UCD men defeated Sac 2-1 today in soccer. Causeway Cup points are now UCD 10, Sac 5. The win assures the men of a spot in the conference soccer tournament, with the exact seed depending upon the results of a match between UCR and UCSD. With the loss Sac is eliminated from the conference tournament.

Next Causeway event(s) will be men's and women's cross country in the NCAA regionals to be held in Sacramento on November 12.

On the subject of cross country the women won the Big West conference meet this past week. The men finished fourth.

I agree completely. Sac has the easier path to a title, or even a shared title.

Sac doesn't play EWU, Weber State or Montana State this year.

Montana State is going to have something to say about the conference title too.

Or calling the teams "The Mustangs."

There is a famous early U.S. Supreme Court case concerning the Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution as it applies to Dartmouth's charter.

"Generations of Dartmouth students will have at least some familiarity with the 200-year-old case thanks to the oft-quoted words of Daniel Webster, Class of 1801, spoken during his argument on behalf of the College’s trustees: 'It is, sir, as I have said, a small college, and yet there are those who love it!' " https://250.dartmouth.edu/highlights/dartmouth-college-case-decided-us-supreme-court
Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 518 (1819)

A friend of mine who is a Dartmouth alum has quoted that line to me more than once.

Hanover is a cold place in the winter, but it is a lovely part of the country. And, "New Hampshire has no income tax on wages and salaries. However, there is a 5% tax on interest and dividends. The state also has no sales tax."

I recall hearing Socher say that he would love to see some football games with Ivy League schools. Cost was probably a deterrent to that hope.

Finally, based on an early season match, Dartmouth has a better field hockey team than Davis.

October 13, 2021
"Jake Maier has tested positive for COVID-19 and will be unavailable for at least 10 days.
The Calgary Stampeders backup quarterback was placed in the CFL’s COVID-19 protocols earlier in the week, but because players can be put in the protocols for a variety of reasons, it was only confirmed Wednesday that he had tested positive."

https://calgarysun.com/sports/football/cfl/calgary-stampeders/stampeders-qb-jake-maier-tests-positive-for-covid-19

The Stampeders easily defeated the British Columbia Lions, 39-10, on Saturday.

As has been noted moving to a different conference is not just about football. As of this moment our fall sports are not exactly tearing up the Big West.

Men’s soccer is 6-7-1, 2-2-1 in the Big West and in 6th place of 10 teams.

Women’s soccer is 8-7, 3-4 and 6th of 11 teams.

Women’s volleyball is 5-13, 1-6 and 10th of 11 teams.

Men’s water polo competes in the Western Water Polo Ass’n where we do very well, but the WWPA is arguably the third best conference with teams from California. The team is 9-5, 3-0 in the WWPA and tied for first of 9 teams. (One of our non-conference victories is a tournament win over WWPA member UCSD.) The other Big West schools (UCI, UCSB, Long Beach) compete in the Golden Coast Conference along with West Coast Conference (UOP, Pepperdine) and Mountain West (San Jose State) schools. We are 3-2 against GCC teams with two of those victories over San Jose State. We are 0-2 against UCSB and LBSU. The big four water polo teams (Cal, Stanford, UCLA, USC) compete in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. We are 0-3 against MPSF teams with a game at Stanford this coming Sunday. I wouldn’t bet the farm (HAR!) on being 1-3 after that game.

I think a lot of the salary for big program coaches comes from a variety of sources. The school pays some, booster groups pay a lot, coaches get a piece of the pie from souvenir sales...If I recall correctly Hayden Fry got part of the proceeds of anything with the redesigned Hawkeye logo. Some coach at Kentucky was reported to get a piece of the sales from basketball uniforms...and oddly enough the uniform changed every season, so the faithful bought a new one each season....

"3. Part of the money equation is corporate sponsorship."

You mean naming a basketball arena of a mediocre NBA team after a mattress sales chain or a public employees' credit union isn't going to cut it?

There is a saying in the legal profession - "The 'e' in email stands for 'evidence.'"

I doubt there is a single team in the Pac 12 that would vote to ask UCD to join after looking at UCD attendance...the visitors share of the gate receipts wouldn't be that much. IF they were looking to expand I imagine they would be looking at Fresno State, San Diego State, the Nevada schools, Boise State....They lost out on BYU....

"Since joining FBS in 2012, South Alabama has never won more than six games." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Alabama_Jaguars_football

Quick, what conference is South Alabama in? Hint, the same conference in which the Idaho Vandals, who we didn't exaclty blow off the field, joined as a football only member before voluntarily returning from FBS to FCS. Before moving up to FBS in 1995 the Vandals were regulars in the 1AA/FCS post-season. They first joined the Big West Conference, but after about ten years in the Big West it dropped football, so they moved to the WAC but after eight years there it dropped football. So they join the Sun Belt (the conference of struggling FBS wannabes....) and eventually it withdraws its invitation to Idaho and NMSU...so Idaho voluntarily returns to FCS/1AA.

Name two other schools in South Alabama's conference.

Yeah, after Saturday's game it's clear we're spinning our wheels in FCS and are ready for a Power 5 FCS conference. Just think what our teams, and not just football, would do in a Pac 14 Conference. Basketball? Volleyball? Softball? I don't even want to think about baseball.

Did anyone watch WSU at Cal on TV last weekend? Did you get a look at the crowd in the stands? That was Cal's Homecoming game. Very few people came home.

Texas A&M holds on to upset top ranked Alabama, 41-38. Weird day.

Weird day. Texas A&M is ahead of Alabama 31-24 at the end of three quarters.

"...he has been the program director at [XXXX] and able to hire himself for the job."

"I'll take Jeopardy for $800 Alex, er, Mike, er, Mayim."

As I say all too often anymore, “Every day’s an Easter Egg hunt.”

2 sheets? Now you're just braggin'! I'd have to call you "Sky."

And this from the UCD athletics website:

Baseball 10/4/2021 4:32:00 PM
Statement from Director of Athletics Rocko DeLuca
Interim coaches named to helm UC Davis baseball as university investigation continues
DAVIS, Calif. -- The UC Davis baseball program has been approved to resume practice and some team activities while the investigation continues. These activities will be closely monitored to ensure compliance with the University's rules prohibiting hazing. 
We are fortunate that a few talented members of our local community have agreed to assist with team practices and baseball activities while the coaching staff remains on leave. These individuals have diverse baseball backgrounds and will provide a depth of experience for our student-athletes. I am pleased to introduce the following interim coaches who will help us prepare for the spring season:
• Tony Bloomfield is one of the most respected and successful coaches at the California community college level, with over 25 years of experience as a head coach. His Cosumnes River College teams made playoff appearances 17 of the 19 years he served as head coach. 
• Randy Choate is a former professional baseball pitcher. The New York Yankees selected him in the 1997 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft from Florida State University. Choate made his MLB debut for the Yankees in 2000, and also pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays, Florida/Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and St. Louis Cardinals. He won the 2000 World Series with the Yankees, beating the New York Mets.
• Ray McIntire has served as Director of Baseball Operations at the University of Arizona and has volunteer assistant coach experience at the University of San Diego and his alma mater, the University of Nevada. 
We ask for privacy for the interim coaches and our student-athletes as they start practice later this week. There will be no additional updates or comments until the conclusion of the investigation. 
https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2021/10/4/statement-from-director-of-athletics-rocko-deluca.aspx

SACRAMENTO BEE:
UC Davis baseball team resumes practice while the school investigates hazing allegation
By Joe Davidson
UPDATED OCTOBER 04, 2021 5:07 PM
UC Davis athletic director Rocko DeLuca on Monday afternoon announced through the school’s communications office that the Aggies baseball program, suspended since July due what the school labeled as “credible” hazing concerns, has been “approved to resume practice and some team activities” while the hazing investigation continues.
DeLuca also announced three interim coaches are in place to help the transition to a spring season. They are: Tony Bloomfield, a longtime Davis resident whose Cosumnes River College baseball teams in Sacramento were among the best in the state, reaching the playoffs 17 of his 19 seasons; Randy Choate, a Davis resident who pitched in the major leagues in 2000s and won a World Series ring with the Yankees in 2000; and Ray McIntire, the one-time director of baseball operations at Arizona of the Pac-12 Conference.
DeLuca said that as a university and as a baseball program, “We ask for privacy for the interim coaches and our student-athletes as they start practice later this week. There will be no additional updates or comments until the conclusion of the investigation.”
He said of the interim coaches, “We are fortunate that a few talented members of our local community have agreed to assist with team practices and baseball activities while the coaching staff remains on leave. These individuals have diverse baseball backgrounds and will provide a depth of experience for our student-athletes.”
More than two months have passed since UCD suspended its baseball program after a hazing allegation and we still don’t now the answers to those questions, nor do we know why the school abruptly shut down the sport. The coaching staff has been on administrative leave while the school investigates the allegation. The school has refused to say what happened, when it happened or even whether anybody was hurt.
The school didn’t even initially say why the baseball program was suspended. School chancellor Gary S. May referenced hazing in a note in the middle of a blog posted for faculty and alumni under the headline, “Checking in with Chancellor May: Onward Toward Fall” and the subhead of “Checking in elsewhere.”
He wrote that “we are responding to credible allegations of misconduct primarily related to hazing” and that “the university will take appropriate steps to review those claims. The university has a posture of zero tolerance with respect to hazing.”
UCD went 14-43 this past spring and finished last in the Big West at 8-32, the program’s poorest showing since 2009. UCD said the investigation could last well in to the fall months.
https://www.sacbee.com/sports/article254761062.html


KCRA TV
UC Davis baseball team allowed to resume practice while misconduct investigation continues
3 community members will serve as interim coaches
Jonathan Ayestas
DAVIS, Calif. —
UC Davis' varsity baseball team is now allowed to resume practice and some team activities months after allegations of misconduct led to the entire team and coaching staff being suspended, the university announced Monday.
A statement from UC Davis Director of Athletics Rocko DeLuca said the university has enlisted the help of three people, each with baseball experience, to serve as interim coaches.
DeLuca in the release noted that the investigation is still ongoing, and the team's activities "will be closely monitored to ensure compliance with the University's rules prohibiting hazing."
"We are fortunate that a few talented members of our local community have agreed to assist with team practices and baseball activities while the coaching staff remains on leave," DeLuca said in the release.
The university did not detail specifics of the allegations when they were first announced mid-July. DeLuca told KCRA 3 that all players on the roster on the school's website are returning to practice, but he would not say if anyone has been dismissed during the investigation.
The three coaches assisting as interims are as follows:
Tony Bloomfield, who has over 25 years of experience as a head coach in the California Community Colleges system. At Cosumnes River College, his teams made playoff appearances 17 of the 19 years he served as head coach.
Randy Choate, who was selected by the New York Yankees in the 1997 Major League Baseball draft from Florida State University. He's also pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays, Florida/Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals. He won the 2000 World Series with the Yankees, beating the New York Mets.
Ray McIntire, who served as Director of Baseball Operations at the University of Arizona and has volunteer assistant coach experience at the University of San Diego and the University of Nevada
https://www.kcra.com/article/uc-davis-baseball-team-resume-practice-misconduct-investigation/37860198

And don't I feel like an idiot. I was thinking about UOP's classification and forgot that we weren't even FCS or 1-AA at the time.

Thanks,