Sacramento State has long been a university of unrealized potential. President Luke Wood is trying to change that, to raise Sac State to new heights. And notably, a new conference.
The institution recently announced its plans to build a new 25,000-seat football stadium, on top of a potential bid to move to the Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of college football. Currently, Sac State is in the Big Sky conference, which is in the Football Championship Subdivision. Moving from the FCS to the FBS is like moving from the minor leagues to the major leagues.
The FBS offers member schools more scholarships for athletes, a higher level of competition, revenues and media coverage.
Wood has experience with new stadiums, having been at San Diego State when Snapdragon Stadium was built in 2022.
“Adela de la Torre is the most influential president in the history of San Diego State. She took that university and transformed it into a research powerhouse and an athletic powerhouse,” Wood told me in an interview on Tuesday.
“I was privileged to be sitting around the table and soaking in all the strategies and practices up. We are taking San Diego State’s playbook, and we are putting it in place.”
A crucial part of Wood’s strategy will be how Sacramento State will pay for a new stadium. He’s not ready yet to discuss the cost of a Sacramento stadium, but Snapdragon cost $310 million, according to San Diego State.
What the stadium means for students
The first avenue for funding is a fee adjustment for students. Last month, Sac State announced it would raise fees beginning in the fall of 2025.
In August, the Student Fee Advisory Committee submitted a recommendation to the president to increase fees after five open forums on Zoom and in person. In September, Wood approved the higher fees. Students will ultimately see their fees increase by approximately $500 per semester, Wood said. The fee increase would fund four types of services for students: student health, instructionally-related activities, recreational sports and intercollegiate activities.
While a stadium and enhanced sports will draw more community attention, the biggest portion of the fee increases will go to instructionally related activities. That $8 fee, which has not been raised since 1993, will increase to $310. It will enhance the many pride and cultural centers on the campus of nearly 31,000 students. Intercollegiate athletics will go from a $181 fee to $256. And recreational sports from $9 to $19.
Students will not pay the overall fee increase all at once. Fees will increase by approximately $273 the first year, $122 the second and then $113 the third.
Another source of stadium funding could be an agreement with an entertainment partner that would bring live events to campus each year. Wood said the university is in negotiations with a potential partner that he is not yet ready to name.
Sacramento State is in dire need of a new stadium. The current one — Hornet Stadium — was built in 1969. It was supposed to be temporary.
A new Sacramento State stadium also could attract a multi-million-dollar deal for naming rights and end zone rights. Wood said that $40 million for naming rights and $15 million for the end zone could be a possibility, though these numbers are projections at this stage.
The stadium could be used for various types of events. It could be leased to a minor league women’s soccer team. Wood also speaks of a partner that is looking to invest in the stadium.
Another big question for the institution is where Sac State will hang its hat in the FBS. Sacramento State could be in a position to be invited to join the Mountain West conference or follow the likes of Fresno State and San Diego State in reviving the Pac-12 conference.
“I want us to be an FBS school,” Wood said. ”We have a short window to make the transition before we’re permanently regulated to a JV team. Having been to the playoffs the last four years, and won the conference championship three of those four years, we deserve to be in the next level.”
Many in the Sacramento community, including plenty of Sac State alumni, have been clear that they want to be in the Pac-12. The “SAC 12” Committee, a group of local leaders supporting Sacramento State’s possible move to the Pac-12 Conference, was recently launched.
A transitional college no more
Whether Sac State lands in the Pac-12 or the Mountain West conference, the most important development is that the university is trying to upgrade substandard facilities and build on the momentum of a successful athletics program that can generate excitement in the community and raise the profile of the university.
Wood believes that the value of the degrees awarded at Sac State would be enhanced by a jump to a higher athletic division.. As a native of Tennessee, I’ve seen how college athletics can transform communities. That success creates interest and a desire — among alums and non-alums — to be a part of the excitement. I didn’t attend the University of Tennessee, but I live and die with them on game days.
That is the positive impact that only the FBS can bring to a community and an institution. The dream is closer to a reality not just because of Wood, but also because of the many other Sacramentans who see this city as the true gem that it is.
“It would mean a categorically different future for Sacramento State,” Wood said about the move. “Sacramento State has the ability to be a flagship in the [California State University] system. It turns us from a regional university with a regional focus to a national university with a regional commitment.”
Sac State has been the beloved home of many of students, and with national recognition, the rest of the country will know why.
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