Sac State cuts spacial ties with tribal college. Women’s basketball team remains
Wicahpi Cuny’s passion for basketball led her to Sacramento State.
Cuny, who is Lakota and from Rapid City, was recruited by the California Tribal College last year to play for the Lady Eagles, an all-women, all-Indigenous basketball team affiliated with the university.
The team held a predominantly victorious record of 15-5 and 8-1 in the Southwestern States Intercollegiate Conference.
But the spacial partnership that brought Cuny and many of her teammates to Sacramento no longer exists.
Half of California Tribal College’s cohort dropped out in 2024 after the institution failed to keep its promises of reduced tuition and affordable housing to incoming students. In November, Sacramento State severed ties with the nonprofit.
Today, the only remnant of that collaboration is the Lady Eagles.
Cuny is one of 50 students recruited by California Tribal College, a nonprofit which partnered with Sacramento State during the summer to boost the university’s small Native American enrollment. Native students make up just 1% of the university’s 30,000 student population, according to demographics from this spring.
After California Tribal College partnered with Sac State, the team began working closely with the tribal college’s athletic director and the Southwestern States Conference league commissioner to create an athletics program, according to a statement from the Lady Eagles. In October 2024, the Lady Eagles were “reaffirmed” of their status as “an intercollegiate, non-NCAA independent varsity program.”
Cuny transferred to Sacramento State from United Tribes Technical College, a private nonprofit college in Bismarck, North Dakota. Walking onto Sacramento State’s campus, Cuny said she felt overwhelmed by how big the campus is compared to her last school which had only 500 students.
“It’s definitely different, but I think by my second semester, I’m adjusting better,” Cuny said. “My classes and professors have been great, and we have resources in the (Esak’timá) Center for us.”
But the uncertainty of who the Lady Eagles belong to has resulted in setbacks for the team and its athletes.
Working toward conference requirements
In February, the Lady Eagles were deemed ineligible to play postseason in the Southwestern States Intercollegiate Conference due to a “misinterpretation of (their) standing,” with a higher education institution, the team said in a statement.
Sacramento State has no jurisdiction over the Lady Eagles’ operations due to regulations from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, said Christian Chapman, the team’s coach.
Sacramento State became involved with the team through the President’s Office, which made sure their athletes were “academically eligible” and that the team was able to get to and from games, Chapman explained.
Chapman said he reached out to Sacramento State for assistance, acting as a middle man between the university and the conference. After that conversation, the Lady Eagles were able to participate in the conference and played multiple games with no issues, he added.
The team later received an email saying they were ineligible to participate because they’re no longer with California Tribal College, Chapman said. The league coaches took a vote and ruled the Lady Eagles ineligible to continue in the conference.
“That’s kind of where there was an issue because we weren’t allowed to play. But we didn’t get this information until late January,” Chapman said. “This doesn’t really make sense considering the fact we played everybody already.”
Chapman said the team is working toward earning sanctions from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, which would make them eligible to compete in the conference. Chapman said they hope to form a partnership between the upcoming Sacramento State Native American College, which is set to launch its first cohort this fall.
Sac State terminates space agreement with CTC
California Tribal College was previously in a “shared space agreement” with Sacramento State, holding an physical office in Sacramento Hall, where President Luke Wood’s staff also works.
By the beginning of the spring semester, California Tribal College officially vacated the building, said Mark Wheeler, senior advisor to Wood.
Wheeler added that Sacramento State is “very sorry that events unfolded the way they did,” in regards to the fallout with students and California Tribal College’s former executive director.
“Everyone involved was traumatized. It’s always difficult when something like this happens, even with the best intentions all around,” Wheeler said. “When this kind of thing happens, it hurts. It hurts deeply.”
California Tribal College stated they are “hopeful for future collaborations” with Sacramento State again despite the dissolution of the shared space agreement. Juliet Maestas, the executive director, is no longer working with California Tribal College, the tribal institution said in a statement.
“(Sac State) have been very supportive to the CTC, helping us move forward,” wrote Mikela Jones, the interim executive director of California Tribal College. “The CTC is determined to develop culturally inclusive higher education programming to support the needs of tribal citizens across the state.”
In a statement, Wood said Sacramento State stands behind the Lady Eagles, even after the shared space break up between the tribal college and the university.
“(They) delivered an outstanding inaugural season, finishing with an impressive 15-5 overall record and dominating their conference at 8-1,” Wood said in a statement. “Coach Christian Chapman transformed this team into a formidable force on the court
The partnership between California Tribal College was made under the agreement that the nonprofit would recruit Native students for Sacramento State, said Wheeler. Instead, Wheeler said California Tribal College made promises and arrangements, like the Lady Eagles, without Sacramento State’s involvement. While the two were sharing space, Wheeler said he served as a liaison to California Tribal College as they explored accreditation to become an independent university.
“Their thinking and their decision making was theirs, and I felt very important that we yield to them full agency and autonomy,” Wheeler said. “They’re an independent 501c3. They have a board. They make decisions. And I respect them. I respect their power to make those decisions. But having made some decisions that impacted the students, we’ve had to do a lot of cleanup.”
Wheeler said he could not “speak to the future of the team” when it comes to their relationship with Sacramento State, but said he hopes the two can continue to work together.
“I do believe that there is a hope, and hope is what it is. This is not a promise. This is not a pledge. It’s an opportunity that we’re exploring with a positive attitude,” Wheeler said.
Wheeler said Sacramento State “tried to accommodate them in terms of housing, food, other support,” but did not elaborate. Vice President of Student Affairs Aniesha Mitchell wrote in a statement that Sacramento State supported the students recruited by California Tribal College, including the Lady Eagles, but did not provide a specific financial amount.
“We at Sacramento State believe it is critical that the Lady Eagles — who are also Sacramento State students — have all the support we can provide to ensure that they have a productive and positive academic experience,” Mitchell wrote. “We have provided a considerable amount of support to them to date and are committed to doing so for the remainder of this academic year. I prefer not to share details beyond that, however, to protect their privacy.”
While the Lady Eagles have faced difficulties, they have remained focused on doing whatever it takes to compete and earn athletic sanctioning, Chapman said.
The future is uncertain, but the Lady Eagles persist. They’re staying focus on creating their future, their team statement read.
“Our Lady Eagles program earned regular season co-champion status with a dominant 15-1 overall record and an 8-1 conference record,” the team’s statement read. “Despite this, we were informed just two weeks before the conference tourney that we were ineligible for the postseason, a decision that unfairly stripped our student-athletes of a well-deserved opportunity.”
“We are not seeking sympathy, we are building for the future. Our focus now is on achieving national athletic sanctioning for the 2025-2026 season, ensuring our athletics never face this kind of setback again,” the statement continued. “The work was done, the standard was set, and the record speaks for itself.”
