Because of its impending changeover to Division I, there have been few constants in the UC Davis athletic program over the past couple years. One thing that hasn't varied, though, has been the Led Zeppelin in Jeff Hogan's training room.

Athletes preparing for games have been engulfed in the heavy metal band's music ever since Hogan joined the training staff 20 years ago as an assistant trainer. He got the idea before a junior varsity football game at College of the Siskiyous, when he heard Zeppelin coming from the athletic training room.

"There was their athletic trainer just working away in a blaze of fury, rocking to the tunes," Hogan recalls. "I loved the energy that was felt by all this and I told myself, 'I want this at Davis.'"

The pre-game ritual soon became his trademark. "I see athletes I had 10 or 15 years ago that tell me whenever they hear Led Zeppelin, they think of football," Hogan says.

Hogan, now head athletic trainer, leads a staff of five certified trainers, eight team doctors and 30 student trainers -- a far cry from the two-trainer staff he joined in 1984. His job is to ensure the health and safety of more than 800 intercollegiate athletes across 26 sports.

The move to Division I will lead to more travel and more trainers, and has placed more pressure on everyone, Hogan says.

"There's an overall sense of the need to be successful from the get-go and a demand on our part to keep everyone healthy. Now with scholarship athletes, there's a lot more invested in the athlete."

Despite the recruitment of more competitive athletes, Hogan says the other aspects of the student-athletes -- their work ethic, motivation and respect for others -- has not changed. "One of the big reasons I have stayed is the quality of the student-athlete here on campus. I love working for them and I have had some wonderful experiences with them, win or lose."

Hogan first toyed with the idea of becoming a trainer as an undergraduate at Davis. He spent three years at Santa Clara University after graduating to become certified and returned to campus when a position opened. "It just seemed to fit my personality," Hogan says of his career. "I had a mix of interest in medicine and enjoyment of sports."

Off campus, besides playing tennis, Hogan is an avid fly fisherman. "It's what I do when I need to seek sanctuary and relax," says the Woodland resident.