In the spirit of addressing both sides of the argument, and perhaps to persuade those who are unsure, we decided to do what we do best and write about it! James will address the potential positives, while Alexis does the same for the negatives.<\/p>\n
SAN JOSE, CA – AUGUST 29: Sacramento State Hornets OL Aidan Meek (74) signals touchdown in the game between the Sacramento State Hornets and the San Jose State Spartans on August 29, 2024 at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, CA. (Photo by Larry Placido\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n There is certainly a lot you can say about Sacramento State, but the one thing you can\u2019t say is that they aren\u2019t committed to mixing things up.<\/p>\n Sac State has ramped up investment to jump divisions over the last two years<\/a>, with the acknowledgement of emergent changes at the NCAA level necessitating a bold change in direction. To wit, the Hornets have attracted an independent collective<\/a> full of alumni and influential politicians which have promised approximately $35 million to help Sac State ramp up their NIL efforts and get the university under the public light\u2014 with the stated mission of getting to as much $50 million in NIL investment to hit the ground running at the FBS level.<\/p>\n Also noted in the pitch deck are brand-new stadia for football, soccer, rugby and baseball<\/a> on the site of the old California Expo horse-racing track. Though the cost isn\u2019t explicitly stated, estimates seem to range between $250 million and $310 million, which is quite the pretty penny.<\/p>\n Combined with a feverish commitment to realizing the transition project from university president Luke Wood and athletic director Mark Orr, and it\u2019s clear this is a train which has no sign of stopping\u2014 for better or worse.<\/p>\n Sac State\u2019s membership will reportedly include $18 million in membership fees, which will likely be split between the 12 remaining members and the conference to the tune of $1.5 million each\u2014 a not-insignificant boost to cash flow depending on how and when it is distributed. It\u2019s certainly a much higher level of investment than fellow FCS jumper North Dakota State, who paid the Mountain West $12 million for the privilege of moving to the FBS level in football earlier in the week.<\/p>\n When announcing their intention to go to the FBS, Sacramento State\u2019s initial goal was to raise $5.25 million to join a conference<\/a>. Considering initial reports had Sac State shopping at around $10 million at the start of the year, and $15 million as recently as Friday, $18 million is a nice get for a conference with several members in severe money pains.<\/p>\n Sac State is also a positive addition in terms of media market. The MAC\u2019s upcoming media rights negotiations in 2027 necessitated a move\u2014 especially with Northern Illinois departing in 2026. Sacramento State brings with them a top-20 television market to enter discussions with, and\u2014 importantly\u2014 won\u2019t be taking any part of the current or future media deals as part of their agreement with the conference. It\u2019s about as win-win as it gets for the conference in terms of risk\/reward.<\/p>\n The concerns about travel are slightly exaggerated; Sacramento State will likely be scheduled in such a way so they can stack visits in one trip, while MAC schools will only have to worry about one visit every three years at minimum. (Their scheduling pod is to be determined, but even then, visits would be once every two years.) As part of the deal, Sacramento State is set to pay for all air travel expenses to fellow MAC members, which should help assuage any concerns.<\/p>\n Regardless of how one feels about Sac State specifically, it was imperative for the conference to make some kind of move this offseason; previous attempts at expansion for the sake of preservation had failed back in 2022, when Middle Tennessee State re-committed to Conference USA after a brief flirtation, killing off the potential additions of both them and Western Kentucky University.<\/p>\n Ohio and the Sun Belt Conference were linked together as well in the wake of NIU\u2019s departure in 2025, while Toledo previously rebuffed an approach from the Mountain West. Even now, rumors continue to swirl around some MAC members exploring drop downs to the FCS.<\/p>\n Sacramento State\u2019s addition does ruin the conference\u2019s geographic integrity, which to this point has been the conference\u2019s biggest strength, but affiliations aren\u2019t something the MAC is unfamiliar with. UCF (now with the Big 12 Conference) and Temple (now with the American Athletic Conference) both had decent stints in the MAC in the 2000s, while UMass joined the conference straight out of the FCS in 2011. There\u2019s a blueprint for success there.<\/p>\n Assuming everything goes to plan, Sacramento State is a scrappy, eager addition who is immediately positioned to make some noise in the football ranks within three years of their jump to the highest division in college football, while taking the increasingly-modern approach of keeping their other sports in a lower division. The move also gives the conference a foothold in the West, which opens up possibilities down the line\u2014 whether that\u2019s in the recruiting pipelines, or even looking at potential membership.<\/p>\n (MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher\u2019s excitement for adding UMass to the conference was, in part, to get a firmer footprint in the Northeast, something he brought up during MAC Media Days prior to the season<\/a>.)<\/p>\n In the short term, the MAC has addressed NIU\u2019s departure and showed its flexibility to its member institutions, while flexing its muscle to outside observers, showing they\u2019re not going to take realignment lying down. With two new members in two years, the MAC now has the ability to prove to media companies and potential prospect schools they have growth potential\u2014 and they have done so at terms beneficial to the conference, as Sac State gave the conference a favorable offer for membership.<\/p>\n The long-term outlook is admittedly harder to project. Will Sacramento State leave early if it works too well? What happens if they can\u2019t uphold their end of the bargain? What if the Hornets can\u2019t leverage their MAC success to go elsewhere? How does that change the MAC\u2019s relative stability?<\/p>\n For now, taking a cautiously optimistic approach is for the best.<\/p>\n Should it all work out, Sac State would be an immediate stand-out blueprint to build upon for other conference members and show Western-based programs the feasibility of joining the MAC if they so desire. At the very least, this is a move that should up the stakes for the conference and inject much-needed energy (and capital) into a league which is perceived as being dead in the water.<\/p>\n If it doesn\u2019t? The MAC can safely let Sacramento State walk, only suffering a temporary embarrassment for their troules.<\/p>\n Either way, this is a gamble both sides had to take in an increasingly dog-eat-dog college football landscape. Here is hoping it works.<\/p>\n![\"SAN](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/gettyimages-2168566294.jpg\"\/)
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