UC Davis decided to cut its highly-successful Division-I equestrian program for monetary reasons. However, the financial audit used to justify the elimination played heavily in favor of the university and many of the most significant questions unanswered.
Members of the team, both past and present, and its supporters continue to push back on the process.
This ongoing conflict stems in large part from a lack of transparency. The university has not provided a comprehensive understanding of the basis for its decision and failed to consider alternatives.
UC Davis claims its financial audit was correct.
The University of California, Davis announced in January that its equestrian team would cease to exist as a Division-I sport at the end of the school year. The Aggies made the move down to the club level on July 1, 2026.
However, a parent-led investigation found that the numbers reported by UC Davis were different than their own.
That led to a secondary audit by the university. It hired a third-party company to review its own financial reporting, which was the basis for the cut. The results were promised by the end of the school year. They were finally released almost two weeks later.
UC Davis found in the secondary audit that it did not overstate the equestrian team’s expenses by ~$850,000 as the opposition suggested. Although the university was willing to identify weaknesses in its own administrative processes, it stood by the original reporting and its decision to demote the program to the club level. It did not find any evidence that UC Davis intentionally manipulated financial information or exaggerated the expected savings from the program’s elimination. The numerical discrepancy stemmed from a difference between NCAA financial reports and the university’s internal budgeting system.
The NCAA tracks every resource used by a specific team, which includes donated equipment and supplies. UC Davis does not count donations toward its internal budget analysis.
Therefore, in the eyes of the university, the math added up. It needed to cut ~1.05 million from its athletic department. The equestrian program cost ~$1.1 million. The cut was 1-to-1.
Supporters of the equestrian program question the secondary review.
Although its report was nearly two weeks late, supporters of the UC Davis equestrian program feel like they are left with more questions than answers. They argue that the report does not provide the clear validation as described by university officials.
Rather, it highlights shortcomings in the financial reporting, fundraising oversight and consultant review process that informed the decision to cut the team. It was also a compliance audit and not the independent investigation that was requested by student-athletes, families, donors, alumni and legislators. You can read the full rebuttal statement HERE.
According to the opposition, the university’s secondary audit was limited in scope. It did not examine several issues that are central to the controversy, like Title IX concerns, recruiting practices, or internal communications surrounding the decision. Nor did it provide a comprehensive review of fundraising activities. Those activities were crucial to the program’s ability to compete.
“In effect, the university is again asking the public to trust an opaque process that the audit itself says lacked sufficient documentation, review, and oversight. Transparency requires more than assurances — it requires factual information.”
Stakeholders are unable to fully evaluate the rationale behind the program’s elimination. They maintain that an independent external investigation remains necessary. They also question why the university declined to pursue alternative funding proposals that might’ve preserved the team. UC Davis did not consider all of its options.
Unfortunately, the university seems to consider this matter closed. The equestrian program, as of now, will not be reinstated as a Division-I team despite significant weaknesses in the financial review process that was used to justify its demotion.