Sacramento State Committee Raises Massive Amount of Money for NIL Spending

Eyeing a conference change, the Sacramento State committee has raised a ton of money for their NIL funds.

Sep 16, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; Sacramento State Hornets running back Elijah Tau-Tolliver (25) celebrates after a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The world of collegiate sports has forever changed with NIL and soon revenue sharing. This has led to a major movement among conferences as teams look to make as much money as possible.

The Pac-12 is one major conference that has been hit hardest. Once prominent in the collegiate sports landscape, the league is on life support as Washington State and Oregon State were the only members left after the Big 12, ACC and Big 10 poached all of the other programs.

Looking to keep the brand and conference alive, they have been on the search for schools to add. The Mountain West has been their target, with plans to add Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State.

Another school looking to get in on the action is Sacramento State.

The Hornets are hoping to be the next school to be invited to the new-look Pac-12, who need more members after their pursuit of American Athletic Schools Tulane, Memphis, UTSA and South Florida was denied.

In an effort to become a more attractive option, a new multi-use football stadium was announced last week. They are also ramping up NIL funding, as the Sac12 executive committee has a goal of $50 million.

The collective is well on its way to achieving and surpassing that goal, as $35 million was added by Monday alone. Per On3, local businesses, community leaders and a local tribe helped get things going.

“The $35 million we have secured over the last 24 hours demonstrates the civic and business commitment of all of those in the greater Sacramento region to this effort, an effort we know will pay great dividends to the university’s athletes and students, as well as Hornet fans and businesses across Sacramento,” said Sac12 co-chair Josh Wood, via Pete Nakos of On3. “We are thrilled to announce this tremendous first step and will continue to work to reach our stated goal of $50 million.”

The Sac12 committee is made up of California State Senator Angelique Ashby, California State Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, Sacramento City Council Member Eric Guerra, as well as several business leaders and former San Francisco 49er and Sac State alum Otis Amey, per On3.

With Utah State set to also join the Pac-12, only one more member is needed to meet the minimum to be recognized as an FBS conference. It is not known whether or not Sacramento State is on their radar, but they are doing their best to make a strong case to be considered.

In a huge media market, with a good football program and a massive student body, the Hornets check off a lot of boxes the conference should be looking for in their last needed member.