Saturday Update: The MAC has voted to approve Sacramento State as a football-only member, per multiple reports.
Two years ago, Sacramento State went public with its push to join FBS behind the punny and aspirational slogan of Sac-12.
Turns out, Sac State might get its wish, just now how they envisioned. Instead of Sac-12, how does SACtion sound?
According to Yahoo's Ross Dellenger, Sacramento State and MAC officials are deep into discussions to make the Hornets the Cleveland, Ohio-based conference's 13th member.
The league grew to 13 teams last season after the addition of UMass -- the Minutemen went 0-8 in league play en route to an 0-12 season -- and was set to fall back to 12 after Northern Illinois joins the Mountain West this football season. So, why stretch its map all the way to California to add a school it doesn't numerically need? Does that question require asking?
Dellenger writes Sac State's addition "would bring a windfall to current member schools" with an entry fee of $15 million being discussed. That's in addition to the $5 million transfer fee owed the NCAA. North Dakota State paid $17.5 million to join the Mountain West earlier this week.
Sacramento State would be the 138th FBS member, and the eighth FBS school in California. Those eight schools would compete in five separate conferences: USC and UCLA in the Big Ten, Cal and Stanford in the ACC, Fresno State and San Diego State in the Pac-12, San Jose State in the Mountain West, and Sacramento State in the MAC. Sacramento to Amherst, Mass. (2,944 miles) would be the third-longest continental intra-conference road trip, trailing only Cal and Stanford to Miami (roughly 3,040 miles).
Sacramento State officials have unwaveringly pursued FBS membership, at one point last year pursuing a waiver to join college football's top division without a conference invitation (which was denied). The Hornets moved their non-football sports from the Big Sky to the Big West and, at this moment, is preparing to play as an FCS independent this season. University leadership has harmed its pursuit of an FBS invite -- in the minds of some -- by referring to the FCS as "essentially JV." Head coach Brennan Marion left in December after one season for the Colorado offensive coordinator job because the school had not secured an FBS invite at that time, but the school hired Bay Area head coach and longtime West Coast assistant Alonzo Carter as its head coach.
A vote among MAC presidents could happen soon.
In the meantime, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.