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DAVIS, Calif. – Dan Hawkins, the 2018 Big Sky Coach of the Year, earned additional honors on Wednesday when he was selected as this year's Eddie Robinson Award winner, presented to the FCS Coach of the Year.
 
Hawkins is UC Davis' first Eddie Robinson Award winner and the fourth national coach of the year in the Big Sky's 56-year history.
 
"We are all very proud of Coach Hawkins for this well-deserved recognition. He embraces the traditions and history of our program while also leading our team in a modern, innovative, and inspiring way that is a perfect fit for UC Davis. He's a great representative of our athletics program and university, and we're very happy for him," said Director of Athletics Kevin Blue.
 
"We have really talented players — it all starts there — a talented staff, but none of that happens, or comes together unless you have leadership that says, 'we can work together to create one of the best academic schools in the country, and we can succeed in sports.' They are not mutually exclusive from one another," said Hawkins.
 
In addition to representing the fifth-ranked public school in the nation, Aggie student-athletes are responsible for the highest Academic Progress Rate among all Big Sky football programs every season since joining the conference.
 
In just his second season as his alma mater's head coach, Hawkins took a team that won two games against Division I competition, in each of the two seasons preceding his hire, into one that recorded 10 victories and seven wins against Big Sky teams this year, both new single-season program records.
 
That success led to the Aggies winning the first Big Sky championship in program history, which led to the program's inaugural FCS postseason appearance and first-ever FCS playoff victory when it topped Northern Iowa in a second round home game.
 
Under Hawkins' tutelage, the Aggies have won 15 overall and 10 Big Sky games combined since his arrival — surpassing the total number of wins against D-I opponents since football joined the conference in 2012.
 
The 2018 campaign was a special one from the start, since it marked the Aggies' 100th season of football, but Hawkins made this a year no football fan will ever forget.
 
"These players, and this team, is the new gold standard for UC Davis football," Hawkins added.
 
What started with the program's third victory versus a FBS school, a 44-38 triumph over San José State in their season opener, continued with a six-game win streak (a new Div. I-era record) and victories in games against both league rivals. In addition to winning this year's Battle for the Golden Horseshoe by scoring 52 unanswered points at Cal Poly on Oct. 20, UC Davis also brought the Causeway Classic trophy back home with its 56-13 blowout victory vs. Sacramento State in a game that featured a last-minute change of venue.
 
It was that result against the Hornets that clinched the program's first Big Sky title, and led to the Aggies earning a No. 6 seed in this year's FCS Playoffs.  
 
Ranked as high as a No. 4 in the nation this past season to establish another new program record, UC Davis earned a spot in the FCS' top 25 poll in each of the final 11 weeks of the regular season.
 
"When you have an administration and an institution that have a passion for something, and is willing to support it, financially and philosophically, and are all rowing in the same direction, magnificent things can happen," said Hawkins.
 
Hawkins now joins a select list of national coach of the year winners from the Big Sky Conference that includes Nevada's Chris Ault (1991), Montana's Joe Glenn (2000) and Portland State's Bruce Barnum (2015).
 
A national panel of over 150 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries voted on the award following the regular season.
 
 
 
AGGIE EVO
Established during the 2017-18 academic year, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation.
 
Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
 
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley.
 
The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation, according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.