Sacramento State President Luke Wood answered students, faculty and alumni’s questions during a live Reddit “Ask Me Anything” session on the r/CSUS subreddit on April 10.

Students and faculty who participated had the opportunity to directly ask Wood about their concerns and the future of the university. Wood answered questions about Sac State international students potentially losing their visas, employee layoffs, a new student fee being proposed, the incoming $37 million budget deficit and former Sacramento Kings player Mike Bibby being introduced as the Sac State men’s basketball coach.

The AMA was deleted several days later, but Wood said he would do another public AMA next month.

International Student Visas

A State Hornet reporter asked, “How many students at Sac State have had their visas revoked?”

Wood said he would not provide an answer to protect the safety of students, but confirmed that Sac State students have had their visas revoked by the federal government.

“The impact is real,” Wood said. “Many of our students are feeling fearful. It breaks my heart.”

RELATED: International CSU students and alumni face visa revocations from federal government

He said international funding was also revoked, and students who are supposed to be coming to Sac State through a memorandum of understanding with their governments that they may not be able to attend.

Sac State’s International Programs & Global Engagement office has established a memorandum of understanding with multiple international institutions that promote student exchange programs and research collaborations.

As of April 2025, the university reported multiple F-1 visa revocations by the Department of Homeland Security for some international students and alumni.

Budget Crisis

A Reddit user, who identified themself as a biological science major, asked Wood why is money being spent to build a new stadium when there are many areas on campus where those funds would have a greater impact.

Wood said that every year the university receives a budget from the California State University Chancellor’s Office for “deferred maintenance.” This means that campus maintenance has been delayed because there is no money within that year’s budget to pay for it, therefore the money for the stadium is separate from money used for students and maintenance.

Wood said the focus is not about supporting only athletics, but rather using athletics to generate revenue so the university can get to a point where it doesn’t have to keep cutting to make room in the budget.

“Yes, there are a number of areas that need upgrades, we have a list that we are working on,” Wood said. “In fact, we just put $1.7 million into upgrading classroom furniture because I continue to hear so many concerns about the quality of the desks and chairs.”

Another Reddit user recalled their classes in September 2022 during a heat wave where temperatures reached 116 degrees. They said Amador Hall did not have air conditioning and lamented that professors have to lecture in the extreme heat.

Wood said the university does not receive money from the state for new academic buildings. It only receives money for buildings that can generate revenue, such as residence halls, athletic facilities or performance centers.

Wood said Sac State tries to be creative with offsetting costs for new academic buildings to accommodate other academic needs. He said this is the way the university finances have been structured, and he did not create it this way.

“I’m just trying to use that structure to benefit our students,” Wood said.

A Reddit user asked President Wood how he would respond to others arguing that the CSU system should use its reserve funds to close gaps in the budget crisis.

Wood said, from his understanding, those reserves can’t be used because they are only one-time funds, meaning the reserves cannot be used to hire someone or pay for their salary.

Wood said those reserve funds are not recurring, and the use of these funds must meet requirements, according to the CSU system’s Designated Balances and Reserves. Specific sections of these reserves may be used to acquire buildings like residence halls and academic infrastructure.

A Reddit user who identified themself an alumnus and staff member asked, “Budget crises have been perpetual every couple of years. Do you believe Sac State can restructure in a way that breaks this cycle? Or is it something inherent in our operation?”

Wood said he absolutely believes that Sac State can break the cycle of budget crises.

“Right now, the structure that we have does not make sense. We are too reliant upon resources from the state,” Wood said. “Part of why we’re focusing on athletics right now, is that we can generate more revenue so that we can reduce costs particularly in academic affairs.”

Wood said the university made a public commitment that 15% of all new revenue generated from football and men’s and women’s basketball will be redirected back to support the academic side of Sac State.

“We have to generate revenue in areas where we can, bringing in more out-of-state students, maximizing revenue in athletics, leasing, contracts, training and a number of other strategies that will help us be a more stable institution,” Wood said. “I do not plan to leave Sacramento State until we are stable.”

Another Reddit user asked about FAFSA delays and grant cuts due to the Department of Education being dismantled.

Wood said Sac State is preparing for all scenarios, but he is not expecting FAFSA delays yet.

“The challenges—there are many directives coming down from the federal government right now,” Wood said. “So keeping up with all the new mandates, policy changes, and political stances has been difficult to say the least.”

Wood said this comes at a time when the university administration is smaller than ever and simply does not have the faculty numbers it needs to keep up with the changes from the federal government. Wood said university managers are working hard, but the stress being felt by students, faculty, staff and managers right now is extreme.

RELATED: President Luke Wood updates financial plan to navigate $37 million deficit

A Reddit user asked about Wood’s salary and benefits, saying, “How come despite the current financial difficulties that led to [15] employees losing their jobs, you have taken zero pay cuts? You still even get your housing credit, which is frustrating when students can barely afford housing.”

Wood said his pay and housing is determined by a board of trustees and that he has no influence in either of those dollar amounts.

He said he believes the majority of presidents in the Cal State system are incredibly underpaid in comparison to the market and that people don’t become presidents in the Cal State system to become rich.

“I didn’t want to be a president anywhere other than Sacramento State,” Wood said. “I’m only here because I love this institution. I went to school here. I’m an alum. My wife went to school here. My brother [went] to school here. All the friends that I have today went to school here.”

Wood said he wants to ensure that every single student has the support they need to cross the stage at graduation and experience hope and dignity.

Developments in Athletics

A Reddit user, who identified themselves as a Sac State alumnus, asked President Wood how he justifies paying Mike Bibby a $300,000 salary to coach while students see increases in tuition and fees.

RELATED: BREAKING: Mike Bibby introduced as head coach of Sac State men’s basketball

“Just seems like a misappropriation of funds and comes off extremely out of touch to thousands of students struggling to afford to go to college,” the alumnus said.

Wood said Bibby is paid the exact same salary as the previous coach.

“We have a D1 basketball program, you’re not going to be able to get a quality coach for anything less than that,” Wood said. “Mike is essentially doing us a favor at that price, because he cares about Sacramento. We should be thanking him.”

A Reddit user asked, “What does success look like for our university with the FBS move and all recent notoriety surrounding our athletics?”

Wood replied, “One. A multi-million dollar media rights deal. Two. A winning season in 2025. Three. A high graduation rate for all of our football players. Four. Sac State becoming a household name that our students are used to seeing on ESPN and Fox Sports.”

A Reddit user asked, “Respectfully, why do we need a basketball court renovation and a new stadium? There are countless students struggling to get into the class they need because a lot of classes don’t have many sections. Should the budget not be prioritizing these issues?”

Wood said this is a fair question and that he is trying to generate revenue so the university doesn’t have to continue making cuts each year. Wood said one of the few levers that the university has to generate revenue streams is its athletics.

“For example, we are leaving money on the table in terms of athletics that can benefit the campus. Right now for all of our sports, all 21 athletic sports, the university only receives $100,000 for our media rights,” Wood said. “The investments that we have made will ensure that our next media deal is in the millions, not $100,000s.”

A Reddit user asked what Wood’s plan is for the track and field program at Sac State, saying they felt like men’s and women’s track and field would fall by the wayside once the new stadium is built.

Wood said that track is one of the programs he wants to prioritize. He said Sac State is making renovations to the track right now for the upcoming season, and they plan to replace the track almost immediately.

“I want to have the best track and field program in Northern California,” Wood said. “I believe that we are close to that, but we do need real investments.”

A State Hornet reporter asked, “Combat U has been taking trips and appears to have a big budget, can you clarify where the money for the program is coming from?”

Wood said Combat U is heavily funded by donors from the President’s Circle as well as other private donors. He said Combat U has more athletes than all of the 21 collegiate athletic programs combined.

Wood said that with over 550 athletes in the Combat U program, it should have more resources to support the larger number of athletes.

A Reddit user asked if there are any other conferences the school is looking at other than the Pac-12.

Wood said that the Big 12 is a stretch goal, but there are other conferences out there that Sac State could be a part of. Wood said later that he views the Big 12 as a 10-year stretch goal.

“That said, I really like the idea of us being independent with a scheduling agreement,” Wood said. “Notre Dame is independent and has a scheduling agreement with the ACC.”

He also responded to a Reddit user who asked if students would be able to use the new stadium for recreational and intramural sports all year.

Offering some insight into what that schedule would look like, Wood said, “Absolutely. The sports facilities will be open for intramural sports, recreational sports, club sports, and concerts. So the focus is not solely on intercollegiate athletics, but providing opportunities for every student.”

Sac State’s Long-Term Plans

A Reddit user asked, “What are some long-term aspirations for Sacramento State? What is one change you believe would be beneficial to higher education, and what is one aspect that should be preserved?”

Wood said, “The long-term aspiration is to get the four-year graduation rate above 50% and the six-year graduation rate above 75%. None of what we do matters [if] students aren’t graduating, graduating on time, and graduating with as little debt as possible.”

He said one thing he would like to change about higher education is how some students receive more support than others, saying the university needs to make sure students have access to the support services they need.

Student Commuters

Several Reddit users asked if there were any plans to improve the public transit connectivity to campus. This comes as users cited Sac State being a commuter campus, with many students living outside of campus.

Wood said that, though there are no plans for the main campus, there are plans to improve connectivity to off-site locations.

Wood said he is trying to do away with the commuter campus focus for two reasons: student success and access to support.

“There’s extensive research that shows that when a student lives on campus, they are more likely to graduate,” Wood said. “We have a lot of students who struggle with food and housing insecurity. So, I definitely want to change that focus by building more residence halls and providing more opportunities for students to live on campus.”

Wood said that several years from now, he hopes Sac State will have 5,000 to 8,000 students living on campus. As of fall 2024, out of the 31,000 undergraduate students, roughly 1,550 students live in on-campus housing, while 29,450 commute.

Artificial Intelligence Integration

A Reddit user asked, “With the AI announcement today, is the AI rollout (ChatGPT for students) still happening?”

“Great question,” Wood said. “The campus cancelled our campus-based initiative. That said, we are still proposing a new degree in AI and have hired new AI faculty in both the College of Business and several in Computer Science.”

He said the CSU AI effort is totally separate and is still continuing as directed and led by Sac State’s system. As of April 14, 2025, the Sac State ChatGPT Workspace has officially launched; students, faculty and staff may log in with their university email.

Wood ended with a parting comment saying he thought the Reddit AMA was worthwhile and that he plans to do it again, but he did not say when or how soon.

“Hopefully you know I’m fighting for you every day,” Wood said.