The Athletics Department cited gender equity, athlete support and overall long-term success as reasons for this decision
By COLINA HARVEY— sports@theaggie.org
On Jan. 9, UC Davis Athletics published a statement announcing that, effective during the 2026-27 season, the equestrian team would be demoted from a Division 1 (D1) National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) team to a club team. In the same statement, they also announced that the STUNT team will be promoted from a club sport to an NCAA varsity team.
“It is important that we regularly evaluate how we best align our resources to support student-athletes, advance gender equity, and position UC Davis Athletics for long-term success,” the statement, written by UC Davis Athletic Director Rocko DeLuca, reads. “Our student-athletes across the board […] are dedicated, talented, and driven. They represent UC Davis with tremendous pride and excellence.”
The announcement also noted that, before making the change, the school hired a third-party consulting firm to conduct a review analyzing “competitive alignment, student-athlete participation, academic performance, Title IX considerations, and financial sustainability.”
The team had little-to-no warning before the statement was released, according to Emma Dillon, a former member of the UC Davis equestrian team and recent graduate with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in animal science.
“I was really upset,” Dillon said. “The team has such a special place in my heart. Especially for the recruits that had already signed for next year, it’s really sad that they had their hopes up for starting school in September and starting the team and getting ready to experience this amazing environment that the program has, and it just kind of got taken away from them.”
Dillon described being on the receiving end of the news.
“They were kind of vague with their reasoning,” Dillon said. “It just didn’t feel very thoughtful or heartfelt for all of the parents and alumni and supporters of the team or the girls that were going to read [the statement].”
After this year, the equestrian team will continue to exist as a club sport, but the team’s resources will experience limitations compared to previous years. Once recognized as a club sport, the equestrian team will be reliant on donations and personal funding to cover team expenses. Additionally, there will be a potential loss in on-campus horse boarding, athletic scholarships and post-graduate opportunities.
“I don’t think the [club sport] coaches get paid,” Dillon said. “I think they’re volunteers, so that kind of limits the quality of coaches. Right now, there’s three amazing coaches — one head coach and two assistant coaches — so the quality of coaching will go down. The quality of horses goes down a little bit.”
A club’s outside checking account can be used to pay coaches, but many of these instructors are volunteers, according to the UC Davis Sports Club Handbook.
There are only 14 D1 equestrian teams in the country — making regional competition less accessible and contributing to the Athletics Department’s cited reasons for the switch.
“Since 1998, Equestrian has been classified as an NCAA Emerging Sport, without a defined pathway toward NCAA championship sponsorship or expansion in Division I participation,” DeLuca’s statement reads.
UC Davis will join the — currently only two — established NCAA D1 varsity STUNT teams in the country. Next year, the NCAA will host a national championship tournament for STUNT for the first time. STUNT, one of the fastest-growing female sports in the country, is expected to create a stable competition structure and potential for future expansion.
STUNT differs from cheer in its heightened focus on technique and skill, rather than performance. Each match is split into four quarters, where two teams face off in a different skill category. The categories are partner stunts, pyramids and tosses, jumps and tumbling, as well as the team routine, which is a combination of all stunts in the previous categories.
“It has to be very sharp, very clean,” Lauren Ashley, a second-year anthropology major who competes on both the UC Davis STUNT and cheer teams, said. “That’s what STUNT really prides itself in being.”
Ashley spoke about the rise of STUNT and its expansion in high schools and colleges.
“Cheer isn’t considered a sport, but now there is something that’s like an offshoot of cheer that is considered a sport,” Ashley said. “Now, because [STUNT] is considered a sport, a lot of cheerleaders are transitioning or doing both. There are so many colleges that are saying, ‘Oh, we’re going to have STUNT next year,’ and then it just keeps growing, growing, growing.”
The team will now enjoy perks such as new uniforms, strength and conditioning trainers, tutors, priority registration for classes and more.
“I think a lot of us were just really grateful,” Ashley said. “It just made us feel good that we are getting recognized — that we can compete at this higher level.”
One of the biggest changes for the STUNT team is that they will now be able to host home tournaments, as they will be receiving competition floors from UC Davis. Currently, their home tournaments occur at Jessup University in Rocklin, California, which is over 40 miles outside of Davis.
Although the STUNT team will receive benefits from this promotion, neither of the teams were aware that this change was rapidly approaching, according to statements from a member of each team.
Following the announcement, the equestrian team has received support from both the equestrian and Davis community.
“It’s been so amazing to see [the support],” Dillon said. “Not just [from] Aggie [alumni] and parents, but also just the entire horse community is standing behind this team. It’s sad now that the community is not going to grow anymore.”
Dillon shared ways in which the community can still support the equestrian team.
“I believe there are two more home meets left, [and] just showing up for that would be amazing,” Dillon said. “[The team] has their last home meet, potentially ever, […] and that one is on March 7. I would say just showing support at those home meets means a lot, and to see that other people in the community are supporting them and are also saddened by this news.”
Amidst the transition, UC Davis affirmed its support for student-athletes and coaches of the equestrian team.
“The department will coordinate with affected student-athletes to provide guidance and support,” the UC Davis Athletics announcement reads. “All current athletics-related financial aid for Equestrian student-athletes will be honored and maintained throughout their undergraduate degree completion at UC Davis, [and they will] continue to receive academic, medical, and related support services during the varsity sponsorship period.”
The community around the sport has also advocated for the equestrian team through a petition on change.org, which calls for the team to be reinstated as a D1 team. As of Jan. 27, the petition has garnered over 35,000 signatures.
The remaining equestrian home meets will be on Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. and on March 7 at 10 a.m. Both are free to attend and will take place at the Equestrian Center.
Written by: Colina Harvey— sports@theaggie.org
