Latest news with #BigWest
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Sacramento State's FBS waiver denied, sparking backlash and the potential for lawsuit
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The NCAA has rejected a waiver request from Sacramento State that would have allowed it to play in the Football Bowl Subdivision as an independent next year. Sacramento State last week said it will leave the Big Sky and join the Big West Conference as a full member starting with the 2026-27 academic year. The Big West doesn't sponsor football so Sacramento State's program will be an independent in that sport in the Championship Subdivision.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Sacramento State's FBS waiver denied, sparking backlash and the potential for lawsuit
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The NCAA has rejected a waiver request from Sacramento State that would have allowed it to play in the Football Bowl Subdivision as an independent next year. Sacramento State last week said it will leave the Big Sky and join the Big West Conference as a full member starting with the 2026-27 academic year. The Big West doesn't sponsor football so Sacramento State's program will be an independent in that sport in the Championship Subdivision. Lacking an invitation from an FBS conference, the university filed the NCAA petition in April and the D-I Council turned it down this week. School president Luke Wood said he disagreed with the decision. 'Sacramento State has met every meaningful benchmark for FBS membership, and we believe our university, our students, and the entire Sacramento region deserve major college football,' Wood wrote in a statement posted to X. 'We're full steam ahead and we still plan to be playing FBS football in 2026.' Wood did not provide details of potential next steps. Boise State law professor Sam Ehrlich said on X that legal action could be an option. 'This will lead to litigation. Forcing a school to rely on the whims of conferences (to) let them compete for the economic benefits of a higher division is just the sort of arbitrary gatekeeping that draws harsh antitrust scrutiny,' Ehrlich wrote. ___ AP college football:
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sacramento State's FBS waiver denied, sparking backlash and the potential for lawsuit
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The NCAA has rejected a waiver request from Sacramento State that would have allowed it to play in the Football Bowl Subdivision as an independent next year. Sacramento State last week said it will leave the Big Sky and join the Big West Conference as a full member starting with the 2026-27 academic year. The Big West doesn't sponsor football so Sacramento State's program will be an independent in that sport in the Championship Subdivision. Advertisement Lacking an invitation from an FBS conference, the university filed the NCAA petition in April and the D-I Council turned it down this week. School president Luke Wood said he disagreed with the decision. 'Sacramento State has met every meaningful benchmark for FBS membership, and we believe our university, our students, and the entire Sacramento region deserve major college football," Wood wrote in a statement posted to X. "We're full steam ahead and we still plan to be playing FBS football in 2026.' Wood did not provide details of potential next steps. Boise State law professor Sam Ehrlich said on X that legal action could be an option. 'This will lead to litigation. Forcing a school to rely on the whims of conferences (to) let them compete for the economic benefits of a higher division is just the sort of arbitrary gatekeeping that draws harsh antitrust scrutiny,' Ehrlich wrote. ___ AP college football:
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sacramento State to join Big West in 2026 in all sports except football
FILE - Mike Bibby, center, is introduced as the new head basketball coach of Sacramento State during an NCAA college basketball press conference, Tuesday, April 1, 2025 in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Janie McCauley, File0 Sacramento State will join the Big West conference as a full member starting with the 2026-27 academic year. Sacramento State informed the Big Sky on Wednesday that it will leave the conference after this year and the Big West announced that the school will become the 12th school in the conference. Advertisement 'The Big West membership and conference staff are excited to welcome Sacramento State to The Big West,' commissioner Dan Butterly said in a statement. 'In addition to strengthening The Big West competitively and expanding our geographic footprint, Sacramento State is a staunch advocate for excellence in academics, athletics and service within their community. The new look Big West promises to bring a new level of competition and friendly rivalry for student-athletes and fans alike.' The Big West doesn't sponsor football so Sacramento State's program will be an independent in that sport. The Hornets are trying to move up from FCS level to FBS as an independent and are awaiting a ruling next week from the NCAA Division I Council. The FBS Oversight Committee recommended against the move earlier this week, citing the 'paramount importance' of having an invitation to join an FBS conference. The NCAA had previously granted a waiver to Liberty in 2017 to move to FBS as an independent but said the circumstances have changed since then. The Flames were an independent in football from 2018-22 before joining Conference USA. Advertisement 'Although a waiver of the bona fide invitation requirement was granted in 2017, that decision was made in a different era, under a different set of facts and rules ...,' the committee recommended, according to public meeting minutes. "Due to the significance of the bona fide invitation from an FBS conference requirement and the lack of compelling mitigation explaining why that requirement, one that several other FCS institutions have met in recent years, has not been met, the committee does not support relief.' Sacramento State said the school will consider all conference options for football if the council votes against its application. Sacramento State had been an affiliate member of the Big West in various sports in the past but now will have 16 teams competing in the Big West starting in 2026-27. "We are thrilled to become a full member of The Big West and are grateful for the invitation,' athletic director Mark Orr said. 'Sacramento State strives to provide our student-athletes the opportunity to be in the best position to be nationally competitive, and The Big West for decades has been a conference that has enjoyed national success in several sports. We are eager to compete for championships, enhance existing rivalries, and develop new relationships with our peer conference members." Advertisement The Hornets will officially join The Big West on July 1, 2026, joining a lineup that includes California Baptist, Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, CSUN, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, and Utah Valley. The Big West has no current plans to expand beyond 12-member institutions. The Hornets have made a big investment in the men's basketball program recently, hiring former NBA star Mike Bibby as head coach and Shaquille O'Neal as a voluntary GM for the program. Sacramento State went 7-25 last season under interim coach Michael Czepil, who was promoted last spring after David Patrick left to take a job as associate head coach at LSU. Advertisement The Hornets had gone 28-42 in two seasons under Patrick and the program has never made an NCAA Tournament since moving up to Division I in 1991-92. The Hornets have had a winning record only twice since then, going 16-14 in 2019-20 and 21-12 in 2014-15. ___ AP sports:
Washington Post
04-06-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Utah Valley set to join Big West Conference for 2026-27 athletic year
OREM, Utah — Utah Valley is joining the Big West conference for the 2026-27 athletic year, giving the league a presence in that state for the first time since Utah State ended a 27-year run in 2005. The conference said Wednesday it remained open to the possibility of adding a 12th member but anticipated being an 11-school league when Utah Valley and California Baptist officially join July 1, 2026.
