Sacramento State and North Dakota State are about to become the newest case study in the “price of admission era” of college football—and it matters for HBCUs more than most people want to admit.
Two FCS programs are making an expensive move to the FBS — and showing why HBCUs never will.
According to ESPN, the MAC presidents voted to add Sacramento State as a football-only member starting in 2026. The reported cost: $18 million to the league, plus $5 million to the NCAA to move up—$23 million. All in before you even get to the day-to-day cost of living at the top level. North Dakota State, the gold standard of modern FCS football, just finalized its own football-only move to the Mountain West. ESPN reported that move carries a $12.5 million conference fee, plus the same $5 million NCAA reclassification fee.
Those cases show the conversation has changed. People talk about moving up to the FBS like it’s a competitive decision. In 2026, it’s first and foremost a financial decision. It’s not the kind you make with optimism and vibes.
Paying for permission
Because what Sacramento State and North Dakota State are really buying is permission. Not just access to the subdivision, but access to a conference home and a stable schedule. That used to be something you could chase with momentum, a good coach, and a few facility upgrades. Now, the handshake starts in eight figures.
That’s why the “just move up” idea is drifting into fantasy for most schools—and especially for HBCUs. Not because of a lack of ambition, but because the math doesn’t care about ambition.
The hidden part of this story is what comes after the check clears. A move to the FBS isn’t one expense. It’s scholarships across an expanded Division I profile with staff growth and more travel. Recruiting costs that don’t stay flat. It’s facilities expectations that don’t wait for your fundraising calendar. And now, in the current era, it’s also the pressure to keep up in an ecosystem shaped by NIL and revenue sharing.
Even the NCAA has signaled where this is going. Proposed changes in recent years have included a massive jump in the transition fee to $5 million and scholarship minimums that effectively require sustained, high-level spending across multiple sports. Institutions don’t “try” the FBS. They commit to it.
HBCUs have seen this attempted before
Back to HBCUs, where athletic departments often operate with thinner margins and broader institutional challenges. Too many people frame this as “Why won’t they take the next step?” The better question is: “What would it cost them to survive the step once they take it?”
Florida A&M’s 2004 attempt to move up is the reminder that should keep everyone honest. FAMU chased the dream, started the process, and then learned the hard way. Moving up without the right structure turns the dream into a nightmare. It wasn’t just about winning and losing. It was about the squeeze—schedule realities, roster realities, financial realities. And the fact that you can’t fake being built for the FBS. And that was BEFORE NIL and collectives.
So is it “impossible” for HBCUs to move up? The bar has been raised so high that for most programs, the move is no longer a football decision. It’s a boardroom decision. Can justify paying tens of millions up front, then sustaining a higher annual burn rate, while also protecting the rest of the athletic department and the university’s broader mission?
That’s why Sacramento State’s $23 million and North Dakota State’s $17.5 million matter so much. Those numbers are the clearest proof yet that the sport has created a toll road into the FBS. And you’d better have deep pockets before you even pull up to the gate.
HBCUs can move forward without going FBS
The smarter conversation for HBCUs right now isn’t “Who’s next to move up?” It’s “How do we build leverage where we already are?”
Leverage is packed stadiums that translate into revenue. A media strategy that grows the brand beyond Saturdays. It is facilities that attract recruits without draining the institution. Leverage is making the HBCU football product so strong that the sport can’t ignore it—financially, competitively, culturally.
The subdivision of Division I has never been realer. And any HBCU fan with dreams of an FBS move needs to get real with themselves.
Simple Math. We can
first start by getting out of the Parking Lot’s, and start filling the Seats inside the Stadium. That simply means, Paying for a Ticket first, before getting your Fried Fish Sandwiches, or just not Attending at all. Secondly, “Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses,” and Keep Education first, like the Ivy League Conference. FBS is Fool’s Gold!