I'm hoping that Jen Gross will stay and continue to grow this program since she is a UCD basketball alum and has such deep connections to the Aggie Athletics family. UCD Athletics are very special because of the true student/athlete culture of all of our sports. I think it would be hard for her to leave UCD to go to another program that did not share those student/athlete values we have here.

She is, however, very close to Stanford coach, Tara VanDerveer, and VanDerveer thinks highly of Jen and what she's has done here. I would not be surprised if Stanford would come calling when VanDerveer retires. It might be tough to be able to keep her here if that happens.

Haha...she should hightail it for sure especially if Vladimir shows up with his shirt off!

Get to play and live abroad and make 3-15 times more money...what's not to like? This could be a great experience and a financially secure opportunity for Morgan.

Now that's the spirit! :up:

87: WES PREECE, TE (SR.) -- UC DAVIS

The UC Davis passing attack was one of the best in the FCS last year, ranking third with 322.8 passing yards per game. While Keelan Doss, who's now in the NFL, was understandably the most recognizable name on the offense, Preece was equally as valuable. The two tied for the team high with nine touchdown receptions.

Preece, the 6-foot-5 and 238-pound tight end, earned Second Team All-Big Sky Conference honors and made the STATS All-American Third Team. As a sophomore in 2017, Preece made the All-Big Sky Third Team.

In the last two season, he's caught 65 passes for 905 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Expect Preece to be a huge part of the offense again in 2019, especially with Jake Maier back at quarterback after being named the 2018 Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year.

https://herosports.com/fcs/football-2019-countdown-wes-preece-uc-davis-bzbz?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Link

I first met Will shortly after I graduated in 1975 and had taken a job with the City of Davis Recreation Department. He taught a class in community recreation and one of his class requirements was for his students to create a community recreation event. The class decided to put on a New Games Day and they approached me to help them with the planning and advertising and with reserving an area of Community Park for the event. It was during that time that I struck up a fond friendship with Will.

Will was a very conscientious and joyful man who was always positive and empathic with everyone he met. He was the kind of person that you just felt comfortable with as soon as you met him. We had a lot in common even though he was 22 years my senior: we were both veterans, we loved athletic activity and we both cared deeply about humanitarian issues and social justice. He felt like a mentor to me during a time in my life where my life's path had a lot of uncertainty. Our conversations were reassuring to me and he helped me feel more grounded in who I was and where I was going.

Shortly after the successful New Games Day event I was at a recreation conference where I heard Dr. Leo Buscaglia give the keynote address. He was a professor of special education at USC and a noted author who taught a wildly popular class entitled "Love." I found his speech inspiring and full of wisdom and I decided to see if I could arrange to bring him to UCD for a presentation. I talked to Will about him and he was excited about the idea. Together we were able to bring Dr. Buscaglia to speak in Young Hall and afterwards Will and his wife, Jane, hosted a reception at their home.

I stayed in contact with Will over the next decade while I still worked for the City of Davis. He helped me with my tennis game and we would occasionally cross paths while out running and would chat while jogging along. I had become very involved in rock climbing and Will, being so adventurous, was curious to try it. So one day my climbing partner and I took Will and his son, Rick, up a couple of great, beginner climbs at Lovers Leap at Strawberry near South Lake Tahoe. I remember the twinkle in his eyes as he looked up at the route with a mix of anxiety and excitement. They both did great and it was a fun and memorable day in the mountains.

After I left the City of Davis to go back to grad school I saw less of Will over the years but I would bump into him occasionally when I was in Davis and we would catch up with each other. I would also see Will and his wife in Sacramento at American River College when they would be there for a Capitol Jazz Project concert. Their son, Rick, is a professional drummer and he plays with CJP and Mumbo Gumbo. It was always great to see them again and they were always so warm and welcoming.

Will was indeed a great man who led a meaningful life that made a positive difference in the lives of so many people from his college students to the poor and underprivileged in third world countries. His was a life truly well lived and he left the world a little bit of a better place. Rest in peace old friend...

The lead, headline article on the front page of today's Bee is the suspension of the Band-uh...as if there isn't anything more important happening in the world...

Just for fun, here's his junior year highlights as an Aggie...man, what a powerful player he was!

Official statement regarding the Band-uh allegations from Emily Galindo, UCD Interim Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs:

https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/statement-regarding-cal-aggie-band

The Davis Enterprise has published an article regarding the recent Band-uh allegations. The article feels more even handed than the Bee but it is still very concerning regarding the culture and allegations of misconduct within the Band-uh.

Excerpt from the article:

In response to the allegations of misconduct reported in The Aggie last month, UCD launched “an independent, comprehensive review” by an external law firm, the statement reads. The Sacramento firm, Van Dermyden Maddux, will “evaluate whether band members have been subject to conduct that violates university policy or any applicable laws,” Galindo said. The firm will also investigate “whether band administrators failed to appropriately respond to reports of misconduct.”

Past and present band members interviewed by The Enterprise reacted to the news with a mix of surprise and expectation. “The culture I experienced during my time in Band-Uh! led me to believe that it was only a matter of time before an article like the one in The Aggie occurred,” says one UC Davis alum, who was in the band from 2013 through 2017.

Read more here: https://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/campus-reacts-to-band-uh-hazing-allegations/

https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/raiders/raiders-undrafted-wr-drawing-rave-reviews-jon-gruden-derek-carr

That's him. I liked the play where he rolled out left and threw a TD pass. He's a lefty and with the kind of speed he has he could throw the pass if the receiver is open or tuck it in and turn on the jets.

I wonder what kind of timeline we are looking at?

It will be exciting watch him develop at the D1 level. We'll be hard pressed to see a better PG than TJ was though...he was one of the best players we've ever had.

5'10 Ezra Manjon Ultimate Mixtape | UC Davis Got A Star!! NASTY PULL-UP & MAJOR BOUNCE

I think you're right. That would be great. I wonder if Goodwin suffered and injury in the first game since he did not play after that?

Goodwin is listed as a sophomore according to the Aggie 2019 football roster. He redshirted in 2017 at UNR and played against Portland State in the Wolfpack's 2018 opener. I would guess that he'll have to sit out a year since he did play in 2018.

You have to love this statement in his bio: "Spent some time growing up in Alaska and ran from a bear once, has been fast ever since."

That's a surprise. The competition level must be off the charts.

Wow..."bad press" is a understatement. It's obvious that the university is taking these allegations about the "culture and traditions" of the Band-uh very seriously since they are hiring outside counsel to do a thorough investigation. I'm glad the university is looking into all of this and they will need to take appropriate action if warranted when the report is finished. These kinds of "traditions and behaviors" are unacceptable and it needs to be cleaned up and not covered up if the allegations are verified.

We are certainly making a lot of offers early and quite a few are 3 star rated athletes. I don't put much value in the star ratings but it does indicate that we are recruiting with confidence and are going head to head with programs like the Montanas and Nevada etc.