MAC adding Sacramento State as football-only member starting in 2026
By David Wasson
Published:
Mid-American Conference presidents have reportedly voted in favor of adding Sacramento State to the league as a football-only member beginning in 2026.
ESPN reported that Sacramento State will have to pay $23 million to join the conference, with $18 million going to the MAC as a joining fee and $5 million going to the NCAA for moving up from the FCS level.
Adding Sacramento State to the MAC will keep the conference at 13 football-playing schools, as the Hornets will replace Northern Illinois – which is leaving for the Mountain West in football next year.
“We believe our university, our students, and the entire Sacramento region deserve major college football,” Sacramento State president Luke Wood said last summer.
Sacramento State’s move is the second program shift in the past week, as North Dakota State finalized a move to the Mountain West – a transaction that cost $12.5 million and included a $2 million entrance fee.
The Hornets have excelled on the field in recent history, including FCS playoff victories in 2022 and 2023. The program will have its fourth coach since 2022 this season, as it hired Arizona assistant Alonzo Carter to replace Brennan Marion – who departed to become offensive coordinator at Colorado.
Sacramento State, which will be ineligible to compete in the postseason for two seasons as part of the transfer, will compete in the Big West – which it joins in 2026-27 – with its non-football sports.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
