Mike Bellotti, a former UC Davis wide receiver turned legendary coach, will become the seventh recipient of the Aggie Legacy Award, as announced by director of athletics Kevin Blue. Bellotti will receive his award on Friday, October 12, as part of the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.
Best known to Aggie grid fans for his contributions in the 1972 "Miracle Game" win over Cal State Hayward, Bellotti went on to an illustrious coaching career, mostly at the University of Oregon. From 1995-2008, he guided the Ducks to 116 total wins, including six in Bowl Games: Las Vegas (1997), Sun (1999, 2007), Holiday (2000, 2008) and Fiesta (2001). That 2001 Fiesta Bowl capped a season in which Oregon finished No. 2 in the final coaches' and Associated Press polls.
Bellotti later served briefly as UO's athletics director, then left for a career as an analyst for ESPN/ABC. In 2014, he entered the College Football Hall of Fame, making him the second UC Davis alumnus to earn such enshrinement.
Update: if you wish to attend this event, please contact Kara Heckler at kaheckler@ucdavis.edu.
The Aggie Legacy Award honors former student-athletes for their post-UC Davis athletics achievements. Previous winners are football coach Chris Petersen (2011), Ironman triathlete Dave Scott (2012), football player and philanthropist Rolf Benirschke (2013), water polo coach Dante Dettamanti (2014), football coach Paul Hackett (2016) and mixed martial arts champion Urijah Faber (2017).
Bellotti will receive his award as part of the CAAHOF Inductions & Awards Ceremony, during which water polo player Mike DeJong, football player Charley Enos, track & field thrower Ashley Hearn, baseball player Jason Shapiro, volleyball player Betsy Sedlak and athletics director Greg Warzecka will officially enter the Hall of Fame. For information on attending the ceremony, visit http://www.teamaggie.com/events/.
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