List of UC Davis Aggies head football coaches
The UC Davis Aggies college football team represents the University of California, Davis in the Big Sky Conference (Big Sky), as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 18 head coaches since it began play during the 1915 season. Since November 2023, Tim Plough has served as UC Davis' head coach.[1]
Five coaches have led UC Davis in the postseason: Ted Forbes, Jim Sochor, Bob Foster, Bob Biggs, and Dan Hawkins. Eight of those coaches also won conference championships: Sochor captured eleven; captured three; Forbes and Will Lotter captured two; and, Crip Toomey and Vern Hickey each captured one as a member of the Far Western Conference. Sochor captured seven and Foster captured three as a member of the Northern California Athletic Conference. Biggs captured one as a member of the American West Conference and two as a member of the Great West Conference. Hawkins captured one as a member of the Big Sky.
Sochor is the leader in seasons coached, with 19 years as head coach and wins with 156. Biggs is the leader in games coashed with 230. Sochor has the highest winning percentage at 0.785. Ron Gould has the lowest winning percentage at 0.267. Of the 18 different head coaches who have led the Aggies, Sochor has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Key
| General | Overall | Conference | Postseason[A 1] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Order of coaches[A 2] | GC | Games coached | CW | Conference wins | PW | Postseason wins |
| DC | Division championships | OW | Overall wins | CL | Conference losses | PL | Postseason losses |
| CC | Conference championships | OL | Overall losses | CT | Conference ties | PT | Postseason ties |
| NC | National championships | OT | Overall ties[A 3] | C% | Conference winning percentage | ||
| † | Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overall winning percentage[A 4] | ||||
Coaches
| No. | Name | Season(s) | GC | OW | OL | OT | O% | CW | CL | CT | C% | PW | PL | PT | CCs | NCs | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert E. Harmon | 1915–1916 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0.769 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 2 | Jack Glascock | 1917 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.333 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 3 | William E. Bobbitt | 1919 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0.286 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 4 | Eugene Van Gent | 1920 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0.438 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 5 | Wilmer D. Elfrink | 1921 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0.429 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 6 | Chester Brewer | 1922 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0.444 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| 7 | William L. Driver | 1923–1927 | 44 | 18 | 23 | 3 | 0.443 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0.364 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 8 | Crip Toomey | 1928–1936 | 74 | 24 | 42 | 8 | 0.378 | 14 | 20 | 5 | 0.423 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | — |
| 9 | Vern Hickey | 1937–1942 1946–1948 |
73 | 23 | 42 | 8 | 0.370 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 0.393 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | — |
| 10 | Ted Forbes | 1949–1953 1955 |
52 | 21 | 29 | 2 | 0.423 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 0.708 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 11 | Will Lotter | 1954 1956–1957 1959–1963 |
71 | 26 | 42 | 3 | 0.387 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 0.393 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 12 | Herb Schmalenberger | 1958 1964–1969 |
66 | 28 | 38 | 0 | 0.424 | 16 | 22 | 0 | 0.421 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 13 | Jim Sochor† | 1970–1988 | 202 | 156 | 41 | 5 | 0.785 | 92 | 5 | 0 | 0.948 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 0 | — |
| 14 | Bob Foster | 1989–1992 | 42 | 30 | 11 | 1 | 0.726 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 0.708 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 15 | Bob Biggs | 1993–2012 | 230 | 144 | 85 | 1 | 0.628 | 25 | 21 | 0 | 0.543 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 16 | Ron Gould | 2013–2016 | 45 | 12 | 33 | — | 0.267 | 10 | 22 | — | 0.313 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 17 | Dan Hawkins | 2017–2023 | 75 | 44 | 31 | — | 0.587 | 31 | 22 | — | 0.585 | 1 | 2 | — | 1 | 0 | — |
| 18 | Tim Plough | 2024–present | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 0 | — | – | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
Notes
- ^ Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played.[2]
- ^ A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
- ^ Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since.[3]
- ^ When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss.[4]
- ^ UC Davis has been a member of Big Sky Conference since the 2012 season.
- ^ Statistics correct as of the end of the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season.
References
- ^ McKinnell, Zach (December 1, 2023). "UC Davis officially names Tim Plough as new head coach". SI.com. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
- ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- ^ Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- ^ Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.