Changes afoot as UC Davis opens fall football camp next week

Sac State to leave Big Sky, but conference adds Utah Tech, Southern Utah

With changes still rocking the college football landscape, UC Davis will open its "fall" camp July 23 in anticipation of the season opener August 23 against Mercer in the FCS Kickoff Classic in Montgomery, Alabama.

With the official start of fall over two months away, you may have thought it was still summer, but the college football calendar for 2025 is providing the Aggies with the earliest regular-season start in school history.

Being invited to the game in Montgomery, to be nationally televised by ESPN in prime time (4 p.m. PDT), is an honor to be sure, matching two playoff teams from the 2024 season in what has become known as "Week Zero" on the college football calendar.

The Aggies and Bears had similar experiences in 2024, both going 11-3 overall, then winning their first playoff game before losing in the quarterfinal round. Both were 7-1 in their respective conferences, with Mercer winning the Southern Conference championship, while the Aggies finished second to Montana State in the Big Sky.

UCD beat Illinois State, 42-10, in the playoffs before falling to South Dakota, 35-21.

Mercer defeated Rhode Island, 17-10, then lost to eventual national champion North Dakota State, 31-7.

Both schools have a number of holes to fill as they hope to stay near the top of the FCS ladder nationally.

"We really like the matchup," noted UC Davis Athletic Director Rocko DeLuca.

"Both were playoff teams and both will have a lot of new faces and it's a great way to start the season."

The Aggies have an odd and interesting start to the season, with their first three games on the road, followed by a bye, before coming home for the first time September 20 against Southern Utah.

The good news is UC Davis' late academic start for Fall Quarter, Sept. 22, coincides with the first home game, which means a large student crowd is likely.

UCD will play four games - one third of its regular-season schedule - before classes start.

The 2025 season marks the last year of relative calm before the college athletics landscape is rocked again, with UC Davis in the midst of the shaking.

Come 2026, UCD athletics moves to the Mountain West Conference for most sports, but will remain in the Big Sky for football at the FCS level while other MWC schools play football at the FBS level.

One day, perhaps soon, UC Davis may join them on the gridiron, but there is no timeline for such a move.

Sacramento State recently announced that it was pulling out of the Big Sky Conference in all sports and moving up to the FBS level as a football independent after being unable to land a bid from an FBS conference.

The NCAA, however, has turned thumbs down on Sac State's move without a conference invitation, which leaves the Hornets in football limbo.

The Hornets further announced that for most sports other than football they would be joining the Big West Conference.

The irony here is that the magic date for all those moves is July 1, 2026, which means the Aggies will be exiting the Big West on the same day Sac State is joining the Big West.

You can't make this stuff up.

Partially in response to Sac State's departure, the Big Sky has announced the addition of two new members in Southern Utah and Utah Tech, who will join on July 1, 2026, bringing the conference to 13 schools.

The NCAA has also declared that FCS schools will now regularly be able to play a 12-game regular-season schedule, just like the FBS.

As a result, Big Sky schools will play a nine-game conference schedule, instead of eight, beginning in 2026.

Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com