Davis, CA (Sports Network) - UC Davis has named Ron Gould its new head football coach.

Gould spent the last 16 seasons at California and had been the associate head coach under Jeff Tedford since 2008. Tedford was fired last month and new Cal coach Sonny Dykes chose not to keep Gould as part of his staff.

"It is a dream come true for me to be the head coach at UC Davis and I am honored to be entrusted with the leadership of the football program at such an outstanding university," said Gould in a statement on Monday. "Under my leadership, we will provide a rich student-athlete experience, and compete in the classroom and on the playing field toward the pursuit of excellence. We will proudly represent this great student body and commit ourselves to the right balance of academics and athletics."

Gould, a 1988 Oregon graduate, also worked as an assistant at his alma mater (1990-91), Portland State (1992) and Boise State (1993-96) before his lengthy stay at Cal.

"This is an important and exciting day for our football program," said UC Davis athletic director Terry Tumey. "UC Davis values excellence on and off the playing field, and Ron Gould clearly shares those values, particularly with his commitment to the academic, athletic and social well-being of student-athletes. His selection culminates a long and thorough search to fill an important position for our athletics program and also for our university. I couldn't be more thrilled to welcome Ron to our Aggie family."

UC Davis needed a new head coach after Bob Biggs retired following his 20th season at the helm. The Big Sky school was 4-7 overall this past season and 3-5 in conference play.

The Sports Network