The FBS Oversight Committee, which is made up of FBS administrators, provided a recommendation to the Division I Council to not support Sacramento State’s waiver request to join the FBS as an independent member, according to Ross Dellenger.
A source clarified to HERO Sports earlier today that the FBS Oversight Committee manages the process for reclassification, but the D1 Council handles the actual waiver decision since the conference invite requirement is not being met. The D1 Council meets June 24-25, and while it could still grant Sac State’s waiver request, it usually follows the recommendations from oversight committees.
According to the FBS Oversight Committee: “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 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 recommendation is a massive roadblock for Sac State’s public campaign to go FBS.
Has the window completely shut on Sac State’s FBS hopes? Well, the realignment wheel never seems to stop spinning. Plus, the D1 landscape may see a big shift as the House settlement is approved, and a new D1 governance structure could be implemented. That could potentially create more dominoes of conference realignment.
The Division I Board of Directors has discussed “Conference membership requirements, including possible options that would provide greater temporary flexibility for schools to move between conferences as the Association proceeds with changes related to the proposed settlement. The board did not take any action during the meeting, but the discussion emphasized the need for the division to be adaptable to major changes in college sports and higher education while also maintaining some level of stability within Division I in terms of conference alignment.”
