Sacramento State has announced an historic $7.5 million partnership with a local tribal casino.
According to ABC 10, the deal with Wilton Rancheria, which was announced at a sold-out Hornets men's basketball game, is a five-year agreement that school officials say is the largest corporate gift in Sacramento State Athletics history.
“It’s the largest corporate partnership, gift, that we’ve had at Sacramento State Athletics, and I couldn’t be more excited to partner with such a good group of people over at Wilton Rancheria and Sky River Casino,” said Mark Orr, the university’s director of athletics.
The partnership is expected to allow major investments in football and men's and women's basketball, while also strengthening ties with the Wilton Rancheria community.
Tribal chairman Jesus Tarango said his own personal connection to Sacramento State helped shape the agreement.
“I’m an alumni. I haven’t graduated but, I went here, and so I understand, you know what Sac State lacks, and if we have our community partners and our native Sacramentos come back and invest in it, I think we can have something very, very big here,” Tarango said.
As part of the agreement, Sacramento State debuted new Native American-themed uniforms on Saturday, and the partnership will also allow more money toward the school's Native American college.
“Which is a college that we have in Sacramento State that’s specifically designed for students who are interested in learning more about Native history, life, and culture, and it’s led by Doctor Annette Reed and is really just an amazing group of students,” Wood said. “Currently, we have students representing over 25 different tribal nations as part of that college.”
