April 10, 2003
2003 UC Davis Football Schedule
DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis will open its first football season as an NCAA Division I-AA provisional member with a 10-game schedule for 2003 which includes six home games - featuring the Sep. 6 opener against defending Division II champion Grand Valley State (Mich.) - it was announced on Thursday.
UC Davis announced last month its intention to reclassify its intercollegiate athletics program from Division II to Division I status. The 2003 season marks the first of four years for the Aggies as a I-AA provisional member before full I-AA status begins in 2007.
The upcoming schedule features four I-AA programs with road games at Southwest Texas State (Sep. 20), Sacramento State (Oct. 4) and Saint Mary's (Nov. 1), and a home date with Cal Poly (Nov. 8). Additionally, Northern Colorado (Nov. 22) - like UC Davis - has announced it will begin competition as a Div. I-AA provisional member in 2003 and will visit Toomey Field in the Aggies' season finale.
Grand Valley State, which has appeared in the NCAA Championship the last two seasons, won the 2002 title last December with a 31-24 win over Valdosta State (Ga.), and will make its first trip to Toomey Field since 1997 when the Aggies scored a 21-19 win. The Lakers won last year's meeting in Allendale, Mich., by a score of 24-17 in the season-opener for both teams.
UC Davis opens the season with Grand Valley State before three straight road games at North Dakota State (Sep. 13), Southwest Texas State and Sacramento State, the latter marking the 50th renewal of the Causeway Classic. Home matchups against Division II members Western Oregon (Oct. 11) and Western Washington (Oct. 18) lead into the final road game at Saint Mary's. The Aggies will then conclude the season with three straight games at Toomey Field against Cal Poly, Central Washington (Nov. 15) and Northern Colorado.
The schedule features byes on Sep. 27 and Oct. 25 with the annual homecoming game scheduled for the matchup against Western Washington.
UC Davis has posted 33 consecutive winning seasons. The Aggies will ineligible for postseason competition as a Div. I-AA provisional member. UC Davis finished the 2002 season with a 9-3 overall record, advancing to the NCAA Playoffs for the seventh straight year.
