TheUC Davis Aggiescollege football team represents theUniversity of California, Davis in theBig Sky Conference (Big Sky), as part of theNCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The program has had 18 head coaches since it began play during the1915 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, andDan Hawkins. Eight of those coaches also wonconference championships: Sochor captured eleven; captured three; Forbes andWill Lotter captured two; and,Crip Toomey andVern Hickey each captured one as a member of the Far Western Conference. Sochor captured seven and Foster captured three as a member of theNorthern California Athletic Conference. Biggs captured one as a member of theAmerican West Conference and two as a member of theGreat 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 coached with 230. Sochor has the highest winning percentage at .785.Ron Gould has the lowest winning percentage at .267. Of the 18 different head coaches who have led the Aggies, Sochor has been inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame.
| 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 theCollege Football Hall of Fame | O% | Overallwinning percentage[A 4] | ||||
| 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 | 14 | 11 | 3 | — | 0.786 | 7 | 1 | — | 0.875 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — |