The UC Davis Aggies (also referred to as the Ags, Cal Aggies or Aggies) are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Davis.
Eighteen of the school's 25 intercollegiate sports - baseball, men's basketball, men's cross country, men's golf, men's soccer, men's tennis, men's track & field, men's water polo, softball, women's basketball, women's beach volleyball, women's cross country, women's golf, women's soccer, women's tennis, women's track & field, women's volleyball and women's water polo - compete in the Mountain West Conference (MW).
The Aggies' football team compete in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) (formerly known as Division I-AA), and are members of the Big Sky Conference, granting UC Davis the distinction of being one of only three UC campuses to field a football team (Cal and UCLA being the other two). It is also one of only four full members of Division I FBS conferences that do not play FBS football, and the only one of these that plays FCS football. The other three, Pac-12 Conference member Gonzaga, fellow MW member Grand Canyon, and American Conference member Wichita State, do not play football at all.
The Aggies are also members of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in women's field hockey, women's indoor track and field, women's gymnastics, and women's swimming and diving, the Eastern College Athletic Conference in equestrian, the West Coast Conference in beach volleyball and men's water polo, the Golden Coast Conference in women's water polo, and the Big 12 Conference in women's lacrosse.
On December 10, 2024 it was announced that UC Davis would join the Mountain West Conference in all sports except football, for which it will remain in the Big Sky Conference. This move is expected on July 1, 2026. In anticipation of joining the MW in 2026, UC Davis announced 'Aggie Ascent' on November 18th, 2025. The plan outlines a $265 million phased plan to upgrade, expand, and refit current and new UC Davis athletic facilities to comply with Mountain West (and potentially FBS) standards, the largest of which would be a $50 million dollar expansion to UC Davis Health Stadium.
Nickname The "Aggies" is UC Davis' official team nickname because of the university's agricultural origins. The university was previously called the College of Agriculture at Davis because it was part of UC Berkeley until it was separated in 1959 by the UC Regents.
History
Origins (1915–1959) Davis began its athletics program with football in 1915 as part of the University of California team.
Division II (1990–2003) The Aggies finished first in NCAA Division II six times in 2003 and won the NACDA Director's Cup four years in a row from 1999 to 2003. In 1998, the UC Davis men's basketball team won the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship, despite being one of the few non-scholarship institutions in Division II at that time.
UC Davis also won NCAA Division II championships in softball (2003), men's tennis (1992), and women's tennis (1990, 1993).
Division I (2004–present) In November 2002, UC Davis students voted to elevate the athletics program to Division I, passing by 8 percent, with 4,638 voters approving a $183 annual fee increase earmarked for sports funding through 2008, defeating 3,929 voters against. However, the vote was merely advisory.
Following a year of heavy discussion by campus administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni and the local community, taking a cue from the advisory vote, UCD chancellor Larry Vanderhoef officially announced the university's move to Division I on March 11, 2003.
The department then became a fully fledged D-I program on July 1, 2007.
Sports sponsored Men's sports Women's sports Baseball Basketball Basketball Beach volleyball Cross country Cross country Golf Field hockey Soccer Golf Tennis Gymnastics Track and field Lacrosse Water polo Soccer Football Softball STUNT Swimming and diving Tennis Track and field Volleyball Water polo
Baseball
The UC Davis Aggies baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate athletic baseball team of the University of California, Davis. The team is a member of the Big West Conference, which is part of the NCAA Division I. The team plays its home games at Phil Swimley Field at the 3,500-seat Dobbins Stadium.
Former Stanford and Texas assistant coach Tommy Nicholson was hired as the 11th head coach in program history on December 11, 2021.
Basketball
Men's basketball
The school's team currently competes in the Big West Conference, which is part of the NCAA Division I. UC Davis' first men's basketball team was fielded during the 1910–11 season. UC Davis won an NCAA Division II national championship in 1998 and had 12 postseason appearances. The team plays its home games at a 7,600-seat arena called University Credit Union Center.
The 2025–26 season is head coach Jim Les 15th with the program. During his tenure with the Aggies, the men's basketball team earned its inaugural Big West championship and first NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament appearance in 2017. Les, along with associate head coach Kevin Nosek and assistant coaches Jonathan Metzger-Jones and Kyle Vogt entered their seventh season together in 2025–26.
Women's basketball
Following a successful stint as an NCAA Division II program, the UC Davis women's basketball team began its transition to the NCAA Division I level in 2003–04, officially competing as a member of the Big West Conference in 2007–08.The team plays its home games at a 7,600-seat arena called University Credit Union Center.
The Aggies have won six Big West Conference regular season titles (2009–10, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21) and three Big West Tournament titles (2011, 2019, 2021) in their combined 15 Division I seasons. UC Davis is one of three schools in league history to win at least four consecutive Big West regular season titles, joining UC Santa Barbara (1996–2005) and Long Beach State (1985–1989). The Aggies have advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times in 2011, 2019 and 2021 as the automatic qualifier from the Big West Conference and has earned five berths to the WNIT, including an "Elite Eight" appearance in 2018 and a "Sweet 16" appearance in 2017.
Football
The UC Davis Aggies football team represents UC Davis in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The football program's first season took place in 1915 and has fielded a team each year since with the exception of 1918 during World War I and from 1943 to 1945 during World War II, when the campus, then known as the University Farm, was shut down. The team plays its home games at the 10,473-seat UC Davis Health Stadium.
UC Davis competed as a member of the NCAA College Division through 1972; from 1973 to 2003, the Aggies competed as an NCAA Division II program. In 2004, UC Davis promoted its football program to the Division I FCS (then I-AA) level and joined the Great West Conference (then known as the Great West Football Conference) after one season as an independent team with exploratory status. After their provisional seasons and the construction of a new stadium, UC Davis became a full member of Division I in 2007 and eligible for the postseason.
Throughout its history, the football program won 31 conference championships. Between 1929 and 1992, the Aggies captured 27 outright or shared Northern California Athletic Conference championships, including 20 in a row from 1971 to 1990, an American West Conference title in 1993 (co-champion), and GWFC/GWC championships in 2005 (co-champ) and 2009. The Aggies won their first football title as a Division I program in 2018 as one of the Big Sky Conference's three regular season champions.
2018 Second RoundQuarterfinals Northern IowaEastern Washington W, 23–16L, 29–34 2021 First Round South Dakota State L, 24–56 2024 Second RoundQuarterfinals Illinois StateSouth Dakota W, 42–10L, 21–35 2025 Second RoundQuarterfinals Rhode IslandIllinois State W, 47–26L, 31–42
Men's soccer
The UC Davis Men's soccer team have been Big West Conference Tournament Champions in 2019 and 2024, and have advanced to the NCAA Division I Tournament four times (2007, 2008, 2019, and 2024) in program history. The UC Davis Aggies men's soccer team have an NCAA Division I Tournament record of 1–4 through four appearances.
2007 First Round California L 1–2 2008 First RoundSecond Round DenverMichigan W 4–0L 1–2 2019 Second Round Louisville L 0–1 2024 First round San Diego L 0–1
Men's water polo
The UC Davis Aggies men's water polo team has won seven WWPA title, including back-to-back championships in 2021 and 2022. The Aggies have appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament nine times in the program's history.
1974 First Round CSU Fullerton L 4–7 1975 First Round UC Irvine L 4–19 1996 Semifinals UCLA L 6–18 1997 Semifinals Pepperdine L 8–13 2016 Quarterfinals Harvard L 15–16 2017 Quarterfinals Pacific L 12–13
Men's Tennis 2015, 2023 Big West Tri-Champions. In 2015, the Aggies earned a program-best 17 wins at the Division I level. In 2016, Alec Adamson became the first UC Davis men's tennis player to be named the Big West Player of the Year and was the first Aggie at the Division I level to earn a berth into the NCAA Singles Tournament, finishing the year ranked No. 108 in the nation according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's final poll.
Men's Track and Field
Ngoni Makusha, a 2008 Olympian, two-time track athlete of the year and former Drake assistant track and field coach, is UC Davis' men's and women's track & field head coach.
UC Davis sprinter Matthew Okonkwo captured a share of the Big West Conference Male Track Athlete of the Year in 2022. Okonkwo captured Big West individual titles in each of the 200- and 400-meter dashes at the championship meet, while helping both relay squads to top-three finishes. He had the league's fastest 400 time of the year, breaking Brian Thomas' school record with a time of 46.36 seconds at the CSUN Red & Black Invite on April 2. Okonkwo's winning 21.23 clocking in the 200 at conference currently ranks second in the Big West and fourth in school history.
School Records
Men's Golf
UC Davis men's golf has tallied 41 team wins and 53 individual victories dating back to 1993.
School Records
Men's Cross Country
UC Davis captured its first Big West Championship in 2010 when individual conference champion Jonathan Peterson led the Aggies to their historic victory.
Records
Beach Volleyball UC Davis added beach volleyball ahead of the 2019 season, joining Equestrian as the department's newest sports. The Aggies opened their historic first season with a 2–0 record and enjoyed success in their most recent campaign, posting their best start to a season (9–0) in program history.
Field Hockey UC Davis added field hockey ahead of the 2009 season, competing in the NorPac conference. The Aggies joined the American East in 2015 and remain in the conference heading into 2023. UC Davis has not posted a winning season since the program's inception, but finished just one game below .500 (8–9) in 2019.
Women's Track and Field