UC Davis Football to Remain in Big Sky

The University of California, Davis will join the Mountain West Conference but its football team will stay in the Big Sky Conference. UC Davis will join the Mountain West starting with the 2026-27 academic year.

UC Davis moved from NCAA Division II to Division I beginning in 2003 and upon completion of the four-year reclassification process, became a full member of NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference. The football team was an I-AA Independent in 2003 followed by 8 seasons in the now-defunct Great West Football Conference (2004 through 2011). In 2012, the Aggies became a football affiliate of the Big Sky Conference.

UC Davis captured the 2005 and 2009 Great West titles and won a share of the Big Sky title in 2018. The Aggies reached the quarterfinals in its first FCS Playoff appearance in 2018 under Dan Hawkins and made a second appearance in 2021. Hawkins stepped down after the 2023 season, which led to Tim Plough taking over.

Plough led UC Davis to a 10-2 overall regular season with losses against California and top-ranked Montana State. The Aggies trailed by 30-8 midway through the fourth quarter but two touchdowns, an onside kick, and another touchdown saw them within a two-point conversion of tying the game. The conversion pass by Miles Hastings fell incomplete as Montana State won the game 30-28 and clinched the Big Sky’s automatic qualifying bid to the playoffs.

UC Davis was awarded the fifth seed in the 2024 FCS Playoffs where they opened with a 42-10 victory against 12th-seeded Illinois State (MVFC). The Aggies are back in the Quarterfinals for the second time in school history and will face fourth-seeded South Dakota (MVFC) on Saturday, December 14 with the winner reaching the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs for the first time.

Photo Credit to UC Davis Athletics