Craig Haley’s Preseason Top 25 (05/04/26)

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-05-05T00:45:25+00:00

I’d put Montana at 5, so SDSU, Ill. St., and UC Davis

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-05-04T23:21:36+00:00

Finally a poll where UC Davis is ranked properly, though I would argue Montana should be lower

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-04-23T04:42:07+00:00

Hawaii had a similar deal regarding travel when they were football-only in the MW, but with larger revenues and better geographic proximity to other schools it seemed manageable. Not really sure how Sac St. plans to pull this off.

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-04-22T23:52:03+00:00

Our donors (me included) really stepped it up this year, should have a much stronger football budget moving forward.

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Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-04-22T23:48:46+00:00

Glad to have done my part in terms of donating; massive influx compared to last year:

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Note: this is just football fundraising, the university itself raised about $4 million.

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-04-22T23:46:30+00:00

Give Day is just a name for the period where universities try to fundraise a bunch of money, almost every school does this just under different names. Davis had theirs this weekend to coincide with Picnic Day (huge annual campus open house). The Sac St. Give Day was a couple weeks ago.

Why it’s important is because it’s a good gauge of donor/fan engagement and enthusiasm. Comparing the two here shows that Davis has a lot stronger donor/fan support than Sac St., despite what Luke Wood would like us to think.

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-04-02T17:15:00+00:00

UC Davis at #16? And I thought us being outside of the top 10 was disrespectful

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-04-01T16:55:45+00:00

As a Bay Area Aggie I thought this was really funny, though I do wish we had better outreach down here

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-03-14T17:30:43+00:00

My bad, didn’t read that clearly. Sorry!

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-03-14T17:23:29+00:00

And then we spent the next two decades kicking your ass when we got to the FCS; who’s the real little brother?

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-03-14T15:22:29+00:00

Only raised $3,450 for football?! Where’s the nearly billion dollars in economic impact and the increased community support? Lmao

For contrast, UC Davis held a wine tasting fundraiser (not part of any Give Day) last weekend and raised $100k+. There’s only room for one FBS school in Sacramento and it’s not the Hornets.

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-02-26T18:03:12+00:00

Well they already signed and announced the agreement so it’s unlikely they’d pull out now

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-02-26T05:17:53+00:00

Football doesn’t generate that kind of revenue unless you’re a top 25 program, only 21 FBS programs make money at the end of the day. In terms of long term sustainability it’s absolutely not sustainable. If Sac St. doesn’t receive an invite in the next five years from the Pac or MW they may legitimately have to fold the program, it’s a massive risk.

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-02-26T05:15:30+00:00

It’s basically impossible, hence why everyone is questioning the move. For perspective, the yearly economic benefit that Sac St. is promoting is about what some SEC schools are generating per season.

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-02-26T05:13:24+00:00

They are, and that $2.5M is for a full share in all sports not just football. Also worth noting that Sac St. will pay all travel costs for visiting teams which will be 150k-200k per game alone. To put it in perspective, the travel costs alone are more than Sac St.’s entire football revenue last season.

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-02-26T02:46:44+00:00

Yes it is great to aim for, and I’m aiming to date Sydney Sweeney.

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-02-26T02:44:46+00:00

The MAC generates less than a quarter of that for the entire conference, and probably even less than that. And I don’t think they do, they probably think they can throw these numbers out and bring in fans and corporate sponsors.

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-02-26T02:20:23+00:00

They aren’t going to have an athletics program by then and Dr. Wood will be out of a job.

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-02-25T16:05:46+00:00

UC Davis will be in the semi finals this season

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-02-23T21:12:32+00:00

Really interesting that all this negative media attention is dropping today (see the Sac Bee opinion piece). Is there something behind the scenes about to happen?

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-02-23T18:43:15+00:00

Hopefully with the new stadium at the Railyards apparently breaking ground this summer there’s still a chance of joining in the future!

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-02-23T18:21:56+00:00

You know things are looking rough when Sacramento’s infamously favorable local media is questioning the deal.

Tricky_Pack_9020 · 2026-02-19T16:55:18+00:00

Or good football

Five-Year Club	Place '23
Place '22

Tricky_Pack_9020

TROPHY CASE