NCAA to deny Sacramento State's FBS wavier request

The NCAA Division I Council on Tuesday voted to deny Sacramento State's request to join FBS, Yahoo's Ross Dellenger reported, with a final decision expected Wednesday.

This move was expected once the FBS Oversight Committee last week recommended to the Council to deny Sac State's request, on account of the Hornets not having a conference willing to sponsor their move to college football's top division. 

"The committee noted a conference invitation is of paramount importance for entering into the reclassification process because the invitation signals an institution’s readiness to enter the process," the Oversight Committee said last week. "Although a waiver of the bona fide invitation requirement was granted in 2017, that decision was made in a different era, under a different set of facts and rules... Due to the significance of the bona fide invitation from an FBS conference requirement and the lack of compelling mitigation explaining why that requirement, one that several other FCS institutions have met in recent years, has not been met, the committee does not support relief.”

Sacramento State spoke its desire to play FBS football into existence last October, unveiling renderings for a brand new 25,000-seat stadium and announcing a ludicrous $35 million in NIL support. Sac State's desire to bring FBS football to Sacramento is not without logic; Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto (No. 20) is the largest media market in the nation without NFL and/or FBS football, and fellow Cal State system schools like Fresno State, San Diego State and San Jose State have thrived and/or existed in FBS for decades. 

However, Sacramento State style of communicating its desire to leave FCS behind turned many off within the NCAA and may have ultimately damaged the Hornets' chances of getting a waiver.

Meanwhile, Sacramento State announced last week it will leave the Big Sky Conference on June 30, 2026, to join the Big West in Olympic sports while competing as an FCS independent in football. The Hornets undoubtedly hope that will be a temporary solution while the school tries to find a way into FBS, but that desire may not be realistic.