Sac State’s new conference, the Big West, used to have football. What happened?
Sacramento State fielded its first football team in 1954, seven years after the school opened.
The Hornets nearly lost the program in the early 1990s amid sweeping budget cuts that doomed a number of statewide college football programs in California, but a student referendum saved the sport. Students agreed to pay extra dues and fees to ensure that football would continue.
The same thing happened at UC Davis at that time.
With Sacramento State departing the Big Sky Conference after 30 years of participation and entering the Big West Conference starting in July 2026, one might wonder: Does the Big West offer football?
In a word: No. And there are no discussions to add football to programs in the Big West that do not field the sport, given the enormous costs required to even field a program.
But some of the schools that make up the largest athletic conference in the western United States used to block and tackle before the budget ax lopped off those adventures.
Current Big West teams that field football include Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, which competes in the Big Sky Conference; Hawaii, which competes in the Mountain West Conference; and UC Davis, a Big Sky football member that will join the Mountain West Conference for all sports except football, also starting in July 2026.
And the others?
A closer peek at other Big West programs and football:
UC Santa Barbara
The Gauchos dropped football following the 1971 season after 50 seasons due to what the school deemed at the time a lack of community and student support.
One of the school’s finest teams was the 1965 team that went 9-1 and competed in the Camellia Bowl at Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium. Santa Barbara revived the program, sort of, in 1987, at small-college level Division III, as students formed a club team. The program folded for good in 1991, though students passed a resolution in February to explore the idea of reinstatement.
Cal State Fullerton
Founded in 1959, the Titans dropped football in 1992, undone by costs and lack of interest. The program went 5-29 in its final three seasons.
School administrators said in 1992 that they hoped to join the lower-level FCS in the American West Conference that included Sacramento State, UC Davis and Cal Poly. It never materialized, and that league lasted only from 1993-95.
UC San Diego
The Tritons fielded one football team, in 1968, and it folded after going 0-7 with little interest on campus and in the community.
The school in 2010 paid a $28,000 consulting fee to explore the feasibility of returning the sport. It never gained much traction.
Long Beach State
The 49ers dropped the sport after 36 years following the 1991 season with school administrators citing financial shortfalls, increased operating costs and lack of fan interest. Pro Football Hall of Fame coach George Allen coached the team in 1990 when the program went 6-5, including 6-0 at home. It wasn’t enough to save the ship.
Former Oakmont High School of Placer County star Dan Bunz played for the program in the 1970s and went on to win two Super Bowl championship teams with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s.
Cal State Northridge
The Matadors started their football program in 1962 and dropped the sport at the end of the 2001 season, following their one season as an independent program.
Northridge competed in the Big Sky from 1996-2000 and won or shared just three conference championships in program history.
UC Riverside
The Highlanders dropped the sport following the 1975 season after 21 seasons due to operating costs and low attendance (an average of 3,869 fans for home games). Oddly, the final four seasons produced records of 9-1, 8-2, 8-3 and 7-3.
Former Sacramento State football coach John Volek played at Riverside in the late 1960s and got his coaching start there.
Cal State Bakersfield
Founded in 1970, the Roadrunners have never fielded football.
UC Irvine
Founded in 1965, the Anteaters have never offered the sport.
This story was originally published June 18, 2025 at 11:39 AM.