SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Troy Taylor announced today that he will depart Sacramento State after four years to become the head coach at Stanford.

"I am extremely appreciative of Coach Taylor's time at Sacramento State," Director of Athletics Mark Orr said. "From our initial conversation, we aligned in a shared vision that Sacramento State could win Big Sky Conference titles and contend for a national championship, and he was able to fulfill those expectations. The program is in a better place because of him, and we will continue to build upon the foundation that he has built. We wish Troy, Tracey and their family the best of luck at Stanford."

Taylor leaves Sacramento State with the highest winning percentage in school history, posting a 30-8 record (.789) in three seasons. He guided the Hornets to at least a share of the Big Sky championship and a berth in the FCS Playoffs each season. Taylor also became the fastest coach in program history to earn 10 (14 games), 20 (27 games) and 30 (37 games) victories during their career.

During Taylor's first season in 2019, Sacramento State finished with a 9-4 overall record and captured the first Big Sky football championship in school history with a 7-1 record. That performance came a year after the team went winless in conference play and helped Taylor earn the Eddie Robinson Award which goes to the top coach in the Football Championship Subdivision.

The 2020 season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Taylor made the difficult decision to become one of the first schools to opt out of the spring season.

Sacramento State returned to the field in 2021 and went undefeated through conference play to finish the year with a 9-3 overall record and an 8-0 mark in league. The season included the first road victory in program history at Montana, an eight-game winning streak and saw the team return to the FCS Playoffs as a top four seed.

The Hornets raised the bar further in 2022, going undefeated through the regular season and capturing the first NCAA FCS Playoffs victory in school history. Sacramento State set the school record for victories in a season (12) which included a win over Colorado State of the Mountain West Conference. The Hornets also set records for single-season rushing yards (3,163), points scored (558) and touchdowns (71).

Taylor Notables

• His 30 career victories rank as the fifth most in school history despite only coaching three seasons.
• Went 3-0 against UC Davis in the Causeway Classic.
• Posted a 23-1 Big Sky record and his .958 Big Sky winning percentage is the best in conference history.
• Owned a road record of 14-0 against FCS teams.
• Named the Big Sky Coach of the Year in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
• Sacramento State played 25 games while ranked in the top 25 of the FCS. Prior to his arrival, the team had played seven games.
• Recorded 10 victories against teams ranked in the FCS top 25. Sacramento State had 10 wins over top 25 teams between 1993-2018.
• Coached 49 players to all-Big Sky honors, including 22 who were named first team all-league. That list includes Kevin Thomson who was the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year in 2019, Cameron Skattebo who earned the award in 2022, and Marte Mapu who was the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.
• Sacramento State and North Dakota State are the only two FCS teams to be seeded in the top four of the FCS Playoffs the last three fall seasons.