Bob Dunning thinks the time is right for the Aggies to be invited to the PAC12:

Would the Pac-12 swap UCLA for UC Davis? In normal times, no. But these are not normal times. Substituting one UC for another sounds like an even deal to me, especially since there’s no other UC campus that even sponsors football, other than Cal.

Other geographically logical candidates include San Diego State, Fresno State and Boise State, all of which could compete immediately with Pac-12 schools. But no one can bring that UC prestige and credibility to the table but UC Davis.

https://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/bob-dunning-usc-ucla-leaving-pac-12-is-giant-jolt/

Well, I like that we at least offering some 3 star athletes who have quite a few FBS offers but, unfortunately, we're 0 for 5 so far. I sure would like to see of few of these athletes take a more serious look at the benefits of being an Aggie and what Hawk is building here.

From the Seattle Times:

Starting close to home, the University of Washington — specifically, athletic director Jen Cohen and university President Ana Mari Cauce — is now facing a stark decision, one being mirrored in Eugene, Salt Lake City, Tucson, Tempe, Boulder and perhaps Palo Alto and Berkeley. Namely, do the Huskies do everything in their power to maneuver their way into joining the Trojans and Bruins in the exodus to the Big Ten? Or do they stay with what essentially now becomes a mid-major Pac-12 conference?

It seems virtually certain that Oregon, which has the loftiest of aspirations for its football program, will not be satisfied with a Pac-12 that doesn’t contain USC and UCLA and will now see its already plummeting reputation tarnished even more. They almost have to leave now, right? And there were already reports Thursday that the Big Ten could target Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State to form a super conference.

It’s a dog-eat-dog, survival-of-the-fittest environment that has left schools scrambling to maintain their relevance in a collegiate world already uprooted by the Name, Image and Likeness revolution and transfer portal upheaval. As one Twitter wag noted on Thursday, this is a case of entire programs entering the transfer portal — and not for the first time in this new Wild, Wild West era of collegiate sports.

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-football/uw-faces-stark-decision-in-usc-ucla-fallout-leave-pac-12-or-be-content-in-declining-conference/

No way would we be in the conversation for moving to the PAC-12. I expect the PAC-12 will quickly be looking to find other already established major programs such as those mentioned below:

Is expansion necessary or could the Pac-12 remain at 10 for a while? If expansion is a must, the conference could look to programs like Boise State, BYU, Houston, Oklahoma State, or Kansas to bolster the membership.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/usc-ucla-big-ten-whats-next-pac-12-big-12-college-football-expansion-realignment

The Big West Conference schedule has been released. Here is the schedule for the Aggies:

Thursday 12/29 @ Hawaii
Thursday 1/5 Irvine
Saturday 1/7 Bakersfield
Wednesday 1/11 @ CSUN
Saturday 1/14 Fullerton
Monday 1/16 @ San Diego
Thursday 1/19 Riverside
Saturday 1/21 Cal Poly
Thursday 1/26 @ Bakersfield
Saturday 128 @ Long Beach
Thursday 2/2 Hawaii
Thursday 2/9 @ Riverside
Saturday 2/11 @ Santa Barbara
Wednesday 2/15 CSUN
Saturday 2/18 @ Irvine
Monday 2/20 San Diego
Thursday 2/23 @ Fullerton
Saturday 2/25 @ Cal Poly
Thursday 3/2 Santa Barbara
Saturday 3/4 Long Beach

The entire schedule for all teams here: https://bigwest.org/news/2022/6/22/the-big-west-unveils-2022-23-mens-basketball-conference-slate.aspx

Definitely going to be interesting to see how this group comes together. The trip to Europe in August will be good opportunity for players to get to know each other and, hopefully, help create a great team chemistry.

I'm guessing that he thought he'd have a better chance for more minutes here than at UCSB. They're loaded again as always.

It looks like we're making an early push to get bigger and stronger on the OL.

It can be very unpleasant and even dangerous sitting in the full sun on a turf field with no shade when the temperature is very hot. Graduation at this time of the year in our area should be later in the evenings or ridiculously early if it is held outside.

I sat on Toomey Field for graduation in 1975 when the temperature went above 100 degrees and it was miserable and I was only wearing shorts and a T-shirt under my gown. It was so hot that everyone just wanted it to get over.

The football stadium is an inferno when it gets extremely hot. The heat gets trapped in the sunken bowl and reflected off the artificial turf. We've experienced this before.

Regarding Brooke Yanez:

Oregon Ducks softball ace pitcher Brooke Yanez announced via Twitter that she will miss the entire 2022 season due to injury.

It’s a big blow for the Ducks. Yanez was one of the best pitchers in the country last season. The first-team all-conference hurler was 22-6 and posted a 2.11 earned run average a year ago.

The transfer from UC-Davis was going to be a fifth-year senior this season, but it’s assumed she will receive a medical redshirt and Yanez says she will be ready to go for the 2023 season.

https://goducks.com/sports/softball/roster/brooke-yanez/10678

Those are all valid points, cmt, and, as you have pointed out, there are a lot of positives regarding the transfer portal for the athletes as well. I especially like that an athlete can make a change without penalty when the "fit" at a school isn't working out for them and for players who simply want to play somewhere, perhaps a smaller program, where they can play more minutes and not just ride the bench.

I think the point that Dick Vitale was making was that it's easier now for the power programs to "poach" players from smaller schools who have taken the time and energy to develop players who were off the radar of the big programs. Of course, the NCAA rules prohibit schools from contacting players until they officially enter the portal but I think we'd be naive to believe that elite players from smaller schools are not being contacted "through the grapevine" in a myriad of ways before they decide to enter the portal. Sure, it's a good opportunity for those players in many ways but not so good for the smaller schools who are trying to grow the prominence of their programs.

I feel essentially the same as the coaches about the transfer portal. I recently read some comments by college basketball commentator and analyst, Dick Vitale, and he was very critical about the elimination of the rule that required an athlete to sit out a year when transferring from one D1 school to another D1. He felt that the transfer portal, as it is now, would pretty much devastate the mid-major programs since the smaller programs often find and develop kids that the big programs aren't interested in and then eventually lose them to the power programs once those players have been developed and noticed. He said the big, major programs would be happy to let the smaller schools develop kids and then go after them. The rich get richer....seems to be the American way in just about everything nowadays including college athletics.

Thanks for the report, agalum. My wife and I were thinking of going but then I got my second Covid booster yesterday morning and felt like crap later that afternoon. I hope the small turnout won't stop them from doing this again next year.

Can you say a little more about what the coaches had to say about how they felt the transfer portal was going to affect programs like us and recruiting? Did they articulate any pros and cons?

My wife and I met Coach Les a couple of years ago and, like you, were very impressed with him. He's very personable and genuine to talk to.

Crazy...UCD to Cal Baptist to Portland State to Denver to Penn State...wow!

Let us know how the event was and what the coaches had to say, agalum.

Here are the coaches that will be on this tour: