Sacramento State appeared to be another program going from the FCS to the FBS until recently.
Sac State filed an application to transition to the FBS as an independent program with the NCAA. The school is seeking for its last season in the Big Sky to be this year, which would mean it would be ineligible for postseason play in 2025 and 2026.
However, the NCAA Football Oversight Committee recommended to the Division I Council that it not support Sac State’s waiver request, per a report by Yahoo Sports. The DI Council has the ultimate decision-making power in this instance.
“The committee reviewed the application and waiver submitted by California State University, Sacramento, to enter the FCS to FBS reclassification process for the 2025-26 academic year,” the FBS Oversight Committee said. “The committee recommends the NCAA Division I Council deny the institution’s request to waive the required bona fide invitation from an active FBS conference. The committee noted a conference invitation is of paramount importance for entering into the reclassification process because the invitation signals an institution’s readiness to enter the process.
“Although a waiver of the bona fide invitation requirement was granted in 2017, that decision was made in a different era, under a different set of facts and rules. The Division I membership adopted the current legislation to affirm the importance of the nature and purpose of the subdivision reclassification process, choosing to place that decision-making authority with the council. Due to the significance of the bona fide invitation from an FBS conference requirement and the lack of compelling mitigation explaining why that requirement, one that several other FCS institutions have met in recent years, has not been met, the committee does not support relief.”
The Hornets have been open about their intentions to move up, and they have received a great deal of financial backing as part of their plans.
Sac State has been a potential candidate for conference expansion and realignment in the past couple years. The Hornets are in a substantial media market and would geographically make sense for leagues like the Pac-12 and Mountain West. Some believe this move could set up Sac State to eventually go to one of those conferences.
However, the Hornets climbing to the FBS as an independent likely indicates that neither of those leagues have the desire to add Sac State at this time. That could always change, however, especially if the move pays off and the Hornets compete at a high level.
Several schools have jumped from the FCS to the FBS in recent years. Sam Houston and Jacksonville State played their first FBS seasons in 2023 in Conference USA, and Kennesaw State made the jump this past year. Delaware and Missouri State will be playing in CUSA this upcoming season.
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What Conference Is Sacramento State In?
Sacramento State currently plays in the Big Sky Conference and has won the league championship three times since 2019. The Hornets have played in that conference since 1996.
They previously played in the American West Conference before that.
Sac State has played in the FCS, formerly Division I-AA, since 1993. The Hornets played in Division II before that.
Now Sac State is hoping to become a member of the highest subdivision in the sport as an independent.
What’s Sacramento State’s FCS-To-FBS Exit Fee?
The fee to move from the FCS to the FBS is $5 million.
On top of that, Big Sky officials recently voted to increase the conference’s exit fee from $250,000 to $1 million, sources told HERO Sports.
How Good Is Sacramento State?
Sac State has gone 41-22 overall dating back to 2019. The team hasn’t always stood out in the FCS, but that has changed in recent years.
The Hornets have made the FCS playoffs four times in the last six seasons. They’ve made the second round of the postseason during each of those appearances and reached the quarterfinals in 2022. They’ve never won a national championship.
Where Does Sacramento State Play?
Sac State plays at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, which has an official capacity of 21,195. The largest crowd that’s attended a football game there was 23,073 for the Hornets’ game against UC Davis in 2022.
Who’s Sacramento State’s Head Coach?
Sac State recently hired Brennan Marion, previously UNLV’s offensive coordinator, to be the head coach of the football team.
Marion was UNLV’s OC for two years. The Rebels were in the top 50 in the FBS in terms of points and yards per game during that time and reached the Mountain West Championship during both of those years.
Previously, Marion was a passing game coordinator at Texas in 2022, a wide receivers coach at Pitt in 2021, a wide receivers coach at Hawaii in 2020, an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at William & Mary in 2019, an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Howard in 2017 and 2018, and a running backs coach at Oklahoma Baptist in 2016.
