Sacramento State’s attempted fast-tracked climb to the FBS has been slowed. The NCAA Division I Council voted Tuesday to deny the school’s waiver request to move up from the FCS level without a formal conference invitation, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. The vote will become official once meetings conclude Wednesday.
“We’re obviously aware of the decision today but we remain fully confident that we’ll have the opportunity to go FBS here in the near future,” first-year Sacramento State football coach Brennan Marion told CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. “There are things in the works that I can’t go into detail on right now but our full expectation is that we will be making the move to the FBS in the near future.”
The Hornets previously informed the Big Sky last week they would leave the league by June 30, 2026 and announced a transition to the Big West for non-football sports beginning July 1, 2026. That leaves the football program without a home, facing the possibility of competing as an FCS independent next season while the school continues to seek an FBS invitation.
The NCAA’s decision hinges on its “bona fide invitation” rule, which requires schools to secure an official offer from an FBS conference before reclassifying. Sacramento State, for now, lacks one. The FBS Oversight Committee recommended denying the waiver earlier this month.
Sacramento State withdraws from Big Sky as Hornets move forward with risky bet on future FBS football success
Cameron Salerno
The decision marks a sharp contrast from 2017, when Liberty was granted a similar waiver and allowed to compete as an FBS independent for five years before joining Conference USA. Sacramento State had pointed to that precedent in its request, but NCAA officials emphasized how much the college football landscape has shifted in the years since.
“Although a waiver of the bona fide invitation requirement was granted in 2017, that decision was made in a different era, under a different set of facts and rules,” the committee wrote in its denial recommendation. “The Division I membership adopted the current legislation to affirm the importance of the nature and purpose of the subdivision reclassification process, choosing to place that decision-making authority with the council.”
The ruling projects to significantly impact Sacramento State’s realignment timeline. Without a waiver or a conference invite, the Hornets face uncertainty about where and how their football program will compete in the near future.
The denial also deals a blow to Sacramento State’s long-term aspirations. A group of boosters formed the “Sac12” last year, aiming to position the school for a future Pac-12 invite. Their goals include raising $50 million in NIL funding, building new stadiums, and securing realignment fees. With no FBS conference invitation and their waiver denied, Sacramento State’s ambitious climb is now stuck in limbo — forcing the university to recalibrate its next steps in an increasingly competitive college football landscape.
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