The Sacramento State Athletic Department released its first stakeholder’s report, which chronicles the successes of the 2008-09 Hornets – on and off the field.

The report gives stakeholders a general overview of the state of Hornet athletics. It gives a brief synopsis of each sport for the 2008-09 season, details about fundraising events the university conducted, as well as the particulars about student-athlete academics.

The report says Sac State is improving in student-athletes’ academics, the athletic program’s winning percentage and boosters are raising more money.

Stakeholders include alumni, boosters, students, faculty and staff.

Bill Macriss, deputy director of athletics said the report is something the stakeholders can use to help to get more participation from the community and the student body.

“They needed a tool where, if they were getting questions or had to talk to people about the program, they wanted something that was sort of ‘all-in-one,'” he said. “They needed a tangible item they could utilize to either answer questions or tell people about the program.”

Sac State President Alexander Gonzalez said the report is an instrument for people outside of Sac State, who may not know a lot about Sac State athletics to learn about the school.

“It’s just a way to communicate with all different types of groups,” Gonzalez said.

Director of Athletics Terry Wanless said the report is a capsule of the entire year.

Wanless said the report is a good way to help educate the fans.

“People were amazed with the success that the athletic program has had in the past year,” he said. “Of course, they’re more familiar through the newspapers with football and basketball. Many times, they don’t get the same information about the success of our other programs, and we’re very proud of their success as well.”

Macriss said the report is a way to get a brief view of the sports teams.

“It’s a snapshot of the kind of success we have year-in and year-out,” Macriss said.

The Hornets have won 21 conference championships in the last seven years. The 2008-09 conference championship teams include men’s golf and tennis and women’s tennis, rowing and outdoor track and field.

The Hornets had 45 first-team all-conference selections and 32 second-team all-conference selections – all of whom were selected by the coaches in their respective conferences.

Two former Hornet student-athletes earned the Big Sky Conference Scholar-Athlete Award: soccer’s Sarah Howard and football’s Juan Gamboa. The award is given to an athlete from men’s and women’s athletics, which is voted on by university representatives.

Many people focus attention towards athletes’ performance on the field, but off-the-field accomplishments – academics – play a significant role in the report. Sac State had 67 individual academic all-league selections.

“The state of Hornet athletics is very positive at this time,” Wanless said. “We’re very encouraged by the athletic success, but we’re even more encouraged by the number of academic success we’re starting to have.”

Dustin Nosler can be reached at [email protected]