I compare this to trading a Camry with 20k miles in for a new Geo Metro and trying to convince people you traded up.

$$$

Looks like Vic Baker has another year.

I am excited for our future especially if we go FBS. 4 and 5 star recruits are on the horizon!

Source: The Mountain West's next TV deal will include CBS, @TheAthletic, has learned.

CBS and Fox currently split the Mountain West rights. MW commissioner Gloria Nevarez said earlier today they were optimistic about their current TV partners and adding new ones.

https://x.com/ChrisVannini/status/1945581238951252381

Trying to get some preseason content out to the people. Coach Bronzan interview taking place tomorrow. Hope to have some BTS stuff for subs.

thanks man.

I hope Darius sticks around for a long time. We really need guys like him around!

Great episode, good work guys.

Probably should expect it by opening day September 20 vs Southern Utah at UCDHS. It would be a great way to roll out the renderings when the fans first show up, probably with an early preview to donors, staff, student-athletes, students and media.

I was thinking about the same thing today. Rocko said that there would be a comprehensive athletics facilities plan finished by this summer. I hope we see it pretty soon and that it has a concrete timeline for facility projects and improvements. Some big surprises would be nice as well!

1. What's it take to get students in the stands these days?
2. Do you see a bump in attendance should the Aggies take on stadium renovations and increase capactiy to say 20,000+ - along with a Mountain West home game schedule? This would take at a minimum 3 to 4 times the student involvement in my opinion to get the stadium marginally full for a game against say Air Force, Wyoming, Hawai'i, Northern Illinois, San Jose State, UNLV, UTEP...New Mexico.

https://fbschedules.com/washington-state-adds-uc-davis-to-2028-football-schedule/

The Washington State Cougars have added the UC Davis Aggies to their 2028 football schedule, FBSchedules.com has learned. A copy of the football game contract with Washington State University was obtained from the University of California, Davis, via a state public records request.

UC Davis now has five future games scheduled against Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents. In addition to Washington State in 2028, the Aggies will visit Washington in 2025, SMU in 2026, and UCLA in 2027 and 2029.

Listening to that episode, and how those guys hyped up our transfers, I'm confident we're going to win a national championship! In all seriousness, another fantastic episode. It's good to have Dwight back!

Tuesday, 7/8/25 night livestream on YouTube: Link

Let's get those views and Podcast downloads up for Brock and Dwight.

Just bought airline tickets to Atlanta for Mercer game. Looks to be about a 2 hour drive to Montgomery from the airport. Was initially thinking of driving with travel trailer (Cramton Bowl has hookups) but too much time involved even from east coast. Aggie side is western stands so late sun will be on opponents side. Tickets are cheap ($23 for GA) Even thought of “ESPN zone “ for $103 which gives you AC, some food (no host bar) and a general admission seat if you want to slum in the real stands for a while. Probably will go cheap route.

[
Any pod subscribers join tonight and ask a question to our guests live if you’d like!

I think you’ve built a theory with too many holes. Your thesis seems to be that Sac State has the capacity and intent to provide a culturally supportive environment for Black athletes, and will become a de facto [H]BCU within the CSU system.

1) To be meaningful and effective, a culturally supportive environment for Black athletes has to be based on a culturally supportive environment for all Black students. Black student enrollment at Sac State in 2024 was 7%. More than the other schools you listed, but I’m not sure it’s a significant difference. I certainly don’t think that it’s enough to provide the type of environment you’re talking about. The University of Mississippi has a Black student enrollment of 12%. The University of South Carolina has 15% (Journal of Blacks in Higher Education). I suspect that a survey of those campuses might not reflect a particularly culturally supportive environment for Black students.

Yes, Sac State has been recognized by the State Assembly as California’s first Black-serving institution, and should be congratulated for its efforts to increase Black student enrollment and graduation rates. However, Sac has previously been designated Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution. With the reality of budget, cuts, faculty layoffs, class cancellations and increases in student fees that are occurring, new initiatives like the Black Honors College will be impacted, as will students from underserved populations. There will be completion for the decreasing available funding.

It also runs counter to the current Federal approach to education. A Black Honors College is very likely to be seen in Washington as a DEI program, which could imperial Federal funding at Sac State and possibly the entire CSU system. Even the hiring “a Majority of Black coaches in football and basketball” could be cause for a Federal investigation in the current climate. Sad, but that’s the reality.

2) Sac State is largely a commuter college. Less than 10% of Sac State students live on campus, which has to make it a challenge to create any type of student-centered campus identity.

3) The new identity that you’re saying is being developed at Sac State would be top-down driven. That is always artificial, and seldom becomes self-sustaining. To be authentic, any cultural environment is evolutionary and almost always bottom-up. Since the intent of CSU enrollment has always been to primarily serve a geographically local student population, there’s going to be a limit on the growth of the Black student population. Hispanic/Latino students make up the largest ethnic group at Sac State (38%). I doubt that will change, so if anything a culturally supportive environment for Hispanic/Latino students and athletes will predominate. Futbol everyone!!

4) Your current thesis seems to also run counter to your previous thesis that the new paradigm in sports is that of athletes and coaches (and probably administrators like AD’s and presidents) will be made up of people who ARE NOT personally committed to an institution. Rather they are committed to building their brand and maximizing financial/personal gain. They will immediately move to wherever the best offer is made. That means athletes, coaches, and administrators will not stay at an institution. I don’t believe that a revolving door of people can build or sustain a positive, supportive environment for athletes, regardless of their ethnicity.

Arsten played very well; worked hard, had a super shot from outside that was a meter off-line. He played well for himself, his country and a UCD alumnus.

I think there are a lot a valid comments here regarding my post about the new football culture at Sac and the various racial statistics of D1 football players. It's an interesting conversation.

My point of view comes from my own professional experience working with predominantly minority, junior college students at one point in my career. I'm a retired therapist and, for the last 11 years of my career, I split my time between my private practice and contracting with Sacramento City College to provide mental health counseling to students.

I have always been deeply interested in the dynamic interplay between our external environment and our individual biology and psychology and the profound effects it has on shaping our inner self, our personality and our world view. Multicultural influences adds yet another significant layer to all of this too. Oh well, don't let me get going on the "shrink" stuff! :lol:

Role models are particularly important to young people who didn't have successful role models who looked like them during their formative years. Sacramento City College offered College Success Courses that were available to all students but some were specifically aimed at various ethnic groups and they were taught by counselors who identified with those ethnicities. These classes were designed to help students learn the basic organizational, time management and disciplinary skills necessary to have a chance to succeed in college.

For example, there was a male, African American counselor who taught a College Success class aimed primarily at black males who were one of the highest risk groups to drop out. Many of his students took his class because he was black and they felt that he could relate to their cultural identity better than a non-black counselor. Similarly, various Asian students, Chinese, Hmong, Philipino etc, were drawn to the College Success Classes taught by Asian counselors and the same was true for Hispanic students.

So my point, regarding the current Sac football culture, is that many of the elite players they are getting may be strongly drawn to the culture that has been created by their largely African American football staff and an African American university president who are successful role models who look like them and share their cultural identity.

Aggie Pride subscribers; this one’s just for you. We’re teaming up with Zach McKinnell and Timothy Rosario from The Bluebloods for an in-depth episode on UC Davis football, Big Sky expectations, and what’s ahead this season. And as a thank you for your support, you’re invited to an exclusive livestream of the episode recording.

We go live Tuesday at 8:00 PM PT on Riverside.fm . Want to watch? Please DM me for the private link; this behind-the-scenes access is only available to our podcast subscribers.

Thanks for being part of the Aggie Pride community and see you Tuesday night!

Ex UC Davis Aggie soccer player Max Arfsten scores his first international goal, also had an assist, and named player of the match during the US Gold Cup Quarter final win. Also the announcer stated that he was an ex UC Davis players on national TV.

https://x.com/usmntonly/status/1939478080659292499

Scott March one was awesome! Keep up the great work!

Highest ranked Davis recruit ever according to 247sports site, and one of two 2026 recruits in the top four.
I’m not counting Jalen Harris, who never enrolled.

Was just watching all the videos posted on the board and reading the articles about Sac.

Its striking that UCD got a MWC invite with basically a "come play football when you are ready" option......where Sac is getting no invites and doing whatever the heck it is they are doing.

It really shows a huge difference between the two programs. I strongly believe Sac's leadership is failing the university.

The more we watch Sac, the better this deal looks....

it reminds me of the episode of the office where Oscar tells Michael he needs to declare bankruptcy.

‘I DECLARE BANKRUPTCY!!!’

‘Uh, Michael, there’s a little more to it than that’

from reddit: While Sacramento State was yelling about how they're a lock for the Pac-12, Davis quietly announced they were moving from the Big West to the Mountain West as a non-football member in 2026, but the agreement includes that the Mountain West has to give priority to UC Davis before inviting another FCS school. So Davis is still a football affiliate in the Big Sky, but everyone knows that they have one foot out the door

this is exactly what I am talking about, I think these moves from davis and the big sky are correlated despite sac decisions seeming to push everything.

Scott Marsh is our guest. Out to subscribers NOW!

Honebein probably be a rush linebacker, maybe a defensive end who knows what he’ll weigh in a couple of years.

3 star DL Benjamin Honebein commits to the Ags! GO AGS!

Fascinating....the difference in management styles between the UCD and Sac State Athletic Departments.

The bluster and hubris has made for some great entertainment.

Per instagram 3 star WR Jackson Fay has committed to UC Davis over an offer from Sac State! GO AGS!

They have put the 2025 Roster back up on the web site.

I don’t see what has changed since it was there last.
Good news is that Davis’ entire starting OL for games 6-12 returns. This includes tackles All Big Sky second team Eli Simonson, and honorable mention Ernesto Nava. Good depth too, including RS Freshman transfer Hasson. None of the FCS previews considered that the entire line returns, Sports Illustrated said Davis returned 4 “contributors” which means players that played 180 plays or so.

The roster inexplicably doesn’t list the year players graduated from high school, which makes their eligibility hard to decipher. In most but not all cases, players who came to Davis as freshmen are listed according to their academic class, not their eligibility. Players who started elsewhere are mostly listed by eligibility. But they are inconsistent even in that,