also they wouldn't really help the Pac at all.

I can't believe that Sac actually went through with this whole process without having some backroom handshakes already done. They did well in hiring Marion, but the administrative handling of their "transition" to FBS is looking nothing short of disastrous at this point.

I have SERIOUS doubts the PAC is interested in Sac at this point. They've already insisted numerous times they aren't interested in adding a FCS transition team and there are already established FBS programs looking to move conferences.

Same Brewster whose Gophers lost twice to Junior Varsity teams from North Dakota State?

There’s a significant amount of money going out. Can someone help clarify where the incoming revenue is expected to come from?

Only a handful of fans—maybe three—are voicing concerns about this decision on X. I think that speaks volumes.

Click on the image to expand it to see the whole post from Brennan Marion:

Most accurate replies:
"He will be gone in a year"
"Translation: I don't want the recruits to bail on us"

What are all of these 3-4 star guys going to do when it hits they are playing in the FCS for likely their entire time in Sacramento?

This whole thing looks like its not going to end well.....

About half of Sacs transfers are seniors, FBS or FCS makes no difference to them.
My question is whether they will want to play in the playoffs games without a bonus.

The older guys are probably stuck at this point......but it does leave a lot of younger guys....

Do you think FCS or FBS is the driver for recruits? Many had established FBS teams that they passed over, teams that are immediately eligible for the famous potato bowl or other high profile showcases, whereas Sac isn’t eligible for bowls once they get their transition started. I think they had other incentives.

I think *with the type of guys Sac is bringing in* I think more than a few of these guys were lured by the excitement of a new HC, stadium upgrade, Shaq / Bibby on campus, and an FBS move...basically they were sold on an up-and-coming program. They likely had never even heard of Sac State.
So, I just wonder what this all looks like for these guys when they realize Sac State is really just "Sac State" after all. I'm not saying there's going to be a mass exodus, but I wonder how many guys will stick, especially the younger guys...

If they all get their $$ I guess all could be well....

Denying their waiver at least gives the players some goal for the season, if some are seeking something beyond polishing their resume for the portal.

I would hold off any projections until December. Nothing is normal right now. SACST has the horses to win a ton of games this year. If they can win and send some kids to the NFL via draft...things might be very different in a year.

The traditional college experience that we grew up with is over. College sports is really just becoming semi-pro ball. It's a job. Kids are not looking to be a Aggie, Irish, or Trojan anymore...its about building your brand to capitalize and maximize your opportunity to make money. I think SACST sees this and are going all in.

Most kids are still looking to get an education and have a good experience. Most will not get offered big bucks. The free education is still the largest reward schools are offering to the large majority of athletes, and many recruits still value the education and experience. There is a subset of kids that don’t value that, and will treat college like semi pro, and attend colleges that provide the most cash and the least education, the later approach will work for some and fail others.

We’re full steam ahead and we still plan to be playing FBS football in 2026.

What does that even mean? They will just play an FBS schedule as an FCS independent? That is the plan? No conference, no postseason? Just a vagabond team of misfits playing exhibitions?

There are things in the works that I can't go into detail on right now but our full expectation is that we will be making the move to FBS in the near future.

Yes "things are in the works" just like getting into the Pac-12 was in the works, or getting into the MWC was in the works, or going FBS independent was in the works. NOW things are REALLY in the works! Trust us!

The traditional college experience that we grew up with is over. — Sailorgabe

I'd say 99% of the guys on the Davis roster are living the traditional college experience. Full or partial scholarship, and football. Lan and a couple others got a little extra cash.
I'd say this is the entire FCS.

The FBS is becoming what you are talking about.

Be very surprised if this situation doesn’t result in litigation. Classic bait and switch operation. Sac better be prepared to make good on all the scholarship offers made beyond the 83 allowed for FCS schools (if this in fact occurred) or it’s going to get sued big time. I think it’s called detrimental reliance on a promise that was false or negligently made. Something like that.

The FCS scholarship limit is the same as FBS scholarship limit for teams that opt into the House settlement, i.e. unlimited. Replaced by a roster limit of 105. There is a Big Sky Conference limit of 63 but i doubt they have an enforcement arm.
The litigation will be whether Sac pays the amount of NIL money promised.and there will likely be litigation of Sac suing the NCAA.

it reminds me of the episode of the office where Oscar tells Michael he needs to declare bankruptcy.

‘I DECLARE BANKRUPTCY!!!’

‘Uh, Michael, there’s a little more to it than that’

True. By December, there will be a few pertinent questions answered:

Can Marion Brennan make the leap from successful position coach and offensive coordinator to head coach?

Does Sac State really "have the horses" to win lots of games?

Did a bunch of individuals focused on "building their brand to capitalize and maximize their opportunity to make money" coalesce into an actual team?

Will the recruits with questionable backgrounds stay out of trouble (on AND off the field)?

Did the Hornets indeed win "a bunch of games?"

If Sac is really successful, who is still around?

I recall one of the skeptical Hornet posters on the Sac board mentioning months ago “I hope we don’t pull a Suck State on this”. That comment has aged like fine wine.

Marion is probably gone by January one way or the other. If he’s good, he gets scooped. If it’s bad, he’s the scapegoat for busted dreams.

If Sac doesn’t get a legit invite, at some point Wood will get told to sit down and shut up if the governor decides to run for higher office. The last thing a politician needs is to discuss why a university with negative cashflow is trying to rattle the cage on FBS where there are already too many mouths to feed if you ask the big boys.

The difficulty in making Marion the scapegoat is that Sac’s football record is not what makes them unattractive to conferences. Sac had impressive recent success in football. They had a nineteen game conference win streak just a few years ago, had a winning record in 2023 including a win at Stanford and conferences weren’t and aren’t after them to join.

It’s the President of sac who has to stand up and take responsibility for his actions. And I would not want to be in his shoes when the chancellor of the CSU calls him on this.

agreed. The point I was trying to make was that Wood and Marion are upwardly mobile self-preservationists. I don’t think either will hesitate to deflect responsibility on each other if desired results are not achieved and they run out of third parties to blame.

It is odd that the focus of moving up seems to be on how the football team performs, when I suspect the conferences have expressed other concerns, and rather than addressing those concerns, whatever they are, Sac doubles down on proving the football team is good. Short of winning a national championship can’t prove anything new at the FCS level, with this years weak schedule.

Marion is a coach, given authority to act and goodies to disburse as if he was at Nevada Las Vegas or Texas, so he does. I don’t know that that shows bad character or dishonesty.
Woods is a pitchman, with the ethics of the marketplace, selling a vision unlikely to come to fruition as a sure thing. Buyer beware.

Short of winning a national championship can’t prove anything new at the FCS level, with this years weak schedule. — Riveraggie

No doubt that Marion has brought in an unprecedented FCS recruiting class. You would think, that with so many FBS transfers with 3 to 5 star ratings, they should dominate their FCS opponents or, as Dr. Wood likes say, "the JV football programs" on their schedule. It's going to be embarrassing for them if they don't.

NOTE: Those are "3 to 5 stars" players who didn't shine at a previous stop or stops. So they still have to live up to that rating.

And even if they do, the fact that they were "varsity players" playing a "JV schedule" might lessen whatever they accomplish in the eyes of scouts/recruiters (for individual players), or conferences that Sac might be interested in joining. Damned if they do, damned if they don't situation.