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Sac State’s FBS Waiver Still Waiting On FBS Oversight Committee
It’s been more than a month since ESPN’s Pete Thamel tweeted Sac State’s plan to file an application with the NCAA to transition from FCS to FBS as a football independent. The school had already filed a waiver to transition as an independent in football.
A waiver is needed due to the school transitioning from FCS to FBS without a conference invite.
That waiver process requires approval from the FBS Oversight Committee and then the Division 1 Council.
The FBS Oversight Committee has had two meetings since Thamel’s April 2 tweet — April 10 and May 8. It has yet to take any official action on Sac State’s request.
“Nothing new on the Sac State front other than they’ve indicated they will apply through the process. But nothing formal at this point,” a source told HERO Sports after last week’s FBS Oversight Committee.
It may just be getting the timing right on moving Sac State’s waiver through the official approval process. For example, the FCS Oversight Committee approved an annual 12-game season last week, which also requires final approval from the D1 Council. The FCS Oversight Committee did a straw poll in April, but couldn’t officially vote until May (for whatever in-the-weeds governance reason that may be). The NCAA approval process through multiple committees can be a bit winding, which may be why no official action has been taken on Sac State’s waiver yet due to fitting it in the proper timetable.
The NCAA is also currently working on a new governance structure, which is supposed to streamline these types of decisions. Governance changes and/or the House settlement may also be delaying the approval process.
With that said, Sac State needs an answer sooner rather than later, ideally within the next 1.5 months. The football team needs to know what schedule it’s playing in 2026. And the other sports would need to find a new home if the FBS independent waiver is approved. Obviously, conversations on 2026 football scheduling and the new Olympic sports conference have been ongoing at Sac State in preparation.
July 1 is typically when schools officially leave a conference and join a new one. Ideally, a school gives at least a 1-year notice to their current conference that they will be departing. Big Sky school officials recently voted to increase the exit fee from $250K to $1 million.
If schools want to join a new conference by the 2026-27 academic year, getting it finalized before July 1, 2025, is the target.
Right now, Sac State doesn’t know if it’s playing an FCS schedule or an FBS schedule in a little more than a year, or if its Olympic sports are staying in the Big Sky or will have to join a new conference. I’d put it at a 65% chance its FBS independent waiver is approved. But keep in mind that this isn’t an NCAA office decision. The FBS Oversight Committee is mostly made up of FBS school and conference officials. And there is political pushback on watering down the FBS more with FCS programs, especially ones that haven’t even been top-tier or second-tier FCS teams. It is certainly possible that this group of FBS administrators denies Sac State’s request.
I could also see the NCAA nudging the FBS Oversight Committee to approve the waiver so it avoids another lawsuit.
Sac State needs an answer within the next couple of months.
The FBS Oversight Committee’s next meetings are June 5 and June 16. The Division I Council meets June 24-25.
Past Daily Doses
FCS Oversight Committee Votes In Favor Of Annual 12-Game Regular Season + FCS Teams Face APR Penalties … READ MORE
University of New Haven Joining The NEC + SDSU Gets 2x 1,000-Yard FCS RB From The Portal … READ MORE
MVFC, Summit League Officially Announce Partnership + Jackson Named Next MVFC Commissioner … READ MORE
