Sacramento State files NCAA application to move to top tier of college football
Luke Wood has quite a menu of activity to ponder and discuss as president of Sacramento State, and among his favorite topics is the Hornets’ efforts to transition into the highest classification of college football.
Wood said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee that he filed a waiver to the governing body NCAA with his signature on Thursday morning to became an independent team in football — meaning the school would have no conference affiliation in that sport — to inch closer to the school’s quest of moving up from the FCS level to the FBS.
The waiver is needed because Sacramento State is attempting a transition up without an invite from an FBS conference.
If approved, Sacramento State will play its final Big Sky Conference season this fall, which would also be the school’s last season in the FCS. Sacramento State moved up from non-scholarship Division II to scholarship Division I in 1991.
The Hornets surged in football after years of mediocrity, winning Big Sky Conference championship in 2019, 2021 and 2022. Sacramento State made the playoffs in 2023 before injuries and late-game losses led to a 3-9 record in 2024, including a 1-7 mark in the 12-team conference.
With NCAA waiver approval, Sacramento State would not be eligible for the football playoffs in 2025 and 2026, the norm for programs transitioning up in classification. The Hornets would become bowl-game eligible starting in 2027, and that’s where the real fun can begin, Wood said.
A local-based committee, called SAC-12, for months has made an effort to get Sacramento State football into an FBS conference, either the Pac-12 or the Mountain West. The idea of going independent didn’t become public until this week. It also may prove to be the quickest route to the FBS, Wood said.
“I’m stoked and excited about the independent route,” Wood said. “My thinking is that this is the best pathway for Sacramento State to the FBS, and we’re taking destiny in our own hands. This wouldn’t work for most institutions, but we sit in a Top 20 media market that doesn’t have a team in the FBS.”
Wood added that the Hornets are not just about talk but results.
“We’re not going to the shallow end of the pool but the deep end,” he said. “We hope the big boys can keep up.”
Wood said he expects to receive an answer from the NCAA this spring. The waiver application first goes to the FBS oversight committee, then to the Division I council. Wood said he should get a timeline by next week at the latest.
“It’ll be a significant benefit for recruiting in football, because it shows that we’re not playing around,” Wood said. “It’s one thing to say we’re going to hire a badass football coach in Brennan Marion and to get into the FBS, and it’s another to actually do it.”
The plans for a new 25,000-seat football stadium, first announced in September, are still in motion, Wood said. The earliest a new stadium could be ready for use would be in 2026 or 2027, Wood said.
“We are working furiously on it,” Wood said. “That may sound overly aggressive to those who don’t know what I know. Realistically, it should be ready no later than 2027.”
Waiver follows big hires in football and basketball
The NCAA waiver to the FBS is the latest big news drop by Sacramento State that has generated national headlines. Sacramento State in December hired highly regarded 38-year-old Brennan Marion as football coach, and Marion has produced the No. 1 recruiting class in the FCS with transfer portal additions, junior college players and high school signings.
On Tuesday, Sacramento State formally introduced former Kings guard Mike Bibby as head men’s basketball coach. Bibby said that he has received more than 200 video clips from high school and college players from around the country who want to play for him, including the son of Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. Shaqir O’Neal is a 6-foot-8 forward who comes to Sacramento State via the transfer portal.
Wood signed off his Bee interview with, “This isn’t the old Sac State. This is different.”
This story was originally published April 3, 2025 at 10:23 AM.