UC Davis In 2026, the Mountain West Conference will join 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 member of the Big Sky.
“The addition of UC Davis further strengthens the Mountain West’s momentum as it continues to build its brand proven to elevate institutions and student-athletes,” Commissioner Gloria Nevers said in a statement. is,” Commissioner Gloria Nevers said in a statement. “… I believe UC Davis brings many 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 for this incredible opportunity to join the Mountain West Conference and share our vision of academic and athletics excellence,” UC Davis director of athletics Rocco DeLuca said in a statement. “Our campus leadership, 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. And the resources we’ve put into supporting it. Our growth, and the success of our fall games, is a clear reflection of those efforts.”
It’s the latest move for the new-look conference, which saw five of its longtime members — Boise State, State of Colorado, Fresno State, San Diego State And Utah State — announce earlier this year that he will leave to join the Pac-12’s rebuilding efforts starting in 2026.
Moving to the FBS level in football wouldn’t be possible without additional investment — a possibility DeLuca didn’t rule out.
The Aggies earned the No. 5 seed in the FCS playoffs and will play at No. 4. South Dakota After losing the season opener on Saturday against CalDavis went 11-1 the rest of the way and finished second in the Big Sky Conference behind No. 1. Montana State.
“Our intent 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 some infrastructure and other things that some of these teams have in place to continue to get us competitive. And if we do, that’s what we’re going to do. Depends on what the future holds with FBS. Football, you never know what’s possible.”
The UC Davis men’s basketball team entered the 2017 NCAA Basketball Tournament as a No. 16 seed. Its women’s basketball team reached the NCAA Tournament in 2019, 2022 and 2023, losing in the first round on all three occasions.