photo credit: Sonoma State University

Ten NCAA sports teams will return to Sonoma State University next fall.

Sonoma State leadership said the return of university athletics programs is the latest success in their campus wide "re-imagining."

That includes expanding the school's nursing program, modernizing aging buildings, and expanding enrollment opportunities.

Sonoma State has been without sports since the school's 11 teams were eliminated as part of a major budget cut rolled out in January 2025.

SSU President Michael Spagna, who was hired at the start of this year, had said NCAA athletics would only return if the programs could be maintained in perpetuity.

Robert Eyler is an economics professor and member of the feasibility team which spearheaded the effort to bring back NCAA athletics.

"So, there's sort of three things that are going to happen over the next 12 months that will have a bunch of different effects on the university, much less athletics," Eyler said.

Eyler said the effort to bring back 10 NCAA teams will start with recruitment, for prospective student-athletes at the NCAA level and efforts to attract students interested in club sports as well.

The ten revitalized programs are women’s basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, and volleyball; and men’s basketball, cross country, golf, and soccer.

"We're expecting to have somewhere between let's say 185 and 200 total student athletes depending on how expansive any of the rosters become," Eyler said.

Eyler said the university also plans to hire coaching and support staff, and a fundraising officer to generate sponsorships and community support. He did not specifically say whether previous coaching staffs will return.

Eyler said the ten programs were selected because, "we had sort of three pivot points. One was we needed to have 10 sports for to qualify for the conference play."

"We needed to make sure that our predicted roster sizes and gender balance worked for Title IX, and we needed to make sure that the total cost package worked," Eyler said.

Eyler said there is still a chance the popular men's NCAA baseball team could be resurrected in the future.

Funding for the athletics programs - expected to cost between 6 and 7 million dollars a year - will come from a mix of student fees, corporate sponsorship, and direct support from the school. That includes $8 million from the state that will be used to help re-launch the 10 teams.

Sonoma State NCAA teams plan to rejoin and compete in the California Collegiate Athletic Association in the 2027-28 season.