Aug. 15, 2008

DAVIS, Calif. - Former UC Davis quarterback and current Boise State head coach Chris Petersen will be reunited with his alma mater next season when the Aggies visit the Broncos in a nonconference football game, it was announced on Friday.

The matchup, to be played Sept. 19 at Bronco Stadium, will be the second Western Athletic Conference opponent for UC Davis next season after facing Fresno State on Sept. 5. The Aggies open this season on Aug. 30 against WAC member San Jose State, an opponent for the second straight year.

Next year's game will mark the fourth all-time meeting between the programs and the first since 1985 when Peterson made his Aggie debut in a 13-9 loss to the then NCAA Div. I-AA Broncos. Peterson was 23 of 33 for 238 yards in that game while rushing 25 times for 63 more yards. Boise State also won matchups in 1973 and 1974 when it was a member of NCAA Division II.

Petersen, entering his third year at the helm of Boise State, finished his Aggie career with 5,555 passing yards and 42 touchdowns. He's enjoyed tremendous success with the Broncos, compiling a 23-3 (.885) record including a 13-0 mark his first season which was capped by an exciting 43-42 overtime win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.

UC Davis and Boise State also share other coaching connections. Former Broncos head coach Dan Hawkins, now at Colorado, played and coached with UC Davis while Viliami Tuivai, a linebacker for the Aggies from 2000-01, is currently an assistant coach at Boise State.

"I have tremendous respect for their program with what they've done with Dan Hawkins and now Chris Petersen," said Aggie coach Bob Biggs. "I just think it's a great challenge."

The 2009 game will be the sixth NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision opponent for UC Davis, which also faced Stanford (2005), TCU (2006) and San Jose State (2007) the last three seasons.

UC Davis is receiving a $225,000 game-guarantee for next season's contest.

UC Davis Aggies Football

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