Yes, there are many outlets. I bet on UC Davis last year and did very well.

Exactly. I mean national media is not going to be looking at SACST at all. If you put major money on the first 3 games, you should be able to easily double or triple your money if things play right. I mean if they go undefeated that is a weekly paycheck.

That is great info. No wonder they are swinging for the fences.

Either way, that team is going to win a lot of games. Great opportunity to make some money :)

They got Jamar Curtis too???? Holy crap....that roster is a legit D1 program. I hate having to do it, but I might have to put money on SACST to win it all.

105 Scholies??? Wow!

Wow. I don't know what they are going to do, but the high level of players they are getting is impressive. I still can't believe they got 5* QB Rashada from Georgia. Man they are going to be tough.

Cool. This tv show sounds drama filled! I'm sorry I missed it. I don't watch much tv nowadays, I hope you can understand.

First of all, UC Davis alumni never need a reason to make fun of Sac State, just like Sac State fans never need a reason to make crude, profanity-laden t-shirts referencing deviant activity with or without barn animals. The two schools did not sign a binding "play nice" agreement, so the Causeway Classic crowd can always count on a melange of violent drunks, sewer rats, attention junkies, and self-righteous "Well, I never !!!!!" types (mostly Aggie fans in that group).

I never had a problem with rival jostling. Its great for the sport.

Second, it has already been established that several posters (including myself) believe that they are engaging in reckless activities that can endanger the health of their athletic programs and possibly the school itself. Nobody's budging off that viewpoint, just as you aren't changing your mind about it being
great.


I appreciate the sentiment behind your comment—but I must respectfully challenge its core assumptions.

First, let’s talk about arrogance, because it’s the silent killer in both academia and athletics. It’s the belief that past methods are always superior, that prestige alone shields an institution from stagnation. UC Davis did become a renowned academic institution through rigor and discipline, yes—but also through risk-taking, innovation, and bold vision. Great science doesn’t just follow a manual; it pushes boundaries. And if we’re being honest, so should our athletics programs.

Winning matters. Not because donors demand trophies or because fans crave ego boosts, but because competition at its core is about striving for excellence. Athletics isn’t a side activity—it’s a proving ground. It teaches resilience, teamwork, and ambition in ways no lecture hall can replicate. To dismiss winning as a tertiary concern in collegiate sports is to miss the point entirely. No student-athlete trains day in and day out to provide alumni with a "decent experience." They train to win. And we, as alumni and fans, owe it to them to support that mindset.

As for UC Davis—yes, it’s a respected institution. But have you seen downtown Davis lately? It’s a ghost town. If the university wants to be a catalyst for regional vibrancy, it can’t just rely on lab work and modest sports success. It needs energy. It needs foot traffic. It needs something that draws people in beyond the walls of the classroom. A more competitive athletics program does exactly that. You can look to places like Boise, Eugene, or even Fresno to see how this works when done well.

And this talk of moving to the Mountain West? That’s not recklessness—that’s strategic evolution. It’s about aligning with peers who compete seriously, who draw attention, revenue, and yes, community engagement. The irony is that UC Davis, for all its careful planning, is at risk of becoming a brilliant institution with a quiet campus and an empty downtown.

Change is hard. But in sports—and in science—the institutions that thrive are the ones that know when it’s time to step forward. Sacramento State is doing that. And I, for one, respect it.

And speaking of Storage Wars (You can blame Fugawe09 for introducing the show to a Sac State discussion), Sac State wishes it were Renè, the 300 lb German man with a busty wife who makes a spectacle of dropping thousands at each auction and rubbing people's faces in it. Perhaps they aspire to take a "big boobs" approach to things by hiring Mike Bibby (Wonder if any Lakers ever called him Mike Booby ?) and bringing in Radio Shaq.

Renè actually is successful, so he can be an a-hole to his competitors if he wants. Until this experiment actually works Luke Wood is no better than Justin, the smug twit who thinks he'is smarter than the veteran buyers because he can unload cheap locker crap using his phone. It's nothing for UCD to copy

I'm sorry I honestly don't know what any of this means. You have storage with wars or something?

And look, if you're excited about what Sac State does and you want to check it out, you don't need to frame it as "UCD needs to do this". You can go without judgment (because few people would pay any mind to it anyway), enjoy all the Sac State, UCD, whatever college games you want. You're an adult. You graduated. You are a free agent fan. Even if you got a Gunrock tattoo you are not compelled to follow UCD and UCD alone for the rest of your life. You could open your hypothetical Davis sports bar + put a dozen hornet bobbleads on the front counter if you want. No patrons will give you grief until after they've had a few, and by then they've served their purpose anyway.

Ah, my dear Aggie comrade, spoken like a true disciple of measured thought and passive-aggressive grace. Somewhere between a chilled Chardonnay on the quad and a politely worded cease and desist letter from the alumni association, you’ve managed to capture the UC Davis spirit perfectly.

But allow me—channeling just a whiff of Robin Williams’s manic twinkle and a splash of Bowie glam from Ziggy Stardust’s secret tenure as a mid-major sports analyst (...if you were born after 1980 you might not get it...still you should listen to some Bowie)—to say this:

Look, I bleed blue and gold. If I stub my toe on a Davis sidewalk crack, it sings the fight song. My heart is shaped like the Shields Library. I once cried watching the band-uh do the halftime Moonwalk (okay, maybe that was a Bowie reference). The point is—my loyalty isn’t in question. I don’t want less Davis—I want More. Aggie. Greatness.

But hear me out: acknowledging Sac State is not heresy, it’s just observation. I don’t want to be Sac State. I want UC Davis to learn from the boldness, the risk-taking, the utter lack of fear in doing something new—even if it means ditching khaki academic orthodoxy for some black and green flair. I want us to win—not just in debates about water policy and plant genetics, but on the field, in the arena, and maybe—just maybe—in the hearts of fans who’d love to see Aggie Stadium packed to the eucalyptus trees.

Now, as for me being a “free agent fan”? Darling, if I’m a free agent, I’m LeBron in a Gunrock headband. Yes, I’ll drop in on a Hornets game. Yes, I’ll nod politely at Sac’s new uniforms like someone admiring an ex’s glow-up. But let’s not pretend I’m moving in with them. I’ll be back in Davis before curfew, probably dragging half of Sacramento with me to see what real agricultural pride cow tipping looks like.

And if I open a Davis sports bar...(Hey Dan, anytime time you want to lower sqft lease numbers!) it will be the coolest Aggie bar of all time. I might even call it the "Post-Grad."

So no hard feelings, my friend. I’m not here to tear Davis down. I’m here, in true Bowie fashion, to turn the volume up, paint a lightning bolt across our program, and say, “Let’s be bold, baby.” Because even a beloved institution needs a little stardust now and then.

I'm not exactly sure, why UC Davis alumni are making fun of SAC ST for trying something new. It's not like we are some big sports program. Let's see what they do first. Who knows, maybe their success can lead to our success as well.

I get where you are coming from. I mean there has never been any real highly competitive college sports in NorCal pretty much ever. That doesn't mean the area doesn't produce top talent. I think SACST is smart - they know they are sitting on a gold mine of talent in the SAC area. They need to find a way to make it a destination place for high quality players across the nation.

Trust me, do you know how many California kids want to stay in California and play football? A ton. But they have traditionally only had limited options: Stanford (good luck), Cal (good luck), USC (good luck), UCLA (good luck), Fresno st, San Diego St, and San Jose St. I mean that's pretty much it. The largest state in the union with some of the best high school students athletes in the nation have those options in state. I think with NIL there is going to be really good kids who find out chasing the money like Rashida who is from Pittsburg did at Florida and Miami may not work out and those kids want a second chance to play football close to home.

Check out SACST transfer list of incoming: https://www.on3.com/college/sacramento-state-hornets/transfer-portal/wire/football/

Now lets say SACST and Davis become D1 football teams. That is over 150 new opportunities for CA kids to keep playing football close to home.

I've always said, Davis is a sleeping giant when it comes to sports. We have the academic reputation, we have the endowment, we have the small town, and we are located right outside the state capital. I mean talk about advantages.

Folsom, Granite Bay, and Grant should all be Davis feeder schools. Davis should be at those high schools every day and let them know they have an opportunity to continue to play at Davis.

I think SACST and Davis can both benefit from moving up in level of competition. We are natural rivals. If start getting local kids to stay home Davis,and SACst will benefit.

I'm not talking just football and basketball, but baseball, softball, soccer, etc. Look at our top local athletes:


Harper Peterson (Whitney High School): A 6-foot-3 senior forward with guard skills, Peterson averaged 14.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. She led Whitney to two section championships and is committed to Stanford University.
AOL

Ella Skryzniarz (Vista del Lago): A junior guard who averaged 21.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.9 steals, Skryzniarz led her team to its first section championship and a 23-9 record.
AOL

Kaia Diederichs (Colfax): A versatile junior guard who contributed 12.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 3.2 steals per game. Diederichs also excels in soccer and flag football, showcasing her multi-sport prowess.
AOL

Ryder Lyons (Folsom High School): A five-star quarterback and Gatorade California Player of the Year, Lyons threw for 3,011 yards and 46 touchdowns while rushing for 585 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2024. He is considered one of the top recruits in the 2026 class.
Wikipedia

Kingston Lopa (Grant High School): A 6-foot-5 safety committed to the University of Oregon, Lopa was ranked 22nd in California and played a pivotal role in Grant's state championship run.
MaxPreps.com

Jericho Johnson (Armijo High School): A 6-foot-4, 300-pound defensive lineman ranked 13th in California, Johnson recorded nine sacks in the 2022 season and holds offers from top programs like Miami and Alabama.
MaxPreps.com

AB Hernandez: A junior athlete who set a meet record in the triple jump and long jump during California's track-and-field championships. Her performance led to a temporary rule change by the California Interscholastic Federation to ensure fairness in competition.

I still love you man. ;)

When I say win it all I am talking about more than the championship. What did Dion win at Colorado? People would say nothing. But I bet if you ask the local businesses if they like the excitement and local revenue its bringing in you'd think they won the title. Dion is acting like a beacon to all the former players who have nothing to do and would love to learn under Dion. So they are going to start brining in a lot of names. This will happen at SACST too.

Let's not kid ourselves NorCAl football has always been neglected. What do we have, Stanford and Cal? Eh, you have to be really lucky to get into either school because those schools never really represented the local populations. They are world elite. Whereas UC Davis and SacSt I look at as the inland blue collar schools that have academic standards but are not proud enough to not roll up our sleeves.

Thinks about this Sacramento has multiple high school football powers in the city. The #1 QB in this years class goes to Folsom High school. Not one local program is even under consideration. Look at Napa High school, there are two of the top HS basketball players in the nation and neither are considering Davis or Sac.

I love the direction we are going. But I'm not opposed to what SACST is doing either.

You still don't get it. Everything has changed in college football. The Dion Sanders effect is real. Right now across summer sports camps around the country guess which school is generating buzz in both football and basketball? And this is before all the changes and results from all this infusion of Top Tier D1 talent. Watch what SacSt does this fall, they are going to be very good. Think about basketball...Shaq, Mikey Williams, etc. blowing up the gym for the home opener. I'll bet they triple their profits at the turn and merchandise next year.

What my main question is how can we use this to our benefit?

Next year, this time SACST is going to be everyone's darling. I could see SACST winning it all in football and then become a hot bed for transfers. A Big impact to their basketball program. How many ESPN clips are they going to show of Shaq at SACST? The amount of free publicity is going to bring more eyeballs to the Sacramento area including us. I want to grab some of those eyeballs.

I really hope your right!

I actually have no problem with the football or womens basketball programs. I think both are showing improvement. My issue is with the mens basketball team which I think has become stale and needs some change.

This post is about SACST, so I'm posting on SACST. I think they are going to be successful and may just get into the PAC conference. When Stanford, Cal, USC, and UCLA come back (they are already realizing cross country travel is expensive and kids are having a tough time) they might rejoin the PAC with SACST and not Davis and this bothers me.

No. I'm a UCD alumni and it is perfectly ok to critique our university. But I will be watching some SACST sports this year because they are going to be interesting to watch. Davis is moving up, but it will take a whole lot more to get the fan base excited to support our teams. We should never be satisfied with the status quo. We should always strive to be better. If we want to be a D1 program we have to start acting like it.

Again, the times have changed. SacSt is not Sonoma St. SacSt has big influencers and are gaining steam. Watch SACST football and basketball this year, they will be very successful and only get better the following year. Players are now talking to each other about staying home in CA and playing for local schools vice sitting on the bench at USC or Texas. These kids also know their scholarships can be given to new players better than them, so it makes sense to stay local. I'm telling you Davis has such a unique opportunity to really make some headway, but they can't pretend we are still a D2 program. SACST is going for it and I respect them for trying. Will it be successful? Time will tell, but one thing I do know is, a lot of people are going to watch SACST play next year and that equals $$$$.

We will not be in the Big Sky anymore and if you think moving to the Mountain West is going to be easy you are mistaken. In basketball alone, we are talking about playing, Air Force, UNLV, New Mexico, etc. in conference not to mention all teams like Stanford, UCLA, Washington, etc. are much better than Davis athletically. If we don't proactively plan a strategy, we are going to get our doors blown off.

I disagree. The world has changed and if we do not change as well, we are going to be left behind. We have to adapt to the changing landscape of college sports. If you don't want to participate in D1 sports at Davis, then we should withdraw from D1 status and return to D2 status. Watch and see in the coming years as we start playing in the Mountain West Conference. Our decision to keep the status quo will be exposed pretty quickly and you will be just like me asking for changes.

The future can be really bright or we can waste it and just be a bottom feeder.