Sacramento State Football gets high praise at MAC Media Day

Sacramento State football is officially entering a new era, and the rest of the Mid-American Conference is taking notice.

On the latest episode of Stingers Up! The Sacramento State Football Podcast, Jason Ross takes listeners behind the scenes of MAC Media Day at Ford Field in Detroit, where he spoke with the conference commissioner and several coaches Sacramento State will face during its first season at the FBS level.

For Sacramento State football, the move represents a massive transition. The Hornets are leaving the Big Sky Conference, moving from the FCS to the FBS and beginning their first season as a football-only member of the MAC.

MAC Commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher explained why Sacramento State was an attractive addition to the conference, pointing to the program’s recent success, attendance and investment in athletics.

(Sacramento State football)

“We’ve not been a league that has taken schools emerging from FCS to FBS, and so for us to jump, it had to be something special here,” Steinbrecher told Ross. “You look particularly over the past six years and what, three Big Sky Championships over that period of time. One of the best teams in FCS, top 15 in attendance generally through that period of time.”

Steinbrecher also believes Sacramento State football can make an immediate impact in the MAC.

“You threw all those things together, and you go, yeah, these cats can be pretty good pretty quickly,” he said.

One of the biggest adjustments for Sacramento State football will be experiencing “MACtion,” with conference games often moving to Tuesday and Wednesday nights in November for national television exposure.

Eastern Michigan head coach Chris Creighton emphasized just how unique the experience can be.

“I still think of MACtion. I don’t think of MAC. I think of the MACtion games,” Creighton said. “The Tuesdays and Wednesdays in November, and excited for you guys to experience that because we’re the only football that’s happened in the country.”

Bowling Green head coach and former Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George also offered strong praise for the Hornets, saying Sacramento State’s physical style should translate well to the conference.

“Sac State’s a very strong program, FCS program that was in the playoffs a lot,” George said. “Study them, physical team, well coached. The brand speaks for itself, and they’re going to be a great addition, and cause a lot of headaches in this conference because their brand of ball definitely fits what the MAC is all about—the Midwest Ball.”

Several other coaches echoed the league’s physical identity, including Central Michigan’s Matt Drinkall, who described the MAC as “unrelenting.”

“For the conference to get exposure to the state of California, the West Coast, West time zones, which opens us up to a whole new market, which is just going to be great,” Drinkall said.

With Sacramento State football preparing for its first FBS season, the Hornets have clearly earned the respect of their new conference before playing a single game.

2026 Sacramento State Football Schedule

• Saturday, August 29th – @ Eastern Michigan – 3:30 PM PT
• Saturday, September 5th – vs. Mississippi Valley State – 7:00 PM PT
• Saturday, September 12th – @ Fresno State – 7:30 PM PT
• Saturday, September 19th – vs. North Dakota State – 7:30 PM PT
• Saturday, September 26th – vs. Massachusetts – TBD

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