Commencement programs will proceed as planned at Golden 1 Center after Kings’ playoff loss
The Kings’ loss Sunday at the hands of the Golden State Warriors put an end to a remarkable season, but it also provided some scheduling clarity for thousands of college students and their families.
With the Kings’ elimination from the NBA playoffs, Sacramento State and UC Davis will both be able to use Golden 1 Center, as planned, for their undergraduate commencement ceremonies in the coming weeks.
If the Kings had advanced to the Western Conference Finals, by defeating the Warriors and then the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference semifinals, Sacramento State would have been forced to move its May 19-21 graduation proceedings from the downtown arena to Hornet Stadium, the university’s football field.
That would have been significant, moving from an indoor to an outdoor venue during a period of unsettled weather conditions. Robert Nelsen, the university’s president, said in his contingency plan that commencement would have proceeded “rain or shine” if moved to Hornet Stadium.
UC Davis is also slated to hold its undergraduate commencement at Golden 1 Center, June 16-18.
The Kings would have needed to advance all the way to the NBA Finals to disrupt those ceremonies; in that scenario, UC Davis would have moved commencement back on its campus, but still indoors, at the University Credit Union Center.
UC Davis last year attempted to hold undergraduate commencement on its football field, but had to halt the ceremony midway through its first day due to extreme heat that resulted in three dozen heat-related medical calls by paramedics. Temperatures in Davis reached the mid-90s by late morning.
Neither university’s contingency plan for a deep Kings playoff run will have to be implemented, though, after the Kings lost Sunday afternoon to the Warriors, 120-100, in Game 7 of the first round.
