriguing story.

Davis will move put to FBS and it will be an exciting time. What we need now is an FCS Championship. Just one.

Agree. There will be a fulsome realignment when the TV schools break from the pack and the next tier down will have its own playoff. There will not be a buy in to get to that level. In fact, there will be begging to get programs to spend at the current G5 level. And the Cal fans here should go do Cal and enjoy that 5-7 with 50% roster turnover every year. Good luck finding Wagner without wiki and most of the ACC without a map.