UC Davis sports will jump to Mountain West Conference, except football. Here’s when and why
The UC Davis athletics department is making a move to a new conference.
The Aggies announced Tuesday the university accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West in all sports except for football, leaving the Big West Conference behind starting July 1, 2026. UC Davis football already plays in a different conference from the school’s other programs, competing in the Big Sky Conference.
“We are thrilled to join the Mountain West Conference, and we look forward to an incredible experience for our student-athletes and for our fans,” UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May said in a news release. “Our transition to the highly regarded conference will introduce our Aggie community to a broader audience, in major metropolitan areas and through increased media coverage. It also provides us with an opportunity to align with universities that share similar academic strengths while also expanding our competitive presence in the Western United States.”
UC Davis said the move, first reported Tuesday afternoon by Yahoo! Sports, strategically elevates its athletic programs to a higher level of Division I and is reflective of the school’s “level of investment and ambition unique to UC Davis.”
The school said additional costs to support the transition such as travel and staffing will be primarily offset by increased revenues from ticket sales, donations, multimedia rights and revenue distributions from the Mountain West.
It will take three to four years before revenues are expected to reach projected levels, and the school does not plan to use existing institutional funds to support the move.
The jump comes months after the Mountain West learned it would be losing five teams to the new-look Pac-12 Conference. The Pac-12 had been looking to add schools to remain alive after it nearly dissolved over the past year when 10 schools left, including USC, Oregon, Washington, UCLA, Cal and Stanford.
Pac-12, in turn, set its focus on teams from the Mountain West. Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State are all making the jump to the Pac-12 where they’ll join Oregon State and Washington State as they try to reconstruct the conference.
Those dominoes forced the Mountain West to add teams in a scramble to maintain eight full-time programs to continue with the NCAA as an FBS conference. Those efforts included adding the University of Texas El Paso, making Hawaii a full-time member — and now, adding UC Davis.
Seven Mountain West schools signed a memorandum in September to stay in the league: Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Wyoming and Hawaii.
“Adding UC Davis further strengthens the trajectory of the Mountain West as it continues to build its brand that has proven to elevate institutions and student-athletes,” said Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez in the news release. “Chancellor Gary S. May and Director of Athletics Rocko Deluca have shared their strategic plan and financial vision for enhancing student-athlete development, welfare, and competitive excellence, and I believe UC Davis brings a wealth of positives in the continuing growth of the Mountain West.”
The UC Davis football program will remain in the Football Championship Subdivision, the second-tier of college football formally known as Division I-AA, and stay in the Big Sky. The team went 10-2 during the regular season to earn the No. 5 seed in the FCS playoffs. On Saturday, they beat Illinois State to advance to the quarterfinals and will play South Dakota State this weekend.
Additionally, men’s and women’s water polo and beach volleyball will look to stay in the Big West through affiliate membership but are prepared to explore other options, the school said. Nor will there be changes to the membership agreements for the equestrian, field hockey and lacrosse programs.
