Laying claim to the lake: UC Davis athletes will sport Tahoe-themed uniforms

CBS News

5 hours ago

DAVIS -- UC Davis recently unveiled its new "bold aqua" alternative athletics jerseys to be launched this fall, making a splash in the local sports world.
The iconic outline of Lake Tahoe adorns the uniforms and gear to be worn by nine major UC Davis sports once or twice a season: football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's and women's soccer, volleyball and gymnastics.
UC Davis
"It's definitely a fun thing our fans can get into, our student-athletes and coaches love it. Something different, to shake things up a little bit," said Danielle Shank, UC Davis' Associate Athletics Director for External Relations.
It's all in good fun for UC Davis, now laying claim to the lake that's about 130 miles away from campus.
It's a two-hour drive, it's not too far!" said Shank.
This stemmed from a new Adidas brand deal and multi-year extension with BSN Sports, where, for the first time, the athletics department had funding to launch alternative jerseys for their sports teams.
In dreaming up an idea, the department wanted something that would highlight their world-class academics and make a wave.
Some college sports fans closer to Tahoe are playfully calling foul.
The University of Nevada at Reno sits just 40 miles down the road from the lake.
The sentiment across the state line is -- why didn't the Wolf Pack think of that?
"I think from a fan perspective, there's FOMO, fear of missing out, on such a cool idea being taken by UC Davis rather than by Nevada," said Chris Murray, a columnist for Nevada Sports Net.
Murray says there might be a little jealousy bubbling up as UC Davis claims Tahoe.
"If you think of any official recruiting trip that Nevada hosts a prospect on, one of the must-have places they take them is Lake Tahoe. It's a big selling point if you're a University of Nevada coach," said Murray.
The reaction that flooded social media after the uniform announcement was split.
Some in support of the uniforms commented on the Instagram announcement, calling them "clean drip" and asking the school to "sell the merch."
Others on an X post called the branding a "big stretch" and several pointed out Davis isn't exactly close to Tahoe.
But if you ask UC Davis, Lake Tahoe is fair game.
UC Davis
"We do have a research center there. We want to draw more attention to that," said Shank. "UC Davis is a humble University. I don't think the nation knows how much great research we are doing and that we are a top 5 public institution for research."
UC Davis is leaning into its year-round research on the lake through the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, based in Tahoe City and Incline Village, which studies the lake and produces the annual Lake Tahoe clarity report, released Monday.
It comes in good timing. There's a budding rivalry from Davis to Reno.
"Athletics likes to be competitive and we are joining the Mountain West, so we will be playing Nevada Reno all the time. It's fun to stir up some of that," said Shank.
In 2026, all of UC Davis' major sports except for football will join the University of Nevada in the Mountain West Conference.
"These two schools will be in the same conference pretty soon. They're gonna be recruiting some of the same athletes in the Sacramento Valley, Bay Area, northern Nevada. There's gonna be competition there," said Murray.
UC Davis says the partnership will extend beyond the kits on the field as student-athletes with science-based majors will get chances to visit the Tahoe facilities for on-site learning and team retreats.
Merchandise sporting the new logo will be available for purchase at the Aggie Sideline Store online starting this summer.