The MAC is adding Sacramento State as a football-only member starting in 2026, the conference unveiled on Monday. The Hornets will join the conference on July 1 for a five-year term. Sac State will serve as a replacement for Northern Illinois in the MAC. The Huskies will officially depart for the Mountain West as a football-only member this summer.
“Today’s exciting announcement is about strengthening our competitive profile and creating value for the membership,” MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher mentioned in a release. “We were presented with an opportunity to add an institution with demonstrated success in football, a record of investment and commitment to the continued growth of the institution and community. Sacramento State is ready and poised for this next step. I welcome the Hornets to the Mid-American Conference and expect they will become a competitive and contributing member to the long history and legacy of one of the oldest Division I conferences.”
According to ESPN, Sac State’s cost of entry is expected to be around $18 million.
Sac State has not released its 2026 football schedule, but multiple programs have unveiled games against the Hornets including Tarleton State, Maine and North Alabama. Sac State is also scheduled to face Fresno State in Week 2, as outlined in the Pac-12 schedule release.
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Sac State moved all non-football sports to from the Big Sky to the Big West last summer and applied for a waiver to join the FBS as an independent. After that waiver was denied by the NCAA, the school competed for one final football season in the Big Sky, finishing 7-5 overall with a 5-3 conference mark.
Meanwhile, school president Luke Wood and athletic director Mark Orr went back to the drawing board, with the MAC mebership emerging as the most logical path to the FBS. The Hornets have also been preparing on the NIL front, with a budget “north of $1 million,” a source told CBS Sports.
The school hired Arizona assistant Alonzo Carter on Dec. 15 after former coach Brennan Marion departed to join Deion Sanders’ Colorado staff as offensive coordinator.
Carter is a first-time head coach who has spent the last eight seasons working under Brent Brennan at both San Jose State and Arizona. He has deep recruiting ties to California after starting his career as a high school coach in the state.
“We are thrilled to welcome Alonzo Carter as our next head football coach,” Orr mentioned in a statement released by the school. “Coach Carter is a proven leader who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to developing student-athletes on and off the field. His history of success in recruiting, constructing teams, and producing results at all levels of football makes him an ideal fit for Sacramento State. We look forward to welcoming him and his family back to his native Northern California and having him as part of the Sacramento community for years to come.”
The Hornets will be the second FCS school to make the jump in 2026, joining North Dakota State. The Bison moved up from the Missouri Valley Conference to the Mountain West earlier this month.
