Sacramento State football has the unenviable task of ending a four-game losing streak against UC Davis at the Causeway Classic on Sept. 25.

With the Hornets coming off a 23-17 victory over the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah this past weekend, Sac State will look to improve to 2-1 on the year and change the course the Causeway Classic has taken over the last few years.

A change that has already taken place is the venue for this year’s Causeway Classic. The Aggies will play host to the Hornets in Davis at Toomey Field for the first time since 1998 after using Hughes Stadium at Sacramento City College as their home field in this rivalry.

UC Davis, who made the move from Division II to Division I-AA for football in 2003, will host the Causeway Classic for the last time at Toomey Field as construction for a new multi-purpose stadium will begin in the spring of 2005 and be completed by the beginning of the 2006 football season.

Sac State athletic director Terry Wanless feels that the move back to Davis will make things easier for the UC Davis athletic department.

“(UC Davis) moved the game to Hughes Stadium because of the high interest in the (Causeway Classic),” Wanless said. “But they found that Hughes Stadium didn’t meet their needs, such as parking.”

Field conditions may also be a reason for the move back to Toomey. Hughes Stadium hosts high school football games on Friday nights and Saturdays along with the SCC football program. Add that with the fact that there is always a chance of bad weather (rain drenched the field two years ago), playing on a field that they maintain themselves seemed more appealing.

However, UC Davis associate athletic director Bob Bullis breaks the change in venue down to one word: “Money,” Bullis said. “It cost us about $45,000 to run the game at Hughes Stadium (in 2002). At Toomey, it will only cost us $30,000. We only netted $20,000 at Hughes two years ago. We could net up to $50,000 this year.”

According to Bullis, who is in charge of business and game management for the UC Davis athletic department, the Aggies took a $20,000 loss after not being able to replace St. Mary’s College on their schedule due to SMC dropping its football program in March of this year. That cut the Aggies’ home schedule from five games to four.

Although the game marks the return of the Causeway Classic to Davis, Wanless feels that the Hornets will be ready for the challenge.

“Everyone likes to play at home and have that home-field advantage,” Wanless said. “But I expect our team to be excited to play and feed off (the Aggies’) energy.”