NCAA Football News: Sacramento State joins the MAC

“MACtion” heads west in a stunning NCAA college football move that was made on Saturday. Sacramento State football has a new home after filing for the Football Bowl Subdivision — by joining the Mid-American Conference.

MAC will have its first time zone representative in the Pacific. ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel the stunner revealed on Valentine’s Day.

“Sources: MAC has voted to officially add FCS Sacramento State to the league as a football-only member beginning in 2026,” Thamel posted on social media website X, formerly known as Twitter.

This move also comes with a price tag.

“The price of entry is expected to be $18 million, and the deal is expected to be announced in the coming days,” Thamel announced. “The total cost of entry is $23 million, as Sacramento State would also have to pay an additional $5 million to the NCAA to advance.”

Have you ever considered other conferences at Sacramento State?

Hornets became popular in the 2020s. Sacramento State had a top-five finish during the 2023 season under then-head coach Troy Taylor. Stanford ended up picking up Taylor ahead of the 2024 season.

Then the Hornets rolled to the top of the nation College football transfer portal class among Football Championship Subdivision teams under Brennan Merion. Head Coach 2025 eventually accepted the offensive coordinator role in Colorado during the offseason. Sacramento State has since reached out to Alonzo Carter, who is coming over from Arizona. Carter brings deep Northern California coaching connections through the junior high and high school ranks.

However, the Hornets were long considered FBS contenders before the 2020s. Fans envisioned the Western Athletic Conference taking Sacramento State during the first realignment cycle in 2010-11. During that period, the VAC lost significant powers to Boise State, Fresno and eventually Utah State.

But then the Hornets became the hot favorites to land in either the Mountain West Conference or the newly revamped Pac-12. Those thoughts surfaced when the school filed paperwork to join the FBS realm.

However, the MVC upped the MAC strength to Northern Illinois for 2026. Sacramento State becomes the replacement for NIU in this scenario.