In the fall of 2024, a group of local politicians and business leaders in Sacramento announced the formation of an organization called the Sac-12, with the goal of getting Sacramento State into the rebuilt Pac-12. Within weeks, they promised $50 million worth of NIL deals for Sacramento State players spread out over a 10-year period. But there was a string attached: the school had to get a Pac-12 invitation.
Fast forward a year and a half, and the Hornets have succeeded in getting an invitation to play FBS football—just not in the Pac-12. The Hornets will join the Mid-American Conference as a football-only member in 2026 in a five-year, eight-figure deal.
Sacramento State isn’t expecting that $50 million, given that donors promised those commitments only if they got the Pac-12 invitation, Sacramento State president Luke Wood told Front Office Sports in an interview Wednesday. But he isn’t concerned about its loss.
“Our community right now is rallying behind us,” he said, adding that “some of those commitments have already translated anyways even before we announced the MAC. So we’re starting to see those dollars come in already.”
Meanwhile, Sac-12 co-chair Cyrus Mulitalo, a former Hornets All-American linebacker, told FOS that in the past year, the Sac-12 has undergone a “restructuring” and has a “new regime” of leadership that is all-in on the move to the MAC—and plans to find ways to support the Hornets through their future move through new fundraising opportunities.
“The alumni group is excited and the people who are supporters of Sac State are excited and realize that this is an investment to the future for the football program, the students, Sac State university as a whole,” Mulitalo said.
When it was first formed in 2024, the Sac-12 was loud. The group, whose formation was first reported by FOS, mounted a media blitz with the express purpose of touting the school’s investments and value for an FBS conference. Even the timing was strategic: The Sac-12 announced its formation the day after the Pac-12, which had lost all its member schools but two, announced it would attempt to rebuild by adding four new members from the Mountain West.
The group’s original participants included California State Senator Angelique Ashby, California State Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, Sacramento City Council Member Eric Guerra, and former San Francisco 49er and Sac State alum Otis Amey. Sacramento Region Business Association CEO Joshua Wood, a Sacramento State alumnus and Luke Wood’s twin brother, served as the first co-chair of the organization.
Just a couple weeks after announcing its launch, the organization again made waves when it announced it had secured $35 million in commitments for NIL deals. (In a subsequent interview with FOS that fall, Sacramento State president Dr. Luke Wood upped that number to $50 million.)
The number was met with skepticism at the time from outside observers, especially given that the organization wouldn’t divulge specific names or companies making those promises. But the headlines alone appeared to make a positive impact: the Sacramento community had clearly gotten behind a Sacramento State FBS jump, and the school continued to make waves.
“The Sac-12 was a big part of making this happen,” Wood said. “When you have top political leaders in your state advocating for football because they understand the economic impact it could have for our entire region, you know you’re winning.”
As for that $50 million NIL commitment, it appears that offer is dead in the water—for now.
When the group announced those commitments in 2024, they were just that: commitments, depending on the school getting a Pac-12 invitation. The Sac-12 doesn’t have that money to distribute.
Wood, for his part, said that if the Hornets ever do get to the Pac-12, he would expect those commitments to be honored.
Mulitalo may not wait that long to re-engage the donors who made a promise to the Sac-12 of yore. “That was before my tenure, but those were commitments based on Sac State going to the Pac-12,” he said. “I think those are all good conversations to revisit. … We’re in the MAC. We’re still FBS. Could we come back to talk about that? I don’t see why not.”
Mulitalo, who took on his current role at the beginning of the 2025 football season, said the Sac-12 plans to become a 501(c)(3) educational charity—the same formation as athletic departments, conferences, and their external fundraising foundations.
Mulitalo said the group hopes to fundraise to contribute to the total conference realignment costs (expected to exceed $23 million, between the $18 million entrance fee to the MAC, the $5 million NCAA FBS application fee, and the cost of opponent travel). He said the organization also hopes to contribute money to the athletic department for revenue-sharing.
Over the past year, the Sac-12 has been hosting events to support multiple teams, including the men’s basketball program. Multialo told FOS an event last summer called “Legends Unite,” which celebrated the hiring of former Sacramento Kings star Mike Bibby as head men’s basketball coach and Shaq as general manager, raised $100,000 for the athletic department. Mulitalo is planning to host a luau in April to raise money for the football team.
“Our community right now is rallying behind us,” Wood said. “We’re definitely seeing a lot of excitement from our alumni, from our donors, from our local politicians.”
