That number was set at 377 days on Wednesday.

Sacramento State announced it will move to the Big West Conference on July 1, 2026. The Big Sky confirmed Wednesday that Sac State provided the conference notice of its intention to withdraw from the league that gave the new Division I program stability over a 30-year stay in the conference.

Sacramento State joins Cal Baptist and Utah Valley as western defections joining the Big West in 2026, giving the California-based league 12 members when moves are official.

“Joining The Big West is a bold step forward for Sacramento State and our intercollegiate athletics program,” Sacramento State President Dr. Luke Wood said in a statement. “This move reflects the passion and perseverance of our entire university community.

Curiously, Sacramento State’s announcement for the move made no mention of football, which the Big West does not sponsor and the Big Sky currently requires for membership. The Hornets have an active waiver application headed to the Division I Council to accept the school’s bid to become an FBS football independent. The waiver is necessary because that move requires an invitation from an FBS conference, which Sac State does not have.

That plan hit a snag just one day prior to the Big West announcement when the NCAA Football Oversight Committee made a recommendation that the DI Council deny the waiver request. The DI Council next meets June 24-25, according to the NCAA. If the Council approves the waiver, Sacramento State would owe a $5 million FBS transition fee.

College athletics and business reporter Matt Brown first broke news of Sacramento State’s conference move Tuesday night on social media site Blue Sky. According to Brown, Sac State is prepared to play football as an FCS independent “short term” if the waiver to move to FBS is denied. So far, the revamped rosters in the Mountain West and Pac-12 have not seemed keen on adding the Hornets.

Sacramento State had a recent, short run of football dominance under head coach Troy Taylor, winning three Big Sky titles with a league record of 23-1 from 2019-2022. Those were the Hornets’ first league titles since joining in 1996. Sac State football went 3-9 last year with a 1-7 mark in the Big Sky.

In men’s basketball, Sac State has won zero Big Sky regular-season or tournament titles and has posted only two winning seasons since moving to Division I in 1991-92. The Hornets’ women’s basketball team won its first Big Sky regular-season and tournament titles in 2023.

Off the field, Sacramento State is expected to open a new basketball arena for the upcoming season and has hired Mike Bibby to be the men’s head coach at a salary twice that of other Big Sky coaches, with that team also pulling in various high-publicity transfers. Sac State has also announced recent wins in fundraising for NIL and pledges toward a new football stadium.

The move will put the Big Sky in a position to act in some way, whether that be through new members or forging partnerships, at least for the sports of softball and men’s golf. Sac State’s departure in 2026 will leave both sports with five members, short of the six required for the league champ to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

As the roster stands now, the Big Sky would go into the fall of 2026 with 11 football members, nine schools for basketball and volleyball, and eight programs playing women’s soccer.