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.

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