Aggies

UC Davis Aggies

General Information

Founded: 1910
Conference: Big West Conference
Arena: University Credit Union Center
City: Davis, California

Championships and Titles

Conference tournament championship
2 Conference regular season championships

Past Conferences:

Independent

Team History

The UC Davis Aggies are relatively new when it comes to NCAA Division I men’s basketball. This program has a long and extensive history of playing in other divisions, particularly in Division II.

The Aggies won the 1998 National Title for Division II and made 12 tournament appearances between 1967 and 2000. They also compiled 15 regular-season conference championships and four conference titles.
Bob Williams and Bob Hamilton would go down as the program’s two most successful coaches as the former holds the school record for wins (301) while the latter has the best winning percentage (67.5 percent) on top of winning the school’s only title.

After an extended period of dominance in D-II, the Aggies finally moved up to Division I at the start of the 2004-05 season under coach Gary Stewart. The team struggled at the beginning and won a total of 24 games in its first three seasons as an independent.

UC Davis moved to the Big West Conference in 2007 and it also got rolled on the NCAAB odds. Finally, with a record of 88-148, Stewart was dismissed and Jim Les was brought in from Bradley.
While the Aggies had a rough first season with him (5-26), the team turned around and became formidable by his fourth season. Corey Hawkins became a prolific scorer and led the Aggies’ team stats while others like Darius Graham and Josh Fox won All-Specialty Awards.

The Aggies won 25 games and went 14-2 in the conference during 2014-15. It fell short in the conference tournament but qualified for the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

By the 2016-17 season, the program still had plenty of top players who led the UC Davis Aggies team stats. The team went 23-13 and finally qualified for the NCAA Tournament. It won its First Four matchup but lost to the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the Round of 64.
Les still coaches the team as of the 2022-23 season and the Aggies remain a highly competitive program in the Big West.

All-Time UC Davis Aggies Records

Points Scored

Corey Hawkins: 1,694
Elijah Pepper: 1,448
Siler Schneider: 1,440

Rebounds

Joe Harden: 601
J.T. Adenrele: 573
Mark Payne: 557

Assists

Mark Payne: 448
Darius Graham: 418
Corey Hawkins: 276

FAQs

Does UC Davis play in NCAA Division I?

The UC Davis Aggies play in NCAA Division I. They have played here since 2004-05 and are relatively new. The Aggies have been playing in the Big West Conference since 2007-08.

Who is UC Davis’s rival?

UC Davis is rivals with the Sacramento State Hornets even if they do not play in the same division. They are more of rivals in football but have played each other 15 times (as of 2022-23) in men’s basketball. The Hornets lead the series 9-8.

What is a UC Davis Aggie?

The Aggie is a reference to the University of California’s agricultural reputation. Alumni of agriculturally-based schools are known as “Aggies”. The school’s official mascot is a mustang named “Gunrock.”