As Sonoma State abandons its athletics department, Sacramento State invests in theirs | Opinion

An unexpected experiment is about to take place in California that could reshape how we think about the role of athletics on college campuses.

As the California State University system grapples with budget cuts driven by a national trend of declining enrollment, individual campuses are being forced to make difficult decisions about where to allocate resources. Two schools — Sonoma State and Sacramento State — are taking radically different approaches, and the results could influence higher education institutions nationwide.

At Sonoma State, administrators eliminated the school’s athletic department and all 11 of the school’s National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II teams. The decision, framed as a necessary sacrifice to protect the school’s core academic mission, has left student-athletes, alumni and the local community reeling.

Meanwhile, Sacramento State leaders are making strategic investments: They seek to elevate their football program from the Football Championship Subdivision to the more prestigious Football Bowl Subdivision. This reflects a clear institutional belief that athletics are integral to the university’s growth and identity.

The debate over the place of sports in higher education is as old as college athletics itself. Many academics view athletic budgets as wasteful, arguing that sports have little to do with the fundamental mission of a university. This perspective is shortsighted. Athletics are among the most effective marketing and engagement tools a university has.

Gonzaga University’s basketball ascendancy since Mark Few took over the program in 1999 has been a catalyst for significant enrollment growth at the Jesuit liberal arts college. The Spokane Spokesman-Review reported that enrollment swelled from 4,185 in 1999 to 7,605 in 2013.

“Gonzaga was really suffering (in 1999),” donor Don Herak told the Spokesman-Review in 2013. “The basketball team was the catalyst for changing Gonzaga.”

Butler, Virginia Commonwealth, Boise State and the University of Oregon are among the colleges that have experienced enrollment boosts directly attributed to on-field and court success.

A 2023 study by the Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics found that college athletics enhance a sense of community on campus — one that universities can leverage and use to justify the expenses incurred by investing in enhanced athletic facilities. These benefits can and have created strong connections between universities and alumni that can result in communities of supporters who invest in the athletic programs.

Perhaps most importantly, athletics provide students — many of whom might not otherwise have access to higher education — with opportunities for scholarships, leadership development and personal growth. Sacramento State President Luke Wood has long supported the idea that athletics can provide pathways to universities for students who might not otherwise have considered college.

Of course, no one can predict whether Sonoma State’s decision to abandon its athletics department is a better strategy than Sacramento State’s decision to double down on them. Hopefully, both universities will achieve their desired outcomes.

But Wood deserves to be commended for CSU Sacramento’s ambitious strategy of investing in sports and seeking to build a 25,000 seat stadium to replace a football facility that dates back to the 1960s. Wood and CSU Sacramento’s athletics are partnering with The Wilton Rancheria to lift the profile of Sacramento’s collegiate sports. As part of that process, Wood hopes to move CSU Sacramento sports into the Football Bowl Subdivision because doing so would improve the level of the Hornets’ competition and elevate their profile with more opportunities to play on television.

What Wood is attempting is not unusual. Colleges and universities across the country are entering into public-private partnerships at the same time college athletes are now able to profit from their name and likeness rights. It’s a new world in college sports, and Wood is smart to keep up with the times.

Investing in athletics isn’t just about sports, it’s about positioning the university for future success, strengthening its brand and deepening its connection with students, alumni and the broader community.

This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 9:26 AM.