Committee hopes to elevate Sacramento State to FBS level of football

Local officials have launched a committee aimed at helping Sacramento State move to the highest level of college football with hopes of getting an invitation down the road to either the Pac-12 or Mountain West conferences.

The committee, named SAC 12 and independent from the school, includes state and local politicians, business and union leaders, and former Hornets receiver and NFL player Otis Amey. It was launched on Friday, a day after the latest round of conference realignment hit the FBS.

The Pac-12 announced on Thursday that Mountain West schools Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State would join holdovers Washington State and Oregon State, starting in 2026, in the conference that lost 10 of its 12 members to new conferences earlier this year.

The Pac-12 still needs to add two more members and there are now also potential openings in the Mountain West, which will have seven full-time members and Hawaii for football after those four schools depart.

“It’s exciting to see key members of the Sacramento community celebrating the success of the Sacramento State Athletics program and sharing their interest in helping shape the vision of the future,” the school said in a statement. "It makes us proud to be part of such a wonderful, supportive community, and we will continue to support our student-athletes at the highest levels possible.”

Sacramento State currently plays in the Big Sky conference at the FCS level. The Hornets won seven conference championships last season and have made the FCS playoffs in football the last three seasons.

Sacramento is California's capital city and the 20th-largest media market in the country. The school has more than 30,000 students as the fourth-largest university in the Cal State system.

"As a proud alumni, I am excited to get to work to bring Sacramento State to a major conference like the Pac-12,” said California State Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, a member of the committee. “Our student athletes, coaches, administration and fans are eager to compete at the highest level, and Sacramento’s diverse, metropolitan culture, size and importance to our state would make us a great addition to the conference.”

Sacramento State has 21 athletic teams including men’s football, men’s baseball, men and women’s basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer, tennis, and track and field and women’s gymnastics, beach volleyball, volleyball and softball.

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Josh Dubow, The Associated Press