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Kyle Bonagura, ESPN editor
University of California, Davis in 2026, it will join the Mountain West Conference in several sports, including basketball but not football, it announced Tuesday.
The Aggies will continue to play football in the Football Championship Subdivision as an affiliate of the Big Sky.
“The addition of UC Davis further strengthens the trajectory of the Mountain West as it continues to build its brand proven to elevate institutions and student-athletes,” Commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement . “…I believe UC Davis brings a multitude of positives to the continued growth of the Mountain West.”
UC Davis will compete in all 16 Mountain West-sponsored sports and is expected to remain an affiliate member of the Big West in sports such as water polo and beach volleyball.
“We are grateful to the members of the Mountain West Conference for this incredible opportunity and for sharing our vision of academic and athletic excellence,” UC Davis Athletics Director Rocko DeLuca said in a statement. “Our campus leaders, students, Aggie alumni, fans, the Davis community and the greater Sacramento region all recognize the unique spirit of UC Davis and carry Aggie Pride with them every day They have invested their time, talent and resources to support our growth and the success of our fall sports is a clear reflection of these efforts.
This is the latest initiative of the new conference, which has seen five of its long-time members — Boise State, State of Colorado, Fresno State, San Diego State And State of Utah — announced earlier this year that they would be leaving to join the Pac-12 rebuilding effort starting in 2026.
A move to the FBS level in football wouldn’t be possible without additional investment — a possibility DeLuca hasn’t ruled out.
The Aggies earned the fifth seed in the FCS playoffs and will play at No. 4. South Dakota SATURDAY. After losing the first match of the season against CalDavis went 11-1 the rest of the way and finished in second place in the Big Sky Conference, behind No. 1 State of Montana.
“Our intention is to continue to close the gap between the Big Sky and Missouri Valley conferences,” DeLuca told ESPN. “Obviously we had a good year this year, but there’s infrastructure and other things that some of these teams have on us so that we can continue to be competitive. And if we can do that, based on that what the future holds with FBS In football, you never know what’s possible.”
The UC Davis men’s basketball team reached the NCAA basketball tournament as a No. 16 seed in 2017. Its women’s basketball team reached the NCAA tournament in 2019, 2022 and 2023, losing in the first round each time.