DAVIS, Calif.  — For the 12th consecutive season, and in the final year of its awarding, the Causeway Cup returns to UC Davis, marking the Aggies' 16th title in the award's 20-year history.

Following Tuesday's baseball game at Dobbins Stadium, all competition between the Aggies and Hornets for the 2025-26 season has concluded, with UC Davis taking home 52.5 of 85 possible points.

The Cup-clinching result came Feb. 24, when women's golf placed second at the Causeway Invitational in Sacramento, finishing ahead of Sacramento State.

While the rivalry dates back decades, the two programs formalized the competition ahead of the 2004-05 season, introducing the Causeway Cup as an annual measure of head-to-head success across sports.

The Aggies have produced sustained success across multiple programs, highlighted by beach volleyball's 18-match winning streak from 2019 through 2026 and a dominant stretch from men's soccer, which won eight straight meetings from 2017-22 and 10 of the last 11 overall.

On the basketball court, both programs have delivered memorable moments. Since 2004, the women's basketball team has dominated the series, winning 16 of 22 matchups. On the men's side, close games have been the norm, with 16 contests decided by 10 points or fewer. In a marquee matchup on Nov. 14, in front of a University Credit Union Center crowd of nearly 4,000, UC Davis earned a 77-73 victory.

Perhaps no sport better embodies UC Davis' dominance in the Causeway Cup era than football. Since the Cup's inception in 2004-05, the Aggies have posted a 13-7 record against Sacramento State in the Causeway Classic, including key wins that helped propel UC Davis to some of the most successful seasons in program history. From conference title runs to deep postseason appearances, the rivalry has consistently carried weight beyond bragging rights.

"I feel fortunate to have been part of a program that played in and won the final Causeway Classic," head football coach Tim Plough says. "I'm sad to have the rivalry between the Aggies and Hornets end. Looking back over my career both playing and coaching, I have been a part of some great, high stakes games on both sides of the causeway. The rivalry brought our communities together in the spirit of competition that everyone felt a part of. Last year's victory was an important game to solidify our top 8 playoff seed and to lock that in with a historic win keeping the Causeway trophy forever in Davis made it extra special ."

"When you think about the Causeway Cup, it's really been more than two decades of competition and memorable moments between UC Davis and Sacramento State," said UC Davis Director of Athletics Rocko DeLuca. "There's always been a different level of intensity anytime the Aggies and Hornets compete, and our student-athletes, coaches, alumni and fans embraced that every year."

"As college athletics continues to evolve and our conference structures change, this feels like the right time to step back and reassess what this rivalry looks like moving forward. I also think, with the sustained success UC Davis has had in the Causeway Cup over time, some of the broader interest and energy around the overall standings naturally changed."

"We're proud of what our programs accomplished during the Causeway Cup era and appreciative of everyone who helped make it an important part of the Northern California college athletics landscape."

Click here for complete Causeway Cup history

ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS:

UC Davis, ranked No. 2 among public universities by the Wall Street Journal in the value of a college degree, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked top in the United States in agriculture and forestry as well as No. 1 in veterinary medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27. 

For more information, visit https://ucdavisaggies.com/.