UC Davis football coach Ron Gould has been released from his contract after a four-year stint in which the Aggies went 12-33.

The announcement was made this morning by UCD Athletic Director Kevin Blue.

Gould, 51, had one season remaining on his five-year pact.

“A multitude of factors were taken into consideration in making this decision, and it did not come easily,” Blue said. “Similar to how he’s operated throughout his tenure at UC Davis, Ron handled our discussion about this matter with class. Ron cares deeply about the student-athletes that he mentored over the past four years, and has always placed their needs first on his priority list.”

In replacing 20-year veteran UCD coach Bob Biggs after consecutive 4-7 campaigns, Gould’s first team in 2013 improved slightly to 5-7.

However, ravaged by injuries, the Aggies then went 2-9 in back-to-back seasons before finishing 3-8 this year. The locals are in the midst of a six-year losing streak. During his Davis tenure, Gould was 3-1 in the Causeway Classic — his squad having beaten Sacramento State, 48-30, on Saturday.

“I am grateful for the opportunity afforded me to be able to lead this great program for four years,” Gould said today. “I would like to personally thank the extraordinary student-athletes on my team for their willingness to buy in to my vision and work hard every day to attain it.”

Immediately before coming to Davis, the former Oregon cornerback spent 16 seasons as an assistant at Cal. It was a stint in which he developed current and former NFL running backs like Marshawn Lynch, J.J. Arrington, Shane Vereen and C.J. Anderson.

Gould was hired by former Athletic Director Terrance Tumey as just the 16th head coach in the more than 100-year history of Aggie football.

“Although we were not able to reach our goals on the field, I couldn’t be more proud of all that we accomplished during my time at UC Davis,” Gould continued. “I want to thank my outstanding staff and their families for their commitment to mentoring and developing the young men in our program.

“We have made tremendous progress and laid the foundation for a very bright future (for Aggie football). My wife (former UCD Interim Athletic Director) Teresa and I will be forever grateful for the time that we had at UCD and the amazing relationships we have forged.”

Blue has scheduled a news conference at halftime of today’s UCD-Sacramento State basketball game at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento to further address the change of direction in the football program.

A national search for a new Aggie coach has begun, according to Blue, and will include a consultative committee of people “who have extensive experience with UCD athletics and academics, along with expertise from the highest levels of football.”

— Watch The Davis Enterprise online throughout the day for updates, and see Wednesday’s paper for in-depth coaching-change coverage.