Is this the final Causeway Classic for Sac State and UC Davis?
This isn’t being touted as the 71st Causeway Classic, the next must-see showdown of regional rivals, as much it is being billed as a farewell of a series that is suddenly on shaky ground.
Sacramento State and UC Davis have crashed into each other — helmets and bodies — on an annual basis since 1954, when the Hornets first started to engage in blocking and tackling. UC Davis started its football program in 1915 and has had scores of rivalries with schools across Northern California, but nothing nearly as deep and personal as taking on Sac State.
The next Causeway Classic is at 1 p.m. Saturday at UC Davis Health Stadium with a lot on the line, including the stark possibility that it is the final game of the series, or at least for a good long while. The other stakes include the winner having an excellent argument for the FCS playoff committee to advance to the 24-team FCS postseason, leaving the loser most certainly out of the running.
T-shirts for sale have circulated on the Internet that read, “The Last Causeway Classic,” with the date of the game and images of decades-old cartoon mascots rushing toward each other to clash. The Causeway over the decades has been played early in the season in the heat of August, and it has been contested late in the season, sometimes in sideways wind and rain. The game could be held in a parking lot or in a gravel pit, and it would have meaning, none more so than regional pride.
So, why would such a good thing come to an end, or at least a pause? Is it as simple as schedules not lining up, particularly if Sac State is successful in its quest to move to the higher-level FBS, which the Hornets hope starts as early as next season? Do the teams want to avoid each other?
Sac State’s public address announcer fired off a bit of opinion on this when he signed off from the Hornets’ last game, a down-to-the-wire thriller over Idaho at Hornet Stadium. In wishing everyone a safe drive home over the speakers to nearly 16,000 fans, Will Schilling announced that Sac State’s next game would be against a team located “across the Causeway that’s afraid to play us after this season.”
UC Davis coach Tim Plough this week in his weekly media session spoke as if this was the final Causeway Classic, the resignation clear in his tone.
“We know how much this game means to the community and to Davis,” he said. “Very fortunate to be in the last Causeway ever. It’s an important game, and it’ll be fun to be a part of the last one.”
Plough quarterbacked the Aggies against the Hornets in Causeway Classic games more than 20 years ago, and he’s coached in a few, too, including as an assistant coach. The second-year UC Davis coach said to not have the Causeway in the future is “a bummer.”
“This is our game, for the communities,” Plough said. “Both teams really want to win the game. That’s what college football should be all about.”
Why is Causeway Classic uncertain?
UCD Davis’ football nonconference schedule is full in 2026 and 2027, with some open nonconference dates after that, adding to the complexity of extending this series.
Had Sac State remained in the Big Sky Conference for a 30th year in 2026 and beyond instead of pulling out of one of the top leagues in the FCS in search of an FBS fit, the series would have continued. Sac State president Luke Wood has said that he expects to announce in the coming weeks if the Hornets football program has been accepted into an FBS conference or if the Hornets will play as an independent, meaning no conference affiliation.
With the Hornets no longer in the Big Sky starting in 2026, this guaranteed game is no longer guaranteed. With the Big Sky moving to a nine-game conference schedule starting next season, that leaves UC Davis with just three nonconference games as compared to the usual four.
UC Davis next fall is scheduled to play Southern Methodist University, University of San Diego and Stetson University, games that have been on the Aggies schedule for more than a year. Though Sac State has offered to pay for any breaking of a contract schedule, it’s not as simple as making a phone call or two. UC Davis is committed to its agreed-upon schedules.
“We’d love to continue the series,” said Sac State Athletic Director Mark Orr. “We’d be willing to pay for the breaking of a contract. We’re hopeful that this isn’t the final Causeway. It’s too big of a game to drop permanently.”
Voice of Bob Dunning
A man with a closer pulse to the UC Davis football program than anyone is Bob Dunning, a Davis-based journalist who has covered every Aggies football game — home and away — since 1970. A UC Davis alum and former Aggies tennis player, Dunning attended the first Causeway in 1954, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the White House and a house purchase cost about $10,000. Dunning said he “fervently hopes this tradition continues.”
“I think UCD administrators want this game to continue as well,” he told The Bee. “The one big question is where the Sac State program is headed. UCD is staying put in the FCS for the time being. The Hornets want very much to go to the FBS as soon as possible. FBS teams simply don’t play games at the home of FCS schools. FBS teams also give large guarantees to FCS schools (in the form of a six-figure check).
“Davis certainly doesn’t want to give up a home game in this series every other year. I remember when the game was supposedly moved ‘annually’ to Hughes Stadium (in Sacramento) a long while ago, and it was quickly moved back to a home-and-home venues because Davis folks don’t travel well. Hard to ride a bicycle across the Causeway.”
Dunning added, peering into a hopeful crystal ball, “I think it will be back in 2027, but only if it’s a home-and-home, no matter what division the schools compete in.”
UC Davis Athletic Director’s take
UC Davis Athletic Director Rocko DeLuca told The Bee in a text message that anything is possible with the Causeway.
“With Sacramento State’s departure from the Big Sky, we’ve had to re-evaluate the Causeway Classic as part of our future nonconference scheduling,” DeLuca said. “Given the ongoing conversations about their FBS aspirations and the level of investment being reported, as we learn more information, we will be able to make a more informed decision about whether and when to continue the rivalry.”
DeLuca added, “We have a full slate of FBS opponents scheduled over the next four years, and once we have clarity on Sacramento State’s trajectory, we’ll determine whether and when the (Causeway) matchup fits into our nonconference plans. We respect the history and tradition of the rivalry, but we also don’t believe we need to be reactive to decisions they’ve made in the best interest of their program. Our responsibility is to do what’s best for UC Davis athletics, and we’ll continue to approach our scheduling with that in mind.”
‘You should keep regional rivalries’
Plough, the UC Davis coach, understands the nature of the “guarantee game,” including playing at the Washington Huskies early this season, a game in which the Aggies lost but took home a check for more than $600,000 to help fund all UC Davis athletics for making the trip to Seattle.
Could Sac State and UC Davis continue the Causeway if the Hornets do land in the FBS?
“I don’t see it happening,” Plough said. “I’d love to keep playing the game. If (Sac State does) go to the FBS, they’ve got to be willing to compensate us like other FBS schools do, or they’d have to play us here once in a while, and FBS teams don’t (travel to FCS schools).”
After practice on Wednesday, first-year Sac State coach Brennan Marion said he is disappointed at the idea that this is the final Causeway.
“It’s the landscape of college football, if you look across the country, and you see rivalry games end because of conference realignment and things like that,” Marion said. “It’s unfortunate. The tradition of college football has been on for 150 years. It’s unfortunate for the fans, just for the regional implications of the game.”
Asked if he’d like the series to continue, Marion said, “Absolutely. It’s right down the road. It’s something that’s big for the area, for local businesses, families, to have something to brag about and talk about throughout the year, the back and forth. You should always keep those regional rivalries.”
This story was originally published November 20, 2025 at 1:43 PM.