my guess is him and Gbatu

I know of this one but unsure if it is the best: https://www.aggiefootballfund.com/

“ I thought we paid Lan and TY Johnson last year. Are we paying anyone this year?”

I think you’re correct. I didn't articulate my thoughts very well. I’m thinking in terms of program wide resources. For example the Griz pay each player an equal amount. I don’t remember the exact figure, but its either 20k or 50k per year. Tim has commented several times that they have 500 donors that contribute 1k each year. We have about a 100 similar donors. But beyond our specific situation, the current system of money schools able to buy away top players from programs like ours is troubling to me. That’s what i was referring to regarding some sort of realignment. I’m happy for many of these kids, especially those that come from challenging environments where the money is life changing, but there must be a better way forward.

this is a very good post. Honestly, I think we are in a particularly good place as a program. I think the best case scenario for us will happen no matter what, but I see pros and cons to both moves. I agree on that super conference at the top, hopefully Davis is able to position themselves/have the cards fall to have us in the best position when that happens

You make some good points. However, I'll be honest, I'm not sure the current business model even works anymore. There powers that be, who are hell bent on creating a top tier league consisting of only 50 or so football teams that can bought and run through a VC. The idea of course is to create a league where JMU and Tulane are not eligible to even play in this playoff because they are not in the right league.

1. Traditional TV is dead. Let's face it the way people watch football today is radically different then how it was watched even 10 years ago. Streaming is the new cable, which begs the question, if nobody is watching on traditional outlets, where is the ad money going to come from? Prime, Apple, HBO, Paramount, etc. will all be bidding against each other which means the overall cost will drop. I think when the new TV deal comes up, there is going to be a huge shakeup in college football.

2. Bowl Games are dead. Bowl games served a purpose years ago, but the concept is dead. You can see many schools pulling out altogether. The days of waking up on Jan 1 and watching the Rose Bowl game later is gone. The Rose Bowl now is just another bowl with teams that would never be allowed to play in this game.

So what does this mean? I think it means the VC's are going to create a 50 team "Super" league and it will only consist of: USC, Alabama, Ohio St, Miami,....you get the picture. When that happens there is going to be a whole lot of teams like Stanford, Cal, SMU, Vandy, Oregon St's of the world who are going to need a place to play. This is where new conferences come about. UC Davis is smart to just sit back and see how this plays out for now. Just MO

Here’s my opinion: the FCS is great. I like the playoff format, regional rivalries, etc. what I do think is important to note though is that us moving up to the Mountain West for football would be a smart move (in my opinion) because it solidifies us in the group of 5 no matter the changing landscape. For example, if the proposed power 4 split happens and the g5 becomes its own subdivision with its own playoffs, I would like to be positioned in the group of 5 instead of trying to get a move up from the fcs during the craziness that could ensue (no matter the fact that we would probably be at the top of FCS move-up’s if this split happened). I don't necessarily think moving to the MW would be as massive a step up when it comes to some talent (ie Montana state compared to a Nevada), but I think some of the closer regional rivalries, more national prominence of broadcast and name, and better positioning in realignment makes it worth it. I think playing in a conference where the lowest tier teams in the conference for football are UTEP or Nevada is a hell of a lot better for interest than Utah Tech or Portland State. I also honestly think bowl games are fun and provide travel opportunities for the alumni. Let’s face it too, getting into a bowl game is a hell of a lot easier than winning an FCS championship, and while this is completely speculative, I wonder if making it to bowls consistently would be more of a donation driver than fcs playoffs.

My final point. When it comes to money, and I may be wrong here, I am under the impression that teams are paid well to play bowl games, which I’m sure are larger revenue drivers than most fcs playoff matchups (maybe until the semis).

Overall, our position and current goals in the FCS are important, plausible and righteous, but I also think looking down the road a few years, aligning football with all of our other sports in the MW is a foreword looking move that would be a smart idea.

I see an Aggie pro bowler coming soon

I'm with you. We're a yearly contender, still feature true student athletes, and the FCS playoffs seem exciting. Ivys, Villanova, the Redbirds... and yes, we can provide more resources at the FCS level.

The FBS is all over the place, constant turnover, $$$, drama, HCs with $20-million, $30-million contracts. ICA departments massively in the hole (like Cal). We can add spice in our pre-season games. Who knows what happens in 3-5 years. Cross country travel already an issue for some.

The top FCS schools, except us, have paid athletes as well. Certainly not paid to the same level as the big FBS schools, but still pulling a paycheck. The position we’re in at this point reminds me of our D2 days when we were non scholarship and competing with scholarship programs. Plough has said many times, give me the resources comparable to the Montanas and Dakotas, make it a fair fight, and we will win. Somehow there needs to be realignment with all this.

“We do not have to live like this”. Is this a question or a statement? I assume it refers to the issue of gun violence etc. Anyway, The answer is a resounding no. But bare in mind that even giving account for these atrocities in Australia and Canada Europe, and elsewhere, we, America, the MAGA capital of the world, still have the highest rate of gun violence in the world by a significant margin and we are doing nothing about it. Except for a very few states, including California, New York Massachusetts, etc included. And yet these states are being derided and ridiculed by the Republican Party, and right wing media as too woke and “liberal” purely for political reasons by MAGA gun rights proponents. Yet they do nothing about this: question/statement: “we do not have to live like this”.
Lastly, although I welcome any criticism of this post, I think we should delete this thread because it has strayed too far from the original comment regarding an Aggie going to Europe on vacation. Which I think he survived! I posted this simply for balance on the topic.
Happy holidays to all.

I use to race mountain bikes at the Pacific Union college. The Napa Valley Dirt Classic and the Howell Mountain Challenge were both hosted there. There is a good article about the time George Bush hosted local politicians for a mountain bike ride on those trails. He crushed everyone and pissed off secret service because he didn't want to be followed by atvs.

President's Visit to California Includes PUC - Pacific Union College https://share.google/3gSq5lBKXpcvpnzm0

There is scant information about the Pioneers of Angwin, California, a hamlet in Napa County. Their record speaks for itself, but it is also worth noting that they do not have a single player whose scoring averages in double figures. As a team, they average around 60 ppg. while allowing nearly 90. This against a lot of other NAIA schools. Their most notable opponent to data e has been Chico State. ‘Nuff said. This is not a good team. Ags could win by 40.

We got this one! (Despite the refs.) Nice the way the Ags were able to stave off Idaho State down the stretch. If they can play this well in the Big West, they'll be in the mix.

How many teams opted out of playing bowl games this year? Found this list on the interwebs:

• Notre Dame
• Iowa State
• Kansas State
• Baylor
• Rutgers
• Florida State
• Auburn
• Temple
• UCF
• Kansas

The College of Idaho Yotes, coached by Aggie great Mike Moroski, finished the season with a 9-1 regular season record, undefeated in their conference, and advanced to the NAIA post season as the No. 8 seed. They won their first and second round games, avenging their only regular season loss to Montana Tech in the quarter finals. The Yotes lost to Keiser University (FL) in the semifinals.

(The Yotes defeated Montana State in the regular season! ...Montana State-Northern of Havre, MT)

No question the redbirds played great down the stretch, especially considering they were unranked and had to travel all over the country to get to the finals.
BTW, i don’t know what the attendance was for the semi final game, but the stands looked sparse. Maybe winter break hurt their attendance.

I'm happy to see Illinois State in the finals. They certainly deserve to be there. One of the things that was fortunate for them this season is just how healthy they have managed to stay and that's huge. I wouldn't be disappointed to see them win the title but I'll be pulling for MSU to make the Big Sky Conference proud.

Ilinois St defense by game:

SELA: 321 yds, 3 points
NDST: 179 yds, 28 points (thought got a punt return TD, Int return TD and an Int return to the 4 that led to a TD)
UC Davis: 533 yds, 31 points
Nova: 300 yds, 14 points

So ISU allowed 1333 yds so far in the playoffs and we accounted for 40 percent of them. They allowed 76 points in the playoffs and we accounted for 40.8 percent of them. If you take out the two return TDs for NDSt, we scored half the points the ISU defense has allowed.

We would have spanked Villanova. That redbird #5 is a total beast, but i think the cats have the muscle to slow him down.

I'm cheering for the Redbirds. You don't potentially get this far by luck especially if all games are in the road. I think the Bobcats beat them in the final.

We were so close this year even with all the injuries...without them, we could very well have made it to the championship game. Can't wait for next year...

This would be a big victory - Les didn’t schedule easy coming out of finals so it would be great to salvage one win before the tuneup next Sunday vs Pacific Union.

So who are you rooting for in today’s games and the finals? I’d like to see the rebirds make it to the finals against the cats. I see the cats winning the big prize which is good for the big sky. I can’t root for a Hauck coached team.

With most teams in the Big West having only one or two games remaining of their preseason schedule, it's worth taking a look at the current standings. As expected, UCSD has the best record, but Hawai`i is right with them and has a 2-0 record in the conference. The Rainbow Warriors are a not so dark dark horse at this point. UCSB and UCI occupy their usual spots near the top. The Beach lingers at the bottom, but they had a very tough preseason trek, losing to the likes of San Diego State, Pscific and Illinois State, plus league losses to UCSB and UCSD.

Let's do it for sure next season!

Want to make it is known if you are on this board and do not say hello while passing the AST.com tailgate for a.free beer or other beverage we will make you do double on the second try.

We've got a great thing going. Its been really good for a long time.
AST tailgate will be making its return next season.

So many similarities to Ron Gould. Both really good, respected dudes, position/assistant coaches, good recruiters. I keep thinking Ron Gould II, but he does have HC experience. 10 years in Oakland/Berkeley publics where he won some titles. 129-69-3 record as a High School head coach.
Gould had never done it, so Sac has that going for them. I think Sac may be able to hang on to some of their players with this hire.

Man, I learn a lot on this board. We have guys that sound like they know a thing or two about construction management, engineering, private equity, not to mention all the history we get sprinkled in. I appreciate you guys

Zo is a very likeable guy and a good man. Been around the block a little, and there is no doubt he is connected in the Bay Area (especially on the eastside and Oakland), and I would even say, into Sac and the Valley. BUT... has he even coordinated? He will need to hit it out of the park with those three hires. I think he is right in saying Sac is an uphill battle, and he needs to keep telling himself that. No conference, no schedule, big-talking president, massive roster voids, facility issues, and so on and so forth. If you put those tags on any other program in America, you would be labeling it an uphill climb too.

Truth be told, both they and Cal Poly are looking waaaaaay up the hill at the Aggies, from the president's office down to the support infrastructure for football. Let's keep it that way.

I like the new sac coach from his press conference. Dude is a hard worker, loves his family and honestly is much more likely to stay around in Sac considering his family lives an hour away. I also like how he’s been talking about wanting to focus on football and not his dance/media career haha, dude is locked in.

I do think it’s a little interesting though hearing him talking like sac is an uphill battle or struggling program (which may be the right mentality but is the opposite of how Luke wood talks about the program lol)

Thoughts overall: He could become a really strong recruiter and I love his California roots, but with all this hype he’s espousing he needs to back it up with success as the incoming head coach. I do love his focus on community and his story of getting through hard times to get where he is. Seems like the guy you would want your kids to be mentored by, talks a ton about the importance of education, I’m positive on him!

my 92-year old mom was down Sunday for an early Christmas with grandkids and asked ‘what does this 6-7 thing mean?’

‘It doesn’t mean anything, gramma’

‘Yes, but, what does it mean?’

This went on for about 10 minutes.

https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2025/12/17/football-psyk-and-pinnick-named-stats-perform-all-americans.aspx