Sac State sets another 2026 football opponent: A road trip to Hawaii
The Sacramento State Hornets are putting together the final touches of their 2026 football schedule, and it includes a Thanksgiving weekend game at Hawaii.
The University of Hawaii football program on Friday posted on its website that it will play Sac State on Nov. 28 at Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, marking the first-ever meeting between the schools’ football programs.
Hawaii needed a game after an originally scheduled game with Massachusetts fell apart, and the Hornets needed a game to fill out their 12-game schedule after formally being invited and accepted into the FBS-level Mid-American Conference last month.
The Hornets will play eight MAC games: four at home and four on the road. The MAC has not released its schedule.
Hawaii started its football program in 1909 and has been a member of the Mountain West Conference since 2012. The Hornets play at another Mountain West program on Sept. 12 in the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Sacramento State athletic director Mark Orr and school president Luke Wood have expressed that they want to create rivalry games in nonleague meetings against programs such as Fresno State, Nevada and San Jose State.
Brian Berger, Sac State’s associate athletic director and communications director for football, told The Sacramento Bee on Friday that the Hornets “should be announcing our last two nonconference games shortly. Just waiting for contracts to be signed.”
This story was originally published March 6, 2026 at 2:00 PM.