You guys really called it. Based on his track record I thought he’d be there for 2-3 seasons but this is nuts.

I feel for the AD, Mark Orr. Seems like a good guy and competent AD. But he’s been put in an awful position by an egotist president who doesn’t seem to have realistic expectations.

I genuinely don’t want to be “that guy” … buuuuuuut … we were planning to revisit this topic in December and discuss how Sacramento State was making all the right moves while we remained complacent. I apologize for bringing this up, but if I recall correctly, you were quite vocal about their actions.

I'm not sure how competent.

I wish Marion the best at CU. I could see his frustration in his press conferences. My guess is he genuinely cared about giving these kids a chance. I can't help but notice the parallel to what he talked about with his childhood moving every year, then years later doing the same with his coaching career.

I thought he was a Sac plant for a while. The moves they were making didn’t make any sense. They were total JV moves. They may lose their program over this. Wood will not be at that University for much longer.

No, you called it. I was totally wrong. What can I say, I'm a sucker for the underdog. mia culpa, mia culpa!!

I will say, at least you can admit that you were wrong on this one unlike our friends across the causeway. The folks over on the Sac forum are struggling to come to terms with the fact the administration lied to them and believe that it will be easy enough to bring in Troy Taylor to fix it now. I'm not so sure Troy doesn't look at this situation and say "naaah, I'm good"

I believe we all got swept up in the hype. This year, I’ve watched more Sacramento State football than I have in all previous years combined. I’m optimistic that they’ll overcome this setback and continue moving forward. One distraction has been eliminated, leaving them with one more to contend with.

This year, I’ve watched more Sacramento State football than I have in all previous years combined. — PortlandAggie

Same! For me it was morbid curiosity.

I talked with Dr. Wood this morning. He says everyone needs to calm down and stop hating - FBS conference offer by the end of next week.

Okay, I hate to bring this up, but Wood is on record saying he wants to "eliminate whiteness" at Sac State. So will that be an impediment to hiring Taylor...a white guy with baggage?

Its a fair question. It will be interesting to see what Wood does here. Bring in the guy who is best for the football program, or someone that is best for him.
Also this should be an Orr-driven thing...but we all know Wood is in charge. The whole thing is bad.

I agree. It's why I think if SACST and Davis worked together, we could create a pocket of elite football in the area. Look at the top recruits in the state, notice most of them are leaving out of the state. Why? I think its in large part because there isn't a ton of options in California - unless you are lucky enough to get into Cal, Stanford, USC, or UCLA. We could fill this gap in opportunity for HS kids. I love natural rivals it makes the sport better overall in my opinion.

He didn't mean whiteness in that sense, he meant he was going to rid the school of rational thinking. He has a top down strategy.

Everything is totally fine, guys!

fake news... Am I doing it right?

I understand what you're saying, and I did/do realize that. However, as we've all talked about, athletics is the face of a university, so I think that ight still factor into Wood' thinking, particularly on very visible hires.

Nice idea. But in order to work together, corporations or similar entities like universities need to have a reasonably aligned vision and process. Otherwise the partnership won't work. UCD and Sac St, athletics currently don't have anything close to that. And I for one, would not support UCD aligning with Sac State's approach at all. I equally don't see Luke Wood suddenly seeing becoming one of the grownups in the room.

Contrast where the moves over the last year have taken each school. Despite the hoopla and chatter that you previously lauded, which school is on a more solid path to future success?

The reason college football as regions of support is due to inclusiveness. If you look at any conference, say, the SEC. Before the SEC was the SEC it was a small regional conference. It depended on local rivalries and communities to identify with a school, look at Miss ST and Miss...are those schools any better than UCD and SACST? If you have been there you know the answer. Same with Kentucky, South Carolina, Vandy...all small schools in small states with a fraction of what Sacramento area has in regards to infrastructure and money. Look at the local high school athletes in the area, none consider the local schools. We need to change that. Folsom QB Lyons is one of the best QB's in the country and he didn't even consider Davis or SAC. If we can fix this reputation we can make the sport better for both schools and we all win.

Orr appears to be on the same page as Dr. Wood, but this appears to be a no brain-er. TT itching to go (??), and timing is critical.

Does TT expect 700K?? If the CSU works like the UC system, that could skyrocket his pension. I'd pay him fair, not 700K.

TT could:
- become an OC in the Midwest or South (if he can land a position), and uproot his family
- volunteer at a high school
- retire
- rebuild Sac in his hometown, with an option for another shot as an FBS HC in 4-6 years after his kids are grown

#4 seems superior to me.

“ Folsom QB Lyons is one of the best QB's in the country and he didn't even consider Davis or SAC. ”
That’s because BYU offered him 2M and are letting him do a 2 year mission before he even shows up on campus.

CSUC pensions are basically the same as UC - driven by years of service. Probably needs 2 more years just to vest. 10 years would get get a (max) 25% pension if he takes it at max age (is that still 60?)

I see that you don't address my point of commonality of interest and process at all. I would argue that, though they are fierce competitors, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt have always had a similar approach to athletics, particularly football.

SEC football always was "the closest thing to a secular religion in the US" (George Will). Nick Saban has pointed out that the lack of professional sports in the SEC footprint prior to 1960 gave birth to and nurtured the most, passionate and dedicated fanbases in all of college sports. “So, everybody in the Southeast grew up being college fans of some kind. Whether it was football or basketball, they were college fans. And that’s why you have such passion in this league because people grew up with it, and it’s never changed. And I think that’s what makes this league a little different.”

That passion developed over decades, with no competition from pro sports. That's not the case here. There's competition from pro sports within the region and from the outside. Look at the crowds at 49er games, Kings or Warriors games, Giants games. There's always a sizable portion of the crowd wearing jerseys of the visiting teams. And those people ARE NOT all people who travelled from Pittsburg, or Dallas or wherever. While I would love to see our region 100% behind the local sports teams, it is no longer the case.

To your point, I would argue that 1) Atlanta, Baton Rouge-New Orleans, Nashville, several of the Florida markets have been, and are, comparable to Sacramento in terms of infrastructure. 2) And at least comparable, if not superior in terms of money - and especially OLD money. 3) And it isn't just HAVING the money, it's what people are willing to spend it on. The BIG money folks in the South have been willing to spend on their preferred school athletics for decades. The only schools that really have that out here are Stanford, which hasn't capitalized on it, and USC, which certainly has.

Have you been to the University of South Carolina or the University of Kentucky? THE USC is definitely not small with over 38,000 students. The university is blocks away from the state capital and has a very large footprint. Vandy is smallish with a bit over 13,000 students but Kentucky has almost 36,000 students. Our two oldest children graduated from South Carolina however when our daughter was in high school we visited a number of SEC schools while she was being recruited to play soccer. Most of the schools are pretty impressive.

Are coaches even included in the UC/CSU pension system. I remember that when Jim Sochor was being seriously recruited to coach at Cal, one of the sticking points was that his faculty status within the UC system would not continue as a coach at Cal. It wouldn't continue to accrue years of service, nor could that status protect him from termination, they way he was protected as a faculty member here at UCD.

Question: How hard is it for Sac St. transfers to get into Davis? They had a couple STUDS. I’d imagine Marion takes them but who knows?

I really don’t want to work with Sac State on anything. I’d rather work with Cal and Stanford.

So Brennan Marion is joining the rampant greed and madness of P4 football:

Colorado forecasts $27 million deficit after Deion Sanders pay raise, NIL payments

The University of Colorado’s athletic department is projecting that it will run a $27 million deficit during the current fiscal year ending in June 2026, in addition to needing $11.9 million in institutional support from the university and $2.2 million from student fees, according to budget figures obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

Those numbers are not final. The athletic department is hoping to bring that deficit down by the end of June with revenue from donations, sponsorships and concerts at Folsom Field. But it has never reported a deficit that big before, which could potentially leave the athletic department in need of more than $41 million in subsidies from the university, including the institutional support and student fees.

Whole article here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/colorado-forecasts-27-million-deficit-after-deion-sanders-pay-raise-nil-payments/ar-AA1RyYT8