Coaches: at home on the field and in the classroom
It's no secret that most coaches also consider themselves teachers, helping their athletes improve skills for the betterment of the team. But UC Davis coaches take that a step further by not only teaching while on the fields of competition but also by teaching off them, delivering hundreds of classes to the general student body. The philosophy of coaches as teachers has been a tenet of UC Davis for several decades and is so entrenched in the academic community that it was specifically mentioned as a core principle to be maintained during the university's future life as an NCAA Division I institution. The philosophy will also help make UC Davis a rarity among Division I programs, whose coaches generally focus solely on their teams. At UC Davis, all full-time coaches--whether head coaches or assistants-- also have teaching assignments that place them either behind a podium in a classroom or outside at a variety of venues, teaching everything from rock climbing to fly casting to badminton.

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Athletes: Chasing the right dream
For many young and talented football players, the dream is quite simple: be recruited to play for a major college, get noticed by professional scouts along the way, end up as an NFL draft pick and then enjoy all the fruits of a career many aspire to but few attain.

For senior Elliot Vallejo, a 6-foot-7, 315-pound offensive tackle at UC Davis, that was the dream painted for him as a highly recruited player at Palma High School in Salinas. There was only one problem.

"I don't know if that was my dream or everyone else's dream," he said.

Turns out Vallejo really preferred following the footsteps of his father, Louis, who is an engineer, and he knew college was a means to that end. He had his priorities ready for the recruiters.

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