Jim Les had a zinger at the ready for a phone call with a Hawaii-based reporter.

“Couldn’t get rid of us, could you?” the UC Davis men’s basketball coach said.

UC Davis will follow its Big West rival UH into the Mountain West Conference in 2026, albeit as a non-football member, the MWC announced on Tuesday.


What You Need To Know

  • The Mountain West announced Tuesday that UC Davis will join the conference as a non-football member in 2026, raising its membership to 10 overall, including the University of Hawaii

  • UC Davis' athletics staff celebrated the move, men's basketball coach Jim Les told Spectrum News, though he added that the Big West will be missed 

  • UCD competes in the Big Sky Conference in football and is in the FCS quarterfinals with no plans to move up to FBS

  • Les said UCD is aware it will need to increase investment in athletics and receive more outside support to be competitive in its future conference home

The addition of the Aggies brings the MWC up to 10 overall members and eight football members as it girds itself for the loss of five schools to Pac-12 defection heading into the 2026-27 athletic year.

UCD held an athletics all-staff meeting on Tuesday, Les told Spectrum News, where it felt as an absolute win for a Northern California program that transitioned from Division II to Division I in the mid-2000s.

Les said many of those same UCD Athletics employees who were there for that four-year process remain in the department today.

“Everybody's got to kind of puff out their chest and take some pride in this, because it doesn't happen without any of those people in that room, from the ticket office to SIDs to marketing to gameday staff,” said Les, a former NBA guard who is in his 14th year leading Davis hoops. “You can go on down the line, our medical people, it's across the board. And I think everybody felt good, because this is recognition for all their time and effort.”

Les said conversations progressed over the course of a few months. The Mountain West secured UTEP as a full member on Oct. 1, Hawaii as a full member on Oct. 15 and Grand Canyon as a non-football member on Nov. 1.

Although Davis, an elite academic institution, is the most geographically isolated school in the Big West besides Hawaii, the university did not leave the Big West for the sake of leaving it, Les said.

“The Big West has been an awesome home for us,” he said. “I'm going to miss that league. It's certainly propelled not only just basketball, but all of our sports into this position to put us and to give us this opportunity.”

In a short statement, the Big West offered an acknowledgment of Davis' 27 championships across 19 sports in its tenure since 2007.

As was the case for UH at the time of its Mountain West announcement, there was internal awareness by UCD that greater resources would have to be directed toward athletics — and received from donors for NIL, scholarships, cost-of-attendance stipends and other purposes — in its new conference in order to be competitive, Les said.

“They don't make decisions without doing their due diligence of what makes sense for the university,” Les said of Davis’ leadership. “And we've never going to put any department across this campus in a position where they can't compete and pursue excellence, and they've crunched the numbers and feel strongly that we can do it, and now it's going to take a village.”

The MWC will also involve significant increase in travel for Davis compared to its usual one-hour flights south for most of its Big West competition. The Mountain West’s current footprint includes places like El Paso, Texas, Colorado Springs, Colo., Laramie, Wyo. and Albuquerque, N.M.

Les joked that teams should have to stop by to play at Davis’ 6,000-seat University Credit Union Center only after they’ve flown out to Hawaii to play a game.

“I'll make that scheduling a request,” he said.

Aggies men’s basketball will almost certainly be treated as UCD’s flagship program in the Mountain West. UC Davis has a competitive football program at the FCS level; the Aggies are playing South Dakota in the FCS quarterfinals this weekend. But there are no immediate plans to elevate to the FBS.

The Aggies have been largely competitive in hoops in their tenure in the Big West.

UCD’s men’s basketball won the Big West regular season in 2015 and 2018 and the Big West tournament championship in 2017. They reached 20 wins and placed third in 2023-24 and are off to a 2-0 start in Big West play this season.

The UCD women’s hoops team enjoyed a five-year run of regular-season championships under Jennifer Gross from 2017 through 2021. UC Davis women’s volleyball is on an upswing, having won at UH for the first time this year.

Separate from the department-wide meeting, Les commended his team for doing their part in making Tuesday a reality.

"The hard work and effort and success that they've been able to have is part and parcel to us having this opportunity and being under consideration," he said.

Les noted that in a time of rapid change in collegiate athletics, it would be unwise for any athletic department to stand pat.

“I don't think that any of us believe this is the last of the changes, whether the changes are coming from the NCAA or whether the changes are coming from league affiliations,” he said. “You know, we're still a ways away from this thing being over and done with and set.”

Statement from MWC Commissioner Gloria Nevarez:

“Adding UC Davis further strengthens the trajectory of the Mountain West as it continues to build its brand that has proven to elevate institutions and student-athletes. Chancellor Gary S. May and Director of Athletics Rocko DeLuca have shared their strategic plan and financial vision for enhancing student-athlete development, welfare, and competitive excellence, and I believe UC Davis brings a wealth of positives in the continuing growth of the Mountain West.”

Statement from UC Davis Athletic Director Rocko DeLuca:

“We are grateful to the Mountain West Conference membership for this incredible opportunity and for sharing our vision of academic and athletics excellence. Our campus leadership, students, Aggie alumni, fans, the Davis community, and the broader Sacramento region all recognize the unique spirit of UC Davis and carry Aggie Pride with them each and every day. They have invested their time, talent, and resources in supporting our growth, and the success of our fall sports is a clear reflection of those efforts. Now is the time to showcase Aggie Pride on a national stage, and the Mountain West’s brand and strategy align perfectly with our aspirations.”

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.