LA JOLLA, Calif. – A new era is here! UC San Diego has begun its transition to NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference. As part of the move to Division I, UCSDtritons.com introduces our fans to the Big West and the other 10 members - our new conference foes.

Today on our new rival series, we highlight UC Davis. Get to know all about the Aggies below.  

School: University of California, Davis
Nickname(s): UC Davis, The Aggies
Location: Davis, California
Founded: 1905 (agriculture branch), 1959 (own entity)
Undergrad Enrollment: 30,872
Joined Big West: 2007, California Collegiate Athletic Association (1998-2004)
Mascot: Gunrock the Mustang - In 1921, a Thoroughbred racehorse named Gun Rock was brought to UC Davis by the US Army for the purpose of breeding high quality horse stock for both military and civilian use. The students chose a mustang to represent the mascot first and the name Gunrock followed after, explaining the disconnect between the breed of the horse and origin of the name. 
Website: University | Athletics
Social: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Tickets: Link | 530-752-2471
 
Last NCAA Title(s):

• Division I: 2007 – Derek Moore, men's wrestling
• Division II: 2003 (2) – softball, women's rowing 

Did You Know?

• UC Davis is among the top universities in the world for its Viticulture and Enology program, which is the study of grape growing and wine making.
• UC Davis is the largest UC Campus, spread out across 5,300 acres of land and ranked 10th among all colleges and universities.
• Students have the opportunity to buy meat from an on-campus slaughterhouse known as the UC Davis Meat Lab.
• The UC Davis campus is located on the land of the indigenous Patwin people.
• UC Davis was originally founded as the agricultural branch of UC Berkeley and later became its own separate entity in 1959. 

Notable Alumni:
Athletics Related

• Daniel Descalso – MLB player (Chicago Cubs)
• Urijah Faber – UFC Hall of Fame, mixed martial artist
• Ken O'Brien – NFL player (New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles), All-Pro QB
• Chris Petersen – former NCAA football head coach
• Mike Bellotti – former NCAAA football head coach, commentator for ESPN & ABC
• Kim Conley – Olympic runner (2012, 2016)
• Quincy Amarikwa – MLS player (D.C. United)
• Paul Hackett – former NCAA & NFL coach

Other

• London Breed – Mayor of San Francisco
• John S. Watson – CEO of Chevron
• Darrell Steinberg – Mayor of Sacramento
• Stephen Robinson – NASA astronaut
• Tani Cantil-Sakauye – 28^th chief justice of California
• Anna Escobedo Cabral – 42^nd US Treasurer
• Hasan Minhaj – formerly of the Daily Show, host of Patriot Act (Netflix)

 
Triton Connections:

• Eric Steidlmayer (UC San Diego '96) – former UC San Diego player/coach, current UC Davis men's tennis head coach
• Mike Kuoppamaki (UC Davis '98) – former UC Davis decathlete, current UC San Diego assistant/pole vault coach
• Erin Thorpe (UC San Diego '00) – former UC San Diego softball player, current UC Davis softball head coach
• Cristina Byrne – former UC Davis softball assistant coach (2015-16), current UC San Diego softball assistant coach/recruiting coordinator 

Men's water polo (51-24), men's soccer (3-1-1), women's soccer (6-3-3), as well as women's volleyball (11-6) each hold all-time winning records against the Aggies. Baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's volleyball and men's and women's basketball have also competed against UC Davis throughout Triton history.
 
Distance from UC San Diego: 505 miles (click for details)
 

Be sure to check UCSDtritons.com on Friday to learn more about UC Irvine.

Stay tuned for the rest of the series on the respective dates listed here:

Meet Our New Rivals Series
Big West
Cal Poly 
Cal State Bakersfield
Cal State Fullerton
CSUN
Long Beach State
UC Davis
UC Irvine 
UC Riverside 
UC Santa Barbara
Hawai'i

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program begins a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I.  The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide more than 1,300 scholar-athletes to All-America honors.  A total of 82 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships.  UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.