So we were told by the Wood brothers that it's FBS or bust. If the decision aligns with the recommendation when are they folding their football program?

I don't think the Wood brothers meant it that way. The statement was probably intended only to demonstrate their commitment to the plan. It will probably be business as usual until (and this may not happen) they just can't afford to keep the team going anymore. In the meantime they probably still work to improve the stadium so it can continue to at least hold track events.

As for the current roster of players I think the transfers realize they're running out of time to showcase their skills, and they will play out the 2025 season with Sac State. Some of the freshmen will sit out and be gone by the start of spring semester, having been given empty promises. They still have their whole nomadic college football lives ahead of them. Others will follow Marion to his next spot as he strives to be the Bartolo Colon of college football coaching.

When would we know definitively that they will not be FBS anytime soon?

I haven’t found much “real”coverage of this but based on what I’m reading from online taking heads- next week there will be meetings to establish a new governance model followed by D1 council meetings. They can choose to take or leave the advice of the football committee that just said no thanks. The outside hope on J St is that the committee didn’t want to make any commitments right before a big governance reboot and the council may still say yes, or that a new governance model will include some new flexibility that doesn’t exist this week. So an unqualified answer might be next week they could get a more definitive yes/no, unless a new framework for a “maybe” presents itself. I guess “soon” is relative. If they get a hard no this year do they push another attempt next year or in 5 years, idk.

Sac has 39 transfers on the roster, and they are a mixed bag. About 18 are seniors or redshirt seniors; those guys all knew they would be playing an FCS schedule, whether the school was transitioning or not. The decision doesn’t really affect them. Many of the transfers committed before Sac announced they intended to transition this year. Maybe some of the younger ones will bail.

Sac might have a great year, if so they may get a conference invite, in which case getting turned down in their attempt to go independent could be in their interest,

Division 1 could split, separating off the power 4 conferences, and leaving the lesser conferences as essentially in the same situation FCS faces, being perceived as minor league. Sac may be trying to crash a party that has moved on.

Click on Show more to see the entire statement:

How would you like to be the California state university chancellor now who is probably getting calls from every chancellor in the system as to why this Sac state guy is making all these grandiose plans to spend money he and none of the other chancellor’s actually have? How is he doing this and we can’t? Well, because he is making irresponsible statements and I do not condone them. Nice to know. All done while the students are gone and not watching where there hard earned tuition is going under this Woods guy. I really wonder if he has the ability to withstand this. If this FBS thing of his backfires, he is also going to have to deal with a ton of litigation from the players who were (allegedly) recruited under false pretenses. The NCAA has this figured out and will not be willing to take on that exposure IMHO.

From Sam herder on twitter: (this would be insane if sac actually tries this)

From Matt's other Twitter-like social media account:

"industry sources tell me Sacramento State is expected to announce tomorrow that they are withdrawing from the Big Sky and joining the Big West in everything but FB, effective July 1 2026. And if they can't join FBS, I'm told their short term plan is FCS Independent"

My own thoughts: I was curious if Sac State would pull this move next. I know them joining the Big West has been in the works for the Olympic sports. And Sac State could put together an independent football schedule in 2026 and beyond, even as an FCS member, with a combo of FCS opponents and FBS opponents. Departing the Big Sky after pretty much publicly saying "we'll be breaking up with you soon" probably makes some sense even if it's not the exact way Sac State intended with its FBS independent hopes hitting a roadblock by the FBS Oversight Committee. I also hear the school is very unlikely to get the waiver approved by the D1 Council next week

Lmao what a clown show

Yeah, and total silence from the Bee on these new developments.

I once saw a dumpster on fire next to Fluffy Donuts at the U-Mall. A police cruiser and fire truck casually watching it burn itself out from a distance, apparently deciding there was no benefit to intervention. So basically this.

I read somewhere that Luke Wood was homeless at times growing up and was raised by a foster family. You would think someone with such a modest background would have a healthy appreciation for financial restraint. It's other people's money though, so he wants to spend it on something stupid. Maybe he should run for office in CA.

They are joining the BW, good. But what a horrible move for football if they can't move up. They'll be playing home and homes with Utah Tech and Southern Utah.

I believe you are correct that the Wood brothers grew up in the foster system. Credit where it is due, most people do not become a university president by age 40 regardless of background. So he must be smart, which is perhaps why the obsession with this fools errand is so curious.

don’t forget Merrimack and Sacred Heart, the other 2 independents. Big West is a better fit for them; I’m guessing the BSC had no interest in a football only

Local Sacramento area sports teams, Clown Show rankings:
1. Sac St football
2. West Sac A's
3. Kings
4. Sac St basketball

This helps the Big West scheduling-wise. It currently has 11 members. They are losing two (UCD, HI) and gaining 3 (CBU, UVS, CSUS) so no more bye weeks during conference play. CSUS will save a lot on travel costs.

Sac State Basketball will probably do better in the BW than in the Big Sky, but their baseball team will struggle mightily, but not as much as UCD's has. They're going to have to get used to no playoffs. This year 8 out of 9 WAC baseball teams made the conference tournament. The Big West will take 5 of 12 in 2027.

Looks like Dr wood also responded today toward a jab/negative tweet from U of South Dakota AD, and then regretted it and deleted it. Lol.

Last year, according to Google Assist, the A's averaged 11,250 fans per game in Oakland. Except for a couple games they can't even come close to a sell-out in W.Sacramento.

I personally hope the games continue to be poorly-attended. Sacramento doesn't need to get bamboozled into funding an MLB stadium with taxpayer money. I A poor showing on this trial basis will discourage MLB from considering it for an expansion team. Sacramento got bored with the River Cats after a few seasons where they outdrew the A's + Montreal Expos. Expansion-they should be contracting. Axe the A's and the Rays.

This was posted on the Sac Football Forum:

If going to the MWC meant keeping football at FCS level, then we would be golden.

Already in a FBS conference, and the NCAA wouldn’t have had an issue. Just upgrading the program to fit the MWC peer schools.

But we shunned the MWC because Wood was to rabid on PacX. Meanwhile the PacX just laughed.

If the BW is so great, why did Davis move away from that direction? They played chess while Wood played chutes and ladders.

Now Sac is in football hell. We only got $100,000 from BSC, but at least they had a trophy/ring to play for. As an Indy, no postseason, no trophy and only being paid half to play away FBS games.

What about this magical ‘26 schedule Orr had put together? Any contracts signed with FBS teams? More money lost. NIL gone, players gone, coach gone, pride comes before a fall and Sac State fell to the literal bottom.

https://bigskyfans.com/threads/the-pac-mwc-dominoes-begin-to-fall.29863/page-44

I don't think its that big of deal to be honest. It will be very interesting to see the public opinion after we see how they do on the field. If they put on a firework show and become a draw...opinions change.

All you have to look at is Jackson St, Colorado, Indiana, App St, Boise St, etc. If SACST wins and I mean wins big then you add Shaq and the basketball team showing up on ESPN every other night....this has legs...

That roster is stacked at SACST. I mean STACKED. A fiver star QB??? A legit FBS power backfield? I don't know man...I don't know how this turns out, but if I'm reading the tea leaves...I think this time next year we are going to be saying something else entirely. Just my opinion.

It sure sounds like Luke and Josh like to dish it, but can't take it. It's not the SDSU AD's problem that you spent months and months on end talking about how wonderful you are and how you transcend everything FCS and now a transition to FBS might be blowing up in your faces.

There is no denying that Sac has brought in a lot of athletically talented players to their roster. Yes, Rashada was ranked as a 5 star QB coming out of HS, but his college career has been tumultuous to say the very least. Committed to FL and left with a lawsuit against the HC. Went to ASU where he had middling stats in a couple games. Transferred to Georgia where he never played and now to Sac. If he was ALL THAT he would have found a way to stick at one of the 3 FBS schools he had already been associated with. Could he dominate FCS competition? Sure, but we'll find out in the fall. Let's also not forget Cal Poly had a 5 star QB transfer in Sam Huard and he was unimpressive. He had a lot less talent around him, but the point still stands that he was not a program changer for the Mustangs.

I still believe that if Sac State does dominate this season then Marion is gone especially if the FBS transition does not materialize. He is the definition of a ladder climber. He doesn't have any reason or ties to Sac State to keep him around if a bigger program comes knocking.

You lost me.
What do Jackson St, Colorado, Indiana, App St, Boise St have in common? Jackson State and Colorado I get.its Deion Sanders. He had a streaming channel reality show
App state to me is an argument for not moving to FBS, they went from being a massive FCS success to a mediocre team in a less than mediocre FBS conference. I can’t even spell their name.
Does Sac have a chance with their 2025 schedule to upset a Michigan, or an Oklahoma?

I have to think this is not a surprise to Woods or the Sac administration. If they were truly blind sided by this, they either bought into their own hype, were too naive to run a D1 athletics program, just plain stupid, or all of the above. If they were serious about FBS, from the start this was a hastily contrived and poorly executed plan. Just track the narrative:
PAC 12 membership gave way to FBS independent which gave way to FCS independent in a Olympic sport conference their rivals just upgraded from.
New stadium gave way to renovated stadium which gave way to renovated bathrooms.
These “facilities renovations” are small capital projects for a mid-sized college and calling them “phases” is just showmanship. I do not think Dr. Woods is stupid, but I do think this was never a serious plan.
All this may very well get them an FCS championship with players and a coach who were brought in on promises of an FBS transition and new facilities. That is if they can keep their “student athletes” out of trouble. I could sit here and say I wish Sac the best and hope they find their footing, but it would be a lie. In order to gain attention, they sold their plan on smoke & mirrors and outright lies. This allowed them to attract a group of highly athletic players as hired guns, disregarding and standards of academics and integrity.

I think the goal was to liberate NIL money, and a prerequisite for that was painting the picture of Sac being FBS. The Woods brothers see the future as one where big football programs thrive and small levels and programs suffer, and want to get into the big category. They apparently feel the Mountain West is on the wrong side of that divide. They got their NIL money and they made their pitch with success.
Now they have hit an obstacle, but the NCAA is toothless, and is on a long losing streak in the courts. It wouldn’t surprise me if the NCAA encourages a conference to invite Sac to avoid a potential law suit. They haven’t failed yet.

We don't know that the MWC ever had any real interest in Sac, no?