Hill, Garcia and volunteer coach Matt Ballard were arrested for felony battery, said Lt. Steven Pierce of the Davis Police Department. They were taken to the Yolo County Jail and released the next day. They will be arraigned Monday.

UC Davis athletic director Greg Warzecka said Hill, a senior kicker, and Garcia, a junior defensive end, were suspended indefinitely. Ballard was dismissed.

"We hope everyone's side is heard and due process is done expeditiously," Warzecka said.

According to Pierce, the incident began as a shouting match with Davis student Eric Rehnberg, who suffered a concussion and broken nose in the incident.

Initially, Hill and Garcia were suspended for one game. They sat out the Causeway Classic game against Sacramento State on Sept. 19 and were reinstated following the game. Thursday, university officials learned charges were still pending and reinstated the suspension.

"We felt the appropriate action was taken at the time," UC Davis coach Bob Biggs said. "To our understanding, we thought the charges were going to be dropped. But upon further review of the incident, we had no choice but to follow university policy and suspend the players."

Sac State basketball

"It should be a fun thing for the fans," men's coach Tom Abatemarco said. "It's a good way to start the season and give our fans a little show in the process."

The men's team, which went 1-25 overall and 0-16 in the Big Sky Conference last season, returns five players, including senior forward Sean Houston. An all-conference selection last season, Houston was the only player in the Big Sky to average a double double in points (14.4) and rebounds (10.7) in 1997-98. Point guard Ryan Coleman, second in the conference last year in assists (5.6), also returns.

Among nine newcomers are community college transfers Anthony Flood and Thomas Wieck and freshman guards Rene Jacques and Nate Murase. Led by two-time All-Big Sky selection Julie Wastell, the women's team will have a mixture of familiar and new faces under coach Sue Huffman. The Hornets return four players, including two starters, from last season's squad, which finished 7-18 overall and 4-12 in the Big Sky. Wastell, who averaged 14.5 points, led the team in seven statistical categories. Also back are guards Kristin Niemann and Michelle St. Clair.

UC Davis basketball

Both teams will make their first public appearance Oct. 29, when they participate in the third annual Aggie Jam, UC Davis' version of Midnight Madness.

The Davis men are coming off the school's first Division II national title after finishing with a program-best 31-2 record and 22-game winning streak.

The men return three starters and eight reserves for new coach Brian Fogel, who replaced Bob Williams, now at UC Santa Barbara. Senior point guard Dante Ross, who averaged 12 points last season, is a preseason All-America pick by The Sporting News and a second-team selection by Street and Smith's and Dick Vitale's College Basketball.

Junior center Jason Cox and senior guard J.C. Timmons also return to the starting lineup.

"We're very excited to get out there on the court," Fogel said. "We're proud of the way the guys have got themselves into condition. It's time to start getting the nuts and bolts of our season together."

Three starters and nine reserves return for the women, who finished 23-7. Sandy Simpson, who on an interim basis coached the Aggies to a school-best 29-3 record and third-place national finish in the 1996-97 season, takes over for Jorja Hoehn, who resigned in August.