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FCS contender Sacramento State is looking to make a leap to the FBS as the Pac-12 looks to further reinvent itself in the new wave of realignment. Per reporting by Yahoo Sports's Ross Dellenger, Sacramento State is making the first moves towards expansion by announcing that the institution will be building a new multi-use football stadium.
Sacramento State, in FCS, announces that it has secured millions in funding for a new football stadium – part of a public pursuit of Pac-12 membership,” Dellenger posted on his X account. “In a release, the school calls on “business leaders across the region to join efforts to elevate Sac State to the Pac-12.”
A portion of the release is below:
“Sacramento State has announced plans for the construction of a new, multi-use stadium. This state-of-the-art stadium will replace the current temporary stands at Hornet Stadium and provide Sacramento State with a venue to leverage its location in one of the top 20 media markets in the nation.
The multi-sport facility will be designed to host football, men's and women's soccer, and men's and women's rugby. The stadium will also host collegiate, professional and international competitions, NCAA championships, concerts, club sports and other events including commencement and convocations.
The campus has secured architecture firm Populous to design the stadium which will be constructed at the site of the current Hornet Stadium. Renderings for the stadium will be released in the coming weeks, but will feature a horseshoe design including student sections, premium seating, and boxes to accommodate 25,000 attendees.
Hornet Stadium was originally built in 1969 with a capacity of 6,000 seats. The temporary stadium underwent an upgrade in 1992 prior to the arrival of the Sacramento Surge of the World League which more than tripled seating to its current total of 21,195.”
Sacramento State has been a serious FCS championship contender in recent years. In 2022 the team went 12-1 with their only loss of the season coming to Incarnate Word in the FCS Playoffs Quarterfinals. In 2023, the team finished 8-5 with another playoff birth, beating North Dakota but falling to South Dakota in the Quarterfinals. The move to the new Pac-12 could prove to be fruitful, as the athletic program can capitalize on it's footprint in California, especially as UCLA and USC departed the conference to join the Big 10.
