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Inside Aggie Nation
By: Bruce Gallaudet

It has been a whirlwind week for UC Davis football coach Dan Hawkins ... and the supporters of his emerging Aggie program.

First, on Wednesday, Feb. 6, friends, family, contributors and well-wishers gathered at El Macero Country Club to hear about the 15-member incoming recruiting class.

Then the following day, Hawkins greeted a gathering of former Aggies from the Bay Area while drawing very special attention from one well-placed UC Davis graduate.

With a constant flow of former teammates, students and pals attending Thursday's reception, Hawkins and UC Davis were greeted with a ringing endorsement and edict from the occupant of Room 200 at San Francisco City Hall.

The document started:

"Whereas, the City and County of San Francisco recognizes the tenacity, dedication, drive and tremendous teamwork of the UC Davis Aggies football team on the occasion of their 2018 record-breaking season …"

After praising its recent 10-3 campaign, the Big Sky Conference title and Hawkins, who was named the Football Championship Subdivision Coach of the Year, the proclamation concludes:

"Therefore be it resolved, that I, London Breed, Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco, in recognition of the UC Davis Aggies football team and their tremendous (victories), do hereby proclaim February 7, 2019, as UC Davis Aggies Football Day in San Francisco!"

In and of itself, that resolution is pretty cool. But knowing that Her Honor is a 1997 UC Davis graduate — and that Breed herself handed the proclamation to Hawkins at a reception at the new incarnation of Lefty O'Doul's Cafe at Fisherman's Wharf — made this a head-turning moment for Aggie Nation.

Hawkins' appearance in The City is part of an ad hoc whistle-stop tour, orchestrated by Assistant Athletics Director of Development Rob Norris with a huge helping hand from SFPD veteran Joseph Engler, a three-year Aggie player (1986-88) who toiled under then-assistant coach Hawkins on the freshman squad. Engler is a 26-year veteran of The City's police force — now standing tall as a captain in the ranks.

It was Engler, keeping in touch with his former teammates, who immediately helped UC Davis Director of Athletics Kevin Blue organize a meaningful Bay Area gathering of alumni just after Hawkins was named Aggie coach in late 2016.

"There were so many life lessons one learned at UC Davis," Engler explains. "Both on and off the field. Look around. These guys are all successful."

UC Davis staff members, Aggie football players, the mayor and the coach posed for plenty of photographs in Lefty O'Doul's spacious back room. Hawkins and Breed chatted for what seemed like a half-hour as folks ducked in and out of a line of former Ags hoping to pat Hawkins on the back and shake the mayor's hand.

Hawkins, at both of this week's events, made sure he had time for everybody. He thanked the fans and donors. He promised that, given his student-athletes who have "a global perspective," Aggie football success at the FCS level and beyond is here to stay.

Engler told me that the Thursday reception "was sort of Part 2 of that first get-together right after Hawkins was hired." Almost immediately after Blue convinced Hawkins to "come home," Engler was instrumental in organizing that gathering of 70-75 alums at S.F.'s Original Joe's restaurant.

On this occasion, Norris said it was Engler who reached out to the mayor for the proclamation, at the same time inviting her to the party. Engler didn't have to ask twice…

"It means a lot being here," Breed told me. "When (you went) to Davis, it's what you did — go to the games. It was a real college game … a big deal. To be able to enjoy that at a college campus, coming from San Francisco, was a big deal for me.

"I came from Galileo High School — one of the best high schools in San Francisco. The time I was at Galileo, we went undefeated for three years in a row. And the San Francisco 49ers? We won Super Bowls."

The mayor knows good football went she sees it.

Breed said going from the big city to a small town was a "culture shift," but "it was really kind of cool, the friends and relationships that were developed. It all came together (for me) because of sports: Everything was about going to the game or hanging out after the game … enjoying the game."

I asked Her Honor if she would lose her Cal- or Stanford-educated constituency because of the UC Davis Football Day declaration…

"No. No. You know what, I'd do it all over again. They'll just have to get in line."

Norris told me Hawkins will meet with alumni, fans and benefactors throughout California as the coach is expected to be the center of attention in Los Angeles, San Diego and maybe even Sacramento on upcoming "tour" dates.

Given the turnouts at this week's football events — and the admiration and congratulations that Hawkins and Blue are receiving for doing athletics the right way — that Aggie Blue-and-Gold territory is spreading on the map.

On Wednesday, longtime UC Davis broadcast football analyst Doug Kelly weighed in on the Hawkins Era:

"There's a camaraderie that I hadn't seen for awhile," the veteran media man told me. "(Hawkins) can really coach. That, to me, was the biggest difference. He put together a staff of great teachers. We had a lot of the same players (from a couple of seasons back), but they all performed at a higher level with Dan. 

"It's fantastic. I've been in this game a long time — 40-plus years — and this was one of the most fun seasons I've ever experienced."

Oh, and there's one more Bay Area proclamation that Hawkins and Company would like to have this year: UC Davis Football Day in Berkeley, the resolution etched across the scoreboard in Strawberry Canyon when the Aggies open the 2019 season at California on Aug. 31.
 

— Feature writer Bruce Gallaudet is the former sports and managing editor of The Davis Enterprise. For more than 40 years he has reported on all things athletics in the local community. He can be reached at bgallaudet41@gmail.com. Also, read his "Aggie Corner" at davisenterprise.com

 
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.