If Sac will agree to continuing the home and home series, we should do that, just like we did when we were D2 and they were I-AA. If they only want home games, they need to pay like Cal or Stanford or other FBS options, which they won't be able to. So that'll be the end of that until we move up.

Nobody has even started talking about the possibility of Sac St. being FCS and without a conference in 2026. Big Sky won't pick up the phone, as they've clearly moved on.

Interesting question legally as to whether the NCAA has any say in who they let in to FBS.
If the court rules the NCAA has to let Sac in, it looks like any school who has $5 million and funds the correct amount of scholarships/ sports is in. This could severely diminish the NCAA's FBS brand. From Sac's perspective: what even is the criteria besides meeting these requirements, arbitrary popularity contest?

Assuming Sac makes it into the FBS, would you still want to play Sac every year if Davis only plays one FBS game? Playing two FBS games is not advantageous to making the playoffs. That may not be true if Sac isn’t good, but hypothetically if Sac played at a level of a Pac12 team, would you want to play them exclusively as the one FBS game?

Right, this has to make sense for Davis too. Including whether Davis would want to play 2 FBS games per year. Because playing one FBS game vs. the same team every year is very limiting to the recruiting / marketing benefit to playing up.

It's probably moot as Sac would not agree to it even if we wanted it. So probably won't happen and that'll be the end of the series until we move up I guess.

This will be really interesting to revisit after this football season.

I’d venture 2026 FCS independent is the likely outcome based on what we know now. Court cases can take a long time. They have 2 games on the books - Fresno and Lamar. Aside from that they just have uncertainty because they don’t exactly have friends or money. But yes, when you remove all guardrails, you end up with bad fries at Taco Bell and worse tacos at Burger King. Categories exist for a reason.

Given how this stadium charade is going, along with the FBS plan, one has to wonder if the bottom may fall out on their 2026 schedule. They don't have money to pay for six homes games. Big Sky games will be hard to come by. Are they going to sign a bunch of oddball FCS home and homes to fill out the schedule?

Its shaping up to be panic time for Dr. Wood...especially with all these FBS transfers signed up for big things.

Lincoln (CA) at Sac State 2026, book it!

We are associated with SACST and have been for a very long time. That being said, natural rivalries make the sport overall better.Cal has Stanford. USC has UCLA. Why? Because they are geographically relevant. We have that in SACST vs UCD. Don't minimalize it, embrace it. Promote it. Make it a Sacramento Metro Area game that everyone watches.

I get all that and agree with you about the importance of the rivalry, but I'm not sure how these schools are expected to work together, and to what end. I honestly want to know in what ways you think Sac and Davis should be working together.

The rivalry is hard to embrace and promote when Sac is jumping divisions and leaving the conference we share. All the other teams you mentioned are conference / subdivision mates. Sac and Davis will be neither.

As I stated above........
Sac has created two issues:
1. Does it make sense for Davis to play a rivalry game on the road every year? No
2. Does it make sense for Davis to play the same FBS team every year? No

If Sac actually makes it to FBS, I see us playing them every 2-3 years at their place with a $450,000 pay out to the Ags. Any other scenario doesn’t make sense to me.

There is no way in the next decade that Sac state pays out 400,000 plus to play us unless they back door into the Pac-12. Which is very unlikely at this point. The highest odds are that the entire house of stingers comes tumbling down and Sac state folds their tent on the entire sports program.

Agreed. Without the payout we don’t have much of a reason to play them if they're FBS.

Let's see how this looks after the season. Sports is about winning. Sports is also about having the best talent. Right now SAC has some of the best talent in the FCS if not FBS with that backfield. When you have a coaching staff and big time endorsements from high profile athletes like Shaq and Bibby this thing can grow. One thing SAC has is a great fan base - if it can be tapped for college sports, we all benafit.

Bob Dunning: "Sacramento State, which has severed its Big Sky ties after this season, isn't sure where its football program will land, given that the NCAA has turned down its bid to be an FBS independent. There will be no crawling back to the Big Sky on bended knee, with multiple sources indicating the Hornets burned the Big Sky bridge with their quick exit."

Wouldn't Sac State's athletic future be 1000% better in FCS - with reasonable, logical steps - trying to move up?

It seems like football is on thin ice, which won't make the FB roster committed. Which means the Go Go will be Gone Gone.

Can basketball and the Olympic sports play as independents?

i thought their olympic sports were heading to the Big West?

Possibly, too much going on at Sac.

Sac may have gotten out over their skis with their Pac-12 dreams and their sudden discourteous flight from the Big Sky, but if Sac football withers couldn't the other sports remain in the Big West?

Yes.

Such a poor decision to ditch the Big Sky prematurely.
I think it's funny how quicky they were replaced, and how impossible it is for them to come back.

g

Moved to OT Board. Because although its been a fascinating saga, its Sac.

1:20 = "finding JOY in the journey"... Humm, sounds familiar.

I noticed that as well...

Was listening to KHTK on drive up to mountains and they had Mark Orr on concerning the signing of MOU with Cal Expo to explore feasibility and potential move forward. Should be interesting to see what happens.

Good old Carmichael Dave was looking ahead to the days when Sac will be a top 10 FBS team, snd biggest story on the nation. I fear for current FCS schools, like us, Sac and the northern powers, that ship set sail awhile back. The top conferences after going to see fit that they control the playoffs and TV.

If you want to make an impact, put the cash in basketball. I’d bet on Grand Canyon making the final four before any current FCS makes the FBS playoffs regardless of how much it expands

We certainly have a storied and proud football history and I'm excited about the growth of the program and the direction we're heading. However, I've always felt that basketball is the sport that we could get the most return for the investment...many fewer scholarships and a much less expensive sport considering equipment, travel and the number of coaches necessary etc etc.

I think we are currently seeing the Athletic Department making a significant push in basketball and gearing up for MWC play in 2026. Hopefully, we can be relatively competitive in the MWC early on against bigger name programs. I think we'll see a dramatic increase in our fan base if that happens.

Exciting times for all Aggie sports currently!