UC Davis hires former Colorado coach Dan Hawkins as its next coach

Dan Hawkins was introduced as UC Davis’ new football coach on Tuesday.

Hawkins, a former coach at Boise State and Colorado, was fired by the Buffaloes in 2010 and has spent the past six years broadcasting with ESPN and Sirius radio.

Hawkins played fullback at UC Davis in the early 1980s and was an assistant there from 1983-85. In his final season with the Aggies, the team’s quarterback, Chris Petersen, became his offensive coordinator and heir apparent at Boise State.

“We are very excited to welcome Dan Hawkins back to UC Davis to lead an exciting new era of football at his alma mater,” UC Davis Athletic Director Kevin Blue said in a statement. “Dan is a highly experienced head football coach who possesses in-depth expertise about what it takes to be successful in the modern era of Division I college football.”

Early this month, Hawkins was tabbed as the offensive coordinator at Florida International under new head coach Butch Davis, but the hiring was never made official. UC Davis took just four days from its initial meeting with Hawkins to hire him.

Hawkins was 53-11 in five seasons at Boise State before leaving for Colorado in 2006. He went 19-39 from 2006-10 and was fired. Hawkins was the last coach to lead Colorado to a bowl game prior to the Buffs earning a bowl bid this year. That last bowl game was the Independence Bowl against Alabama.

More than his record, Hawkins was known for his “It’s Division I football!” rant that went viral in 2007.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday