How the ‘Shaq Pact’ is Sac State’s bargain deal of historic proportions | Opinion
Shaquille O’Neal could be the most heavyweight volunteer in the history of the California State University system, both literally and figuratively.
Sacramento State’s announcement that O’Neal is the new general manager for the men’s basketball team is a star-studded addition to a team that plays in the most humble of gymnasiums. A son who recently joined the team, Shaqir, is obviously the draw.
This is almost enough for long-time Sacramentans to find the heart to forgive Shaquille for breaking ours in 2002 when his Los Angeles Lakers beat the local Kings in the conference playoff finals, the historic seventh game defeat a near fatal civic blow. Almost.
The 23-campus CSU system, replete with public employee unions, collective bargaining and the occasional strike, has meticulous details to encourage volunteerism as well as prevent an outsider from doing work of a paid staffer. Normally in this world, people with the title of general manager are full-fledged employees. But University President Luke Wood thinks he’s figured out the solution.
“It’s easy in this case,” Wood said. “He’s not supplanting represented work,” as in someone represented by a union. “He’s thoughtful in support of the campus.”
And the title is more honorary than literal. O’Neal joins a growing number of sports superstars to help a cherished university. Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, for example, has an assistant general manager title at his alma mater, Davidson college, where he has helped fund sports programs.
O’Neal’s job, said Wood, is four-fold — to mentor players aspiring for professional careers, helping to secure sponsorships, recruit players and “have really good, fun atmosphere at games.”
As what has become an unfortunate custom under Sac State’s new president, the university would not readily provide O’Neal’s formal agreement with the university for his voluntary services, which is as public a document that exists on campus.
In college sports, athletes enter what is known as a “portal” to leave one institution to play for another. Sac State, meanwhile, has invented its own virtual portal where the public must go request a university document. A university spokesperson directed me to the portal instead of simply providing O’Neal’s agreement in the spirit of public transparency, saying nobody was getting it without a trip to the portal.
At least Sac State’s handling of the Shaq pact is consistent.
Sac State similarly refused to provide the freshly minted contract of the new football coach, Brennan Marion, when his hiring was announced in December. I was forced into the university records portal. Eight days later, the portal provided Marion’s contract (he is guaranteed $710,004, plus various bonus opportunities, for five years.)
Again, when the university in March announced former Sacramento Kings star Mike Bibby as the university’s new basketball coach, his contract wasn’t readily available, prompting another trip to the portal. His contract has less guaranteed money than for Marion ($450,000, plus potential bonuses and $4,800 a year for a car) and is also for five years.
Bibby recruited Shaqir O’Neal through the college athletics transfer portal, the forward coming to Sacramento from Florida A&M. Now “Shaq Daddy,” one of his father’s many nicknames, is ready to help the Hornets. And the portal of talent coming to town clearly hasn’t closed, with San Diego standout guard Mikey Williams heading to the capital from the University of Central Florida.
Who knows how long the Shaqramento era will last. The college transfer portal has become one of the nation’s busiest interstates, a two-way street that can bring joy and devastation to a campus. For Sac State and the Hornet faithful, this is a moment to savor for however long it lasts.
“This is a seismic shift in how Sacramento State has approached athletics,” Wood said. How can O’Neal, 7-foot-1 inch with a playing weight of more than 300 pounds, be anything but seismic?
Bibby was the star guard for the Kings in that glorious 2002 run toward the championship until O’Neal got in the way. Sacramento’s about to see what happens when these two line up on the same side of the court. Never has a local sports manager been such a bargain.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM.