Sac State is losing sight of the bigger picture. They are investing a significant amount, perhaps even all of their budget, into NIL initiatives for the upcoming year. Their goal is to achieve a 12-0 record and secure a conference invite. This is a bold strategy, essentially putting all their eggs in one basket. It seems unlikely that they can replicate this approach yearly WHILE upgrading their facilities.

So, it's 12-0 or bust. The old saying goes, "I'll have the opposite of what they're having."

Good question. They have had 40+ players leave, so maybe not,
I don’t see an obstacle of giving out NLI money instead of a scholarship and effectively compensating the player the same amount.

I see a challenge in asking a player who received, for example, $100,000, to give up some of that money to pay for school if scholarships are not available. Unfortunately, that request is unlikely to be well received.

Additionally, it's crucial for these athletes to work with a knowledgeable tax advisor to help navigate their taxes. NIL earnings are typically reported on a 1099-NEC form, which means athletes must pay regular income taxes and a 15.3% self-employment tax.
​

It doesn’t have to come as a surprise.
If the aim is to free up a scholarship, you would approach an in state athlete and propose he take $20,000 or whatever in lieu of his tuition and other costs covered by scholarships plus taxes, then give the guy from out of state the scholarship.

my note doesn’t have anything to do with schedule or games. Simply the caliber of players they are getting and from the schools they are coming from.

If anything, it’s even more impressive because of their ineligibility for the next year or two. It feels like that should be a barrier to quality talent given the season doesn’t even mean anything…

[
I was conceding your point that they are very talented, but questioning what it meant.
A lot of these guys were signed before Sac filed the paperwork to move to FBS. I wonder what the coach really feels about his transformative year being truncated. Just seems to me that was an own goal.

I think that Sac's strategy is playing out as planned at the moment. They aren't interested in the FCS at all anymore. FCS is small potatoes in their mind's eye. It's like Dr. Wood has said, "It's FBS or bust."

They're all about getting everyone's attention by bringing in a charismatic, up and coming coach and a recruiting class the likes of which no one has ever seen before at an FCS program and then, given their relatively weak FCS schedule this year, they go 12-0 on the season with most or all of their wins being huge blowouts.

If that happens, they feel like FBS conferences will roll out the red carpet and come calling, the fan base will take off like wildfire and that will bring in deep pocketed donors and perhaps an Indian casino sponsorship to build a new stadium and increase NIL money even more.

I think that, given the sheer number of players with exceptional size, speed and athleticism that they have brought in already, anything less than a monster 12-0 season would be a disappointment for them.

Yeah, for this year of transition, anything less than 8-4 would still be a disappointment.

All the 12-0 talk is premature, because this is a whole new team with players from all over the country. I mean we are hopeful that they will gel, but it could also be a disaster. LOL

Check my post from about 10 hours ago. I mentioned the same thing, and it’s quite mind-boggling.

8-4 would be a disaster not a disappointment, as would 9-3 or 10-2

...this is a whole new team with players from all over the country. I mean we are hopeful that they will gel, but it could also be a disaster. LOL — Kadeezy

That will be the challenge for sure. Marion may actually have an excess of talent where some of these FBS transfers don't get the playing time they are expecting. However, it feels like, with this much talent, that his team could win even having a less than stellar game.

First game is against South Dakota State who lost their coaching staff and about 16 players to Washington State, and lost 21 players overall as transfers They brought in a dozen transfers, but not rated as highly on average. Every team is going to be rebuilding.

We're definitely thinking the same thing.

if, in the unlikely scenario, the NCAA turns down the FBS independent bid, would Sac be compliant with the Big Sky scholarship limits? Or, are they all in on the new FBS 85/103 limits (or even the current limits).

How many Sac players will skip most / all classes, if they're just there for one semester?

None. They will excel in the classroom because that is what Hornets do.

Wow! SACST got Rashada? That is wild. That kid is very good. I might have to go to some SACST games this year. That team is going to be entertaining.

I love what SACST is doing. They are taking a risk and understand there is a void in top college athletics in the NorCAL area. So many good players leave the area to play D1 football. If they can capitalize on the name recognition and win games the school is going to get more recognition and more $$. Very smart.

Wow, I feel like we are getting left behind.

Nah. Very scammy and short-sighted approach. Once the kids realize all the NIL is riddled with contingencies, they'll be off to chase the next shiny object.

I disagree. The world has changed and if we do not change as well, we are going to be left behind. We have to adapt to the changing landscape of college sports. If you don't want to participate in D1 sports at Davis, then we should withdraw from D1 status and return to D2 status. Watch and see in the coming years as we start playing in the Mountain West Conference. Our decision to keep the status quo will be exposed pretty quickly and you will be just like me asking for changes.

The future can be really bright or we can waste it and just be a bottom feeder.

Agree to disagree. No team in the Big Sky nor MWC has the academic draw UCD has. For the recruits with foresight beyond their nose, that degree is worth more than $2,500 you have to give back when you decide to x-fer for the 4th time..

We will not be in the Big Sky anymore and if you think moving to the Mountain West is going to be easy you are mistaken. In basketball alone, we are talking about playing, Air Force, UNLV, New Mexico, etc. in conference not to mention all teams like Stanford, UCLA, Washington, etc. are much better than Davis athletically. If we don't proactively plan a strategy, we are going to get our doors blown off.

Never said it will be easy, but I'd rather come at the transition from a position of optionality vs. desperation. I think you can surmise which school's approach fits where. Sac St is reportedly facing a $37mm budget deficit. For comparison sake, Sonoma State faced a $24mm deficit before slashing almost their entire athletics department...https://sacramento.newsreview.com/2025/04/16/sacramento-state-braces-for-impact-with-37-million-budget-deficit/

Again, the times have changed. SacSt is not Sonoma St. SacSt has big influencers and are gaining steam. Watch SACST football and basketball this year, they will be very successful and only get better the following year. Players are now talking to each other about staying home in CA and playing for local schools vice sitting on the bench at USC or Texas. These kids also know their scholarships can be given to new players better than them, so it makes sense to stay local. I'm telling you Davis has such a unique opportunity to really make some headway, but they can't pretend we are still a D2 program. SACST is going for it and I respect them for trying. Will it be successful? Time will tell, but one thing I do know is, a lot of people are going to watch SACST play next year and that equals $$$$.

Sac State is acting in reckless desperation.

We are not going to start behaving like Sac State. Go grab your Sac season tickets, there are plenty available! They'd love to bring you aboard.
Stop with the D2 talk, its getting annoying.

The fact is, Davis is on an upward trajectory and doing all the right things.

No. I'm a UCD alumni and it is perfectly ok to critique our university. But I will be watching some SACST sports this year because they are going to be interesting to watch. Davis is moving up, but it will take a whole lot more to get the fan base excited to support our teams. We should never be satisfied with the status quo. We should always strive to be better. If we want to be a D1 program we have to start acting like it.

You are yelling at the wind at this point. Nobody on this board is satisfied with mediocracy or stagnation.
Don't hold your breath if you want the Davis athletics department to blow up the football program and make a bunch of ridiculous hires and replace entire rosters to mirror the "success" (lol) of Sac State. I'm really not sure what you are expecting here..... What do you actually want to happen?

Rocko has put Davis in a great position to move to the FBS when we have the $, and basically when we want to. This is smart, not desperate. I'm sure Sac doesn't want to be in the position they are in...I'm sure they'd have loved Taylor (who knows if he'd have kept himself out of trouble by this point) to still be around and building for an FBS move at their leisure.

I'm not saying things are perfect, but I'd guess a good majority on this board believe the AD is making positive progress- especially with the recent success of the football program. There are many Universities ADs would love a staff like Plough has going right now. This is what Sac is flailing at trying to achieve right now...


With all this said, I do think some things need to be added to the men's basketball program, and quickly. That program is stagnant.