Tag Archives | UC Davis

Hornets and others hope to shine at Sac State Pro Day

By on March 12, 2012 in Football

Sacramento—With the NFL Draft Combine over and the NFL Draft starting April 26, teams will turn their scouting focus to Pro Days for a closer look at potential NFL prospects.

Sacramento State will hold a Pro Day at Hornet Stadium on Tuesday at 10 a.m., and will be open to the public.  A Pro Day consists of various football related workouts, as well as tests of overall athleticism.  The workouts will feature athletes from Sacramento State, UC Davis and a few other schools.

For the Hornets, the participating athletes will be defensive end Zack Nash, wide receivers Brandyn Reed and Chase Deadder and quarterback Jeff Fleming.

No other schools could be reached for confirmation on which of their athletes would be attending the Pro Day.  Sac State’s Sports Information Director Brian Berger said there will be about 20 NFL scouts in attendance.

Continue Reading →

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Sac State Morning Call: One Day Before Signing Day Edition

By on January 31, 2012 in Football, Men's basketball, Women's basketball

We’re getting ready for football signing day tomorrow.  This afternoon, we’ll tell you about our plans for covering this event. For now, here’s a few links:

Sac State’s Bracket Buster game for Feb. 18 was announced Monday and it will be San Jose State. Here’s a recent interview with their coach, George Nessman and a few players:

In Hornets basketball-related news:

* SacStateSports’ Bryan Metcalf reported on the Bracket Buster game with a little-known nugget.

* Here’s the Big Sky Bracket Buster matchups.

* San Jose Mercury-News had the the update on the best Bracket Buster game: St. Mary’s vs. Murray State.

* The SacBee’s Dave Carpenter wrote about the blowout victory over NAU in his weekly area hoops notes.

* The Big Sky Conference also announced Kenny McGowen was the men’s player of the week. No, it wasn’t Damian Lillard. Continue Reading →

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Sac State’s Wanless: TV Deal Will Save Athletics Money

By on January 19, 2012 in Football, Men's basketball

By Bill Bradley, SacStateSports.com Editor

The new Big Sky Conference TV deal with regional network Root Sports may not directly bring programming to Sacramento area, but Sac State Athletic Director Terry Wanless said that it will save the athletic department a significant amount of money.

Wanless, who is part of the league’s TV committee, told SacStateSports.com on Wednesday night that the conference’s nine schools paid $100,000 to have games televised on Altitude, their previous television partner. That came to about $11,000 a school. Now Root Sports will pay the Big Sky televise about as 30 events a year.

“If I can save the athletic department $11,000 and possibly bring in about $5,000-$10,000, then that’s a big win for us,” Wanless said. “Now that’s not huge dollars compared to some of the BCS leagues, but for us it’s about exposure and bringing the product into a bigger region.”

The five-year deal, which only covers football and men’s basketball, was announced Tuesday. It will allow Root Sports Northwest and Root Sports Rocky Mountain to televise up to 18 Big Sky football games, as many as 12 league men’s basketball games each year and the first two rounds of the men’s basketball postseason tournament.  Wanless said beyond a certain commitment to the Montana schools, the number of appearances per Big Sky school is still being negotiated as is the financial split among the Big Sky schools, which grows to 13 for football and 11 for basketball next fall. Continue Reading →

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Opinion: Big Sky Should Admit North Dakota Mistake, Let Fighting Sioux Go

By on December 17, 2011 in Football, Men's basketball, Olympic sports, Women's basketball

Ralph Engelstad Arena, UND Fighting Sioux Hockey

The Fighting Sioux logo on center ice at the Ralph Engelstad Arena has become an icon for the issues at North Dakota. Photo courtesy of Flicker.com.

COMMENTARY

By Bill Bradley, SacStateSports.com Editor

On Sunday at Hornet Gym, the North Dakota men’s basketball team will play Sacramento State in a non-conference game. If all goes as scheduled, UND will be back next season as a member of the Big Sky Conference.

UND is joining the league next season as part of a Big Sky expansion to 13 teams that includes Southern Utah and UC Davis and Cal Poly in football only. If only it were that easy.

The problem is UND’s entry to the Big Sky hasn’t gone as planned – at all. From its botched entry in the league to its continued controversy over the Fighting Sioux nickname, UND has transitioned into the Big Sky like a child going kicking and screaming.

Which is why the Big Sky Conference needs to say, “No thanks. We made a mistake. Thanks for playing. Go find another conference.” The premier league in the Football Championship Subdivision and a competitive mid-major group in basketball doesn’t need the long road trips and headaches UND will bring. Continue Reading →

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Sac State Morning Wake-Up Call: Thanksgiving Day Edition

By on November 24, 2011 in Football, Men's basketball, Olympic sports, Women's basketball

The turkey is in the oven and the Lions-Packers are on the tube. Sure it would be great to be gearing for an FCS playoff game right now, but then again Hornets fans can be thankful for two basketball teams with a lot of promise. Happy Thanksgiving to all Hornets fans and SacStateSports.com followers – and Agggies fans, too:

It’s not sports, but today’s not an ordinary day. Here’s the Hornets Girls performing at the Causeway Classic last Saturday:

In football-related news

* Later this morning SacStateSports.com’s Kyle Madson’s will have his football post-season wrapup.

* Our Oregon State Whine of the Day got really nasty: A Oregon State recruit who was at the Sac State loss picked Oregon. Read why.

* Napa Valley Register’s Marty James wrote about James Croxdale winning a team award for the Hornets. Continue Reading →

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Hornets’ Trio of Guards Keying Sac State’s Fast Start

By on November 22, 2011 in Men's basketball

COMMENTARY

By Bill Bradley, SacStateSports.com Editor

DAVIS – You can talk all you want about that various factors that are making a difference for the Sacramento State men’s basketball team this season.

But how far the Hornets go – in fact how much of a dent they will make in the Big Sky Conference this season – will depend on three players who never stepped on campus until this fall.

After four games, Joe Eberhard , Joe Estrada and Dylan Garrity are the ones to watch. A junior transfer, a junior transfer and a true freshman will determine the Hornets’ fate this season.

The three guards showed again Tuesday night that they hold the keys to the Hornets’ engine in the 69-61 comeback victory over UC Davis at the Aggies’ Pavilion.  More than anything, they are the reason Sac State is 3-1, their best start since 2003-04. Continue Reading →

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UC Davis’ Les Taking Basketball Transition In Incremental Steps

By on November 22, 2011 in Men's basketball

Bradley Mens Basketball 6

Photo courtesy of Flicker.com

By Bill Bradley, SacStateSports.com Editor

UC Davis must be déjà vu for Jim Les.

The new men’s basketball coach at UC Davis has been here before. At Bradley, he coached a mid-major team at a small university (6,100 students) with an emphasis on academics and years of mediocrity on the court.

He turned that program around, taking it to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2006. He made basketball relevant at Bradley again.

Can he do the same thing at UC Davis, another school where academics is more important than athletics but an enrollment five times that of Bradley?

“We had some hurdles when we took over at Bradley over some of the commitment and some of the facilities and we had to raise some funds. We kind of re-energized the program,” said Les, whose Aggies play host to the Sacramento State Hornets tonight at 7 p.m in The Pavilion. “That’s very similar to here. We’ve got a campus and a community to sell to recruits. I think we’ve got an unbelievable educational experience here at Davis now we want to wrap that up and tie it with a nice bow with an uptempo  style of basketball that kids are going to want to come here and play. Continue Reading →

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Photo Gallery: Causeway – UC Davis 23, Sac State 19

By on November 19, 2011 in Football
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Hornets Can’t Find Groove On Offense, Fall to Aggies 23-19 in Season Finale

By on November 19, 2011 in Football

Sacramento State quarteback Garrett Safron tries to avoid the pass rush during the Hornets' 23-19 loss to UC Davis in the Causeway Classic on Saturday. Photo by Ron Nabity. More photos at NabityPhotos.com.

By Kyle Madson, SacStateSports.com Staff Writer

Even FedEx couldn’t have helped the Hornets on Saturday.

Whether it was in the air or on the ground, Sacramento State was never able to get their offense going in a 23-19 loss to UC Davis in the 58th annual Causeway Classic.

The loss on Saturday afternoon at Hornet Stadium was a disappointing end to a disappointing season for the Hornets. The victory for the Aggies was their second in a row in the Causeway Classic, and put them ahead in the all-time series 41-18.

UC Davis (4-7) stifled the Hornets (4-7) in all facets of the game, holding them to 114 yards on the ground, and 155 yards through the air.  The Hornets had maintained an efficient passing game all season through the use of wide receiver screens and quick hitting pass plays.  Saturday night was a different story. Continue Reading →

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Despite Loss, Kicker Diniz Regains His On-Field Confidence

By on November 19, 2011 in Football

COMMENTARY

By Bill Bradley, SacStateSports.com Editor

There isn’t a lot of joy in Hornetsville Saturday night.

Sacramento State lost its second consecutive Causeway Classic to UC Davis. Its offense was often inept. And its defense was neutralized in so many ways.

One of the Hornets’ special-teams players, though, can go into the off-season with his held high. Jason Diniz, the team’s place-kicker, can know that he has redeemed himself.

“I’ve been waiting to get back out there,” said Diniz, who hasn’t talked to the media in more than a month. “It was nice for them to give me another shot.

“I know I’ve been struggling, but for them to let me go back out there felt good and for me to deliver also felt really good.” Continue Reading →

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