The Stinger Athletic Association held its annual crab feed Saturday night to help raise funds for the Sacramento State Athletic department.

The first crab feed last year had 450 donors come out in support of student-athletes. This year the ballroom at the Citrus Heights Community Center was sold out with 650 donors, athletic staff and current athletes packing the room.

The Stinger Athletic Association was established in the early “80s to build revenue for all 20 athletic programs at Sac State. According to the association’s web page, its supporters are vital for Sac State’s ability to provide a standout Division I experience for nearly 500 student-athletes.

The crab feed is just one event of many the Stinger Athletic Association plans and puts on in support of Sac State Athletics every year. Other events include wine tasting in April and a golf tournament in September.

The ticket price for the crab dinner was $45 per person or $450 for a table of 10. With the 650 in attendance, raffle sales, beverage sales and a live auction that saw a $2,000 Thomas Kinkade painting auctioned off, the night raised an estimated $50,000. The totality of the night’s festivities will not be known for several days until final costs are factored.

Mark Livingston, associate athletic director of development, is in charge of finding donors and viable revenue sources to help offset the costs of providing fully paid scholarships for just over 250 of the 500 student-athletes that attend Sac State.

The money taken in from events like the crab feed goes toward the living expenses and educational costs of student-athletes, Livingston said.

He said last year’s crab feed raised about $27,000 and this year he hopes to raise $30,000 – enough to cover two full scholarships out of 250.

Events like the crab feed are vital, Livingston said, because the association needs to continually seek out means of support for the athletic department in order to support its student-athletes.

“It’s what I do every day, trying to raise more money for the athletic department. As we know, state funding is going down and budgets are being slashed,” Livingston said. “So there is more pressure on a person like me to go out and raise money and external support. College athletics is expensive, everything from travel to uniforms and so it becomes a reality to get external support to pay the bills.”

In order for the athletic department to fully fund 250 scholarships, Livingston needs to raise $3.75 million for an academic school year.

Enjoying the night’s festivities, John Riga, who owns California Limousine, contributes to the Stinger Association and the Sac State athletic department annually.

“I feel that my donation and sponsorship go to the right people. That’s why I do it every year,” Riga said. “I donate a gift certificate for the use of one of our big stretch vehicles. It is valued at $1,200.”

With all of the other colleges in the Sacramento area like UC Davis and William Jessup University, Riga makes Sac State the sole recipient of his donations.

Many student-athletes benefit from the generosity of donors and sponsors like Riga. One former student-athlete and Sac State men’s basketball standout is Loren Leath.

“The athletic department gave me the opportunity to do something I love, which was to play basketball. But it also gave me the opportunity to get away from home,” Leath said. “Being a Hornet also allowed me to mature on and off the court.”

Leath graduated from Sac State in spring of 2009 with a bachelor’s in communication studies and mass media.

Along with graduates, there were many current athletes in attendance.

Men’s soccer standout Matt Linenberger sees how the charity of the donors goes to helping his teammates and other student-athletes at Sac State.

“I think it is great that they donate to the school. They pay for many of our scholarships and they are really crucial for some of the players,” Linenberger said. “They help many of players that couldn’t otherwise pay for school. So it is awesome to give back to the donors at these kinds of events.”

As a graduate from Sac State and a member of the association for 16 years, crab feed chairman Jack Siebert has total confidence in future success of the athletic department.

“I believe in the program and I want to see them succeed,” Siebert said. “All total, I have been with the “stingers’ for 31 years and we have always seen positive things.”

Matt Harrington can be reached at [email protected]