Sacramento State Hornets The Sacramento State Hornets ( also CSUS , CSU Sacramento , and Cal State Sacramento ) represent California State University , Sacramento in Sacramento , California in intercollegiate athletics . They field nineteen teams including men and women ' s basketball , cross country , golf , rowing , soccer , tennis , and track and field ; women ' s - only gymnastics , soccer , and volleyball ; and men ' s - only baseball and football . The Hornets compete in NCAA Division I , and are members of the Big Sky Conference . The baseball team plays as an affiliate member in the Western Athletic Conference , and the women ' s rowing team will join Conference USA for the 2013 – 14 school year . Championships . When the university has accomplished multiple national championships from when it was a Division III , Division II , and now a Division I school , including Softball ( AIAW D - III ) in 1981 , Women ' s Volleyball ( D - II ) in 1980 and 1981 , and Women ' s Golf ( AIAW D - III ) in 1981 . The school has also been a National Runner - up 8 times including Softball in 1989 ( D - II ) , Women ' s Volleyball in 1979 and 1989 ( D - II ) , Baseball in 1988 ( D - II ) , Women ' s Track and Field in 1981 ( AIAW D - II ) , Men ' s Cross Country in 1979 ( D - II ) , Football in 1964 ( CDN ) , and Men ' s Basketball ( 1962 CDN ) . The university has accomplished 51 conference championships , the most occurring in the Big Sky . Including : 2010 conference realignments . Recently , there have been speculations that the Hornets ' Athletic department may move to the Football Bowl Subdivision due to the population base of Sacramento ( Ranked 20th largest in college sports ) , the ( enrollment ) size of the University , and the attractiveness of recruiting in the Sac - Joaquin Section . The WAC have shown interest of adding Sacramento State Hornets for years ( their baseball and gymnastics program are currently in the WAC ) , and Commissioner Dough Fullerton of Big Sky was told that the WAC have contacted Sac State officials about a possible invitation . However , the Hornets needed to add an additional sport for women in order to meet the criteria of Title IX and needed to fund a new sports complex for men ' s and women ' s basketball and volleyball because the Colberg Court was inadequate for FBS level sports and is severely outdated ( crowd capacity of 1200 persons ) ; often being compared to high school gyms . Since the 2010 - 2012 NCAA conference realignment , Sac State was unable to fund for a massive facility upgrade for their athletic facilities ( including basketball / volleyball , football , baseball and softball among others ) in order to move to the FBS due to the current struggling economy and resistance from students and faculty members because of increasing tuition and overall cost . To add on , the Football program was required to have an attendance average of 15 , 000 each season and the athletic department needed to increase overall funds for their athletic programs . On June 6 , 2011 , Big Sky Commissioner Doug Fullerton announce that " the Big Sky schools are in a better place than the WAC , and that all current ( Big Sky ) schools are committed to staying with their current conference rather than jumping up to the FBS " , marking an end to speculations of the Hornets programs moving to the FBS for this duration of conference realignment . Although the Hornets will not change conferences , they will welcome their rival UC Davis and Cal Poly to the Big Sky conference in 2012 for football only , and North Dakota and Southern Utah for all sports . Sacramento State Football . The Sacramento State Hornets football program began in 1954 , coached by Dave Strong ( The teams ' first football head coach ) . The programs ' first victory came in the second season , 1955 , where the Hornets defeated Southern Oregon by a point , which was also their only win of the season ( they were win less in their first season of football ) . Sacramento State Football first affiliated with the Northern California Athletic Conference ( NCAC ) from 1962 until 1972 , where they were added to the Western Football Conference ( WFC ) from 1973 to 1985 , then becoming part of the D - 1AA American West Conference ( AWC ) . In 1996 , Sac State was added to the Big Sky Conference along with Portland State , becoming the first California school in the Big Sky . Hornet Stadium has been home to the football team since 1969 . The team has never been ranked in any major polls by the end of all their past seasons , but have won 4 conference titles : 1964 and 1966 - NCAC , 1986 - WFC , and 1995 - AFC . The Hornets football team participated in 2 bowls , The Pasadena Bowl in 1968 against Grambling State , where the Hornets lost 7 - 34 , and The Camellia Bowl in 1964 ( 1964 College Division National Runner - up ) , where Montana State Bobcats defeated the Hornets 28 - 7 . Current success . One of Sac State ' s most notable wins came on September 3 , 2011 in the season opener for both Sac State and Oregon State Beavers of the Pacific - 12 conference at Reser Stadium . The Hornets upset the Beavers in OT 29 - 28 with a 2 point conversion pass from QB Jeff Flemming to WR Brandyn Reed , beating an AQ Conference team for the first time in school history in front of an announced crowd of 41 , 581 . The Beavers were a 23 point favorite coming into the game . On September 8 , 2012 , The Hornets repeated the feat of defeating a Pacific - 12 , upsetting the Colorado Buffaloes by a score 30 - 28 in Boulder in front of a crowd of 46 , 843 . The Buffaloes were heavily favored in the match up . Walk - on Edgar Castaneda was awarded a full scholarship following his game winning field goal . Rivalry . In all sports , the university has a rivalry with the University of California , Davis due to close proximity . The rivalry football game is called the Causeway Classic and is played for the Causeway Cup , referring to the school ' s connection by the long Yolo Causeway bridge over the Yolo Bypass floodway . More recently , the rivalry was officially expanded to include all sports the teams compete in . UC Davis leads the series 40 to 18 with no ties . This game has drawn crowds up to 18 , 000 in the Hornet Stadium , and is widely popular in the local area . Other notable rivalries includes Portland State , Eastern Washington , Weber State , and conference powers Montana State University and the University of Montana . Past Hornets drafted in the NFL . Many Hornets have been drafted directly into the NFL onto teams such as the San Francisco 49ers , Minnesota Vikings , Seattle Seahawks , Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots . Sacramento State Marching Band . The Sacramento State Marching Band performs at home football games each fall , as well as at numerous other university functions and also periodically at high school band festivals . The Hornet Revue Pep Band is a subgroup of the marching band , and performs at all home basketball ( men ' s and women ' s ) and volleyball games . Both bands are under the direction of Dr . Clay Redfield . Fight song . " Fight , Hornet , Fight ! " is the official fight song of California State University , Sacramento . It is most widely known for being played by the Sacramento State Marching Band after scores at Sacramento State football games , and during the band ' s pre - game and halftime shows . It is played after a touchdown , field goal , extra point , or a safety . Fight , Hornet , Fight ! is also played as the band forms a tunnel for the football team as they enter Hornet Stadium before the beginning of each home game . After every Hornet win , the football team comes over to the sideline where the band ' s section is and sings along while the song is being played . Fight , Hornet , Fight ! was composed by Don McDonald , ' 52 , in 1949 . The current arrangement of the song was written by former Band Director Jeffrey Edom in 1997 .