Presidents from the Mid-American Conference voted to bring in Sacramento State as a new member. The Hornets will join the league as a football-only participant beginning in 2026, marking another huge shift in the college football landscape.
Sacramento State Doubles Down on Underdog Identity With ‘Vs. Everybody’ Mindset
Sacramento State has officially completed its long-anticipated move to the FBS level, and the Hornets have been working toward it for several seasons. With this move, Sacramento State became just the second FCS program to elevate to the FBS ranks in this offseason.
Athletic director Mark Orr delivered an emotional message following the school’s acceptance into the MAC for football.
“I don’t know what the term, Sacramento versus everybody,” Orr said Monday. “Sacramento State, we’ve kind of been the underdog, and I’ve kind of liked it. Our city and our community has always been that way. Again, I go back to my roots here, and people around the country have doubted Sacramento for decades on what we can do as a community, what we can do as a university. And I look at just examples in our community. There were doubts whether Sacramento State could elevate to an FBS program.”
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“And guess what? Sacramento comes through again, and we have an FBS program now,” Orr continued.
“So I think the message is we embrace it. We embrace it as a university. We embrace it as a community. I encourage folks out there to come out and support, and whether you went to Sac State or you’re an alum or you’re not, this is your university’s, your community’s university FBS Division I program. And we should be proud of it. We certainly are, and I have no doubts our community will be.”
Sacramento State will replace the departing Northern Illinois Huskies, who are set to join the Mountain West Conference next season. The Hornets have poured huge resources into strengthening their football program in preparation for the move.
The transition comes at a steep cost, as Sacramento State must pay $5 million to reclassify to the FBS level and an additional $18 million to enter the MAC.
The program aimed to raise $5.25 million to secure conference membership, but investment efforts intensified over the past two years. An independent NIL collective made up of alumni and prominent political figures has pledged roughly $35 million to boost the program’s NIL initiatives.
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Both the Pac-12 and Mountain West declined to offer membership, but Sacramento State remained persistent.
“We didn’t wake up one morning and decide we want to be in the MAC,” Orr said. “This didn’t happen overnight, it was very strategic.”
Sacramento State has backed up its ambitions with results, as the Hornets are one of only 12 FCS programs to record at least seven wins in five of the past six seasons. However, their move to the MAC will come with logistical challenges, as the program will face conference road trips of more than 2,000 miles each.
