Davis, Calif. - When the gates of UC Davis Health Stadium opened to fans on Sept. 18 against Dixie State, it marked a milestone for more than just UC Davis Athletics.

After successfully navigating a return to competition over the previous year, the obvious next step for the department was providing that same level of normalcy and safety to the community.

And there are few things more normal on a fall day in Davis than Aggie football.

"I think it starts months, years in advance," UC Davis Athletic Director Rocko DeLuca said. "The formula is pretty simple but this year presented some big challenges to figure out how we were going to message and get things done in a safe way. I think on the heels of the pandemic, people were so excited to get together and celebrate something like a football game and that helped feed into it. But you look around the area and that wasn't the case everywhere so I think it was a lot of hard work by our external staff to message and communicate some of those pieces."

Leveraging the efforts of athletic department staff and campus clubs and partners, UC Davis Athletics was able to create a gameday environment with vaccine checkpoints and engaging promotions that would allow fans to return to public gatherings safely while feeling more a part of the action than ever.

The Davis community responded to those efforts in droves.

"I just think the campus community and the community at large really did a nice job sort of rallying around the return of live sports in the fall and we're hoping that continues into this winter," DeLuca added.

Despite not being able to host large scale events for a full year and not allowing more than 10,000 fans in the gates until the second home game on Oct. 2, UC Davis' entire season attendance net 11,000 more fans than 2019. The Causeway Classic on Nov. 20 saw a stadium record for attendance and average attendance over five home games surpassed 10,000 spectators.

All of that turnout translated to a 29 percent increase in revenue over the 2019 season, including two record-setting single game revenue marks in homecoming on Oct. 16 and the Causeway Classic.

It wasn't just the Davis community that were eager to get back inside UC Davis Health Stadium. 12 campus groups hosted events at games including the Cal Aggie Alumni Association, Avenue B, the College of Letters and Science, the School of Law, the Chicano Alumni Association, Supply Chain Management, the Veteran Student Center, Phi Beta Sigma, Staff Assembly, the School of Veterinary Medicine, the Davis Christian Fellowship and the College of Engineering.

Through the efforts of the athletic department and its partners doing everything from staffing vaccine checkpoints to working as members of the ball crew on the field, 161 campus and community groups were able to attend Aggie football games this fall.

Engaging and including UC Davis' student population, especially those who may be in their second year of school but first in a more recognizable college experience, was of huge importance throughout the season.

"We had two classes, the first and second years, that have never have been on campus or experienced a game as a student.That added an extra level of excitement and a little extra pressure on our department to deliver an elevated game day

The popular Running of the First Years event was expanded to include a Running of the Second Years at the home opener on Sept. 18, giving those students on campus or around their peers for the first time a chance to be involved. That was followed by the Running of the First Years on Oct. 2 and between the two events, UC Davis Athletics gave away 5,000 free t-shirts. UC Davis Athletics also hosted a senior sprint at the home finale on Nov. 20 when seniors were given the chance to sprint on to the field with the team prior to the game.

Students were again the focus for the department during Oct. 16's homecoming game against Northern Colorado, appropriately titled the "I Heart Free Stuff" game, with giveaways created exclusively for students. Among the prizes given away that day were 100 Coffee House gift cards, 200 In-N-Out meal cards, 500 water bottles and 600 t-shirts. At the Causeway Classic on Nov. 20, following each quarter a $100, $200, $300 and finally a $400 Visa giftcard were raffled off to lucky students. 

Of course, few promotions could compete with Pint Bobblehead Day on Nov. 13 against Eastern Washington, the last game of UC Davis' kick off tee retrieving assistant's career before his retirement. Pint wasn't the only canine to take the field at UC Davis Health Stadium this season though. UC Davis hosted the first Doxie Derby at halftime that same game in what is planned to be an annual tradition at an Aggie football game each season.

As much as the 2021 season's focus was on providing a fun and engaging game experience for UC Davis students, it was also one with nods to Aggie football's past. Nov. 13 celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Miracle Game, when on Nov. 6, 1971, the Aggies scored 16 points in 20 seconds to upset Far Western Conference powerhouse Hayward State. The following week, former Aggie soccer player and place kicker Rolf Benirschke was honored at halftime and joined Aggie greats Ken O'Brien and Bo Eason on the Aggie Pride Wall located on the face of the press box at UC Davis Health Stadium.

Part of hosting fans again was continuing to innovate and add to the game day experience at the stadium. An on-field DJ was introduced in the 2021 season and former Aggie football wide receiver Darius Livingston worked as an on-field emcee, bringing energy and enthusiasm to breaks on the field that rivaled the games themselves. Maggie the Aggie also continued to lead the team on to the field prior to games and remains a popular stop for photos with the Aggies' unofficial mascot.

Perhaps what the 2021 season signaled most of all is that the athletic department isn't just committed to providing opportunities for the players on the field. Sports at UC Davis have always been a shared experience that brings the community together and the 2021 season was the latest example of the athletic department's commitment to making sure everyone is a part of that experience.

"I hope it reflects our commitment to doing things in a first-class manner and at the highest level we can," Shank said. "We were knocking on the door of having over capacity attendance which has never happened here before, with the highest revenue that's ever happened. We did a lot of things outside of the box in a creative way. Our goal is to continue to find ways to raise that bar, which is certainly not going to be easy so we're starting work on next year now."
 

Fans can sign up now to be part of the action in 2022. Place your football season ticket deposit of $50 today through our ticket office.