The Davis Men's Crew Club is a collegiate sports club representing the University of California, Davis in rowing. As a non-funded team, it is a member of the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA), whose participants are mostly of non-Pac-10 schools on the West Coast. Nationwide, the team is one of the most successful collegiate rowing club programs in the United States, making periodic appearances in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championships and, more recently, the Eastern College Athletic Conference.
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Founded in 1977, the Davis Men's Crew Club was established under the guidance of Rich Sundquist, a former oarsman from the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1980 the crew received its first own racing shell, a wooden sweep eight, which was cut in half and driven from the East Coast on top of a van. In 1993 the crew completed the Curt Rocca Boathouse, which was to replace a smaller boathouse built earlier on. The boathouse is still used today, shared with the UC Davis women's rowing team and located in the Port of Sacramento.
As a registered student organization of the university, the team's operations and administrative decisions are managed by its student membership in cooperation with the UC Davis Intramural Sports and Sports Club Office. Council club officers vote on a variety of decisions, from hiring coaches to managing team finances. As a club sport at UC Davis, the program receives minimal funding for a crew team. The majority of the club's income comes from membership dues, fundraising, and alumni donations.
Most rowers and coxswains are walk-ons, with little to no previous experience in the sport of rowing. In the Fall returning crew members recruit students on campus, headed by two elected club recruiters. Those interested can attend practices run by the novice coach, who trains those new to the sport.
Besides the recruiters, there are many club officers that help run the program as a whole. Those within the council vote on important key issues for the team. Overall, club officers coordinate their individual responsibilities to one another to ensure all aspects of the program are running smoothly. Officer positions are voted on in an election amongst teammates at the end of each school year.
Club Officer Positions
Since the club represents UC Davis, the team colors are blue and gold. The official logo insignia of the crew, seen on official racing uniforms and on the face of the oar blades, are two golden stripes in parallel and slanted diagonally. In addition, the Cal Aggie symbol with two crossed-oars behind is represented.
The official mantra of the crew is 'RYBO', an acronym for 'Row your balls off'. To avoid confrontation, members can amend it to a more family-oriented saying, such as 'Row your buns off'. RYBO is found on many of the official crew apparel, and is often included in team cheers, most commonly when a team boat launches for a race.
Racing Shell Arsenal
The club offers naming rights to those shells titled 'NoName,' for a generous donation.
Regionally, the club's rival is the Sacramento State Hornets. However, the club considers Orange Coast College, Gonzaga, and UC San Diego to be rivals as well, especially since these schools are members of WIRA. In the varsity eight grand final at the 2007 WIRA championship regatta, Davis finished first at 6:03.8, barely ahead of Gonzaga’s 6:04.3 and UC San Diego’s 6:05.7.
WIRA Events Won, by Year
| Varsity Eight | Junior Varsity 8 | Novice Eight | 2nd Novice Eight | Novice Four | Light Eight | Light Four |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993
2001 2003 2005 2007 |
1998
2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 |
1991
1993 1999 2004 |
1992
2000 2003 |
2011 | 1996
1997 1998 1999 2004 |
1991 |
Despite the club's successes in WIRA, every season the team works toward a long-term goal to become more competitive amongst the top schools in the nation, who are almost always fully funded. Recently, in the 2007 Spring season, Davis's top varsity eight raced against the 3rd level varsity eight of the University of California, Berkeley, a program that consistently places in the top 5 in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association's national championships.