By Sterling Davies | OBSERVER Correspondent

Sac State President Dr. Luke Wood says his vision for a fully realized university and nationally recognized sports program relies largely on Athletics Director Mark Orr.

“Mark Orr is the best athletic director in the country — that’s based upon his success taking Sac State athletics from obscurity to prominence,” Wood proudly said. “The success in football over the last five years and across programs such as volleyball, soccer, track and field and golf demonstrate dominance over teams that play against Sac State at the highest level of D-I athletics,” Wood added.

From an early age, Orr remembers being surrounded by sports, and as a native of South Sacramento, the city became his playing field. “As kids, we grew up playing in the neighborhood. I played all sports as a kid, basketball, baseball, football, and ran track. We did everything.”

Orr’s parents saw sports as an integral part of education. His father, a scout for the New York Yankees, was the first-ever professional African American baseball scout.

“I grew up in a very athletic family that believed in sports to develop ourselves as whole people,” said Orr, 48.

His older brother, Chris, went on to play baseball at Chico State, and now serves as the principal at Sacramento’s Destiny Christian High School.

“It was three sports a year. Fall, winter, and spring,” Chris Orr recalled. “Our vacations used to be baseball tournaments … we spent a lot of time in gyms and in baseball and football fields all over Sacramento.”

Mark attended Christian Brothers High School and played several sports. A standout defensive back, he earned a full scholarship to UC Berkeley in 1994. A four-year letterman, he was an honorable mention all-academic Pac-10 selection in both 1997 and 1998.

“Being a South Sacramento kid and being able to get a world-renowned education at Berkeley and play Pac-10 (now Pac-12) football at the time was something that I only dreamed about,” he said.

Alongside sports, Orr and his siblings were taught the importance of maximizing their educational opportunities. In 1998, he was awarded the Pappy Waldorf Honorary Scholarship for Academic Excellence and the Tiny Bates Memorial Award for Leadership. At Cal, he served as a peer adviser, senior tutor, teaching assistant, and graduate student instructor.

Orr’s college football journey, unfortunately, was hindered by injuries, including three reconstructive knee surgeries, which halted his ambition to pursue a career in the NFL. He turned his attention to the administrative side of athletics at Cal, serving as the compliance assistant and the interim eligibility assistant in 1999-2000, helping the university maintain legal and ethical integrity through audits and other documentation.

This newfound interest catapulted him into a career. After completing his master’s degree in education at Cal in 2000, Orr became the assistant director of athletics for student support services at St. Mary’s College in Moraga. In 2006, he was promoted to senior associate director, becoming the youngest Division I athletics director at the age of 29.

“We built a tremendous basketball program and an athletic program at St Mary’s,” Orr said. “I really enjoyed my time.”

After 17 years, Orr moved back to Sacramento, becoming Sac State’s athletics director the summer of 2017.

During his childhood, he recalls the college’s athletic department, then a Division II program, having a small presence across the community. “It was mostly a commuter campus,” Orr said. “We would drive by Highway 50, and at times see the stadium on the left-hand side of the freeway, but we really didn’t have a good reason to come to campus. Sports at Sac State weren’t necessarily in the presence of the Sacramento community and media at the time.”

Since his arrival, Orr’s vision has been to increase community engagement with the university’s athletics department, bringing more attention and cementing it as a part of the city.

“When I came back, it was, ‘How can I make this city and this university proud of its college athletics program that’s sitting right here in Sacramento?’,” he recalled. “And I knew it would take a lot of work, because there were decades of apathy that we had to change. And I think brick by brick, we built it.”

Orr’s efforts have seen great improvements to Sac State’s various athletic programs, including several successful coaching hires. He brought in Sacramento native Troy Taylor to head the football team from 2019 to 2022, and in January hired offensive guru Brennan Marion, the first Black football coach in Hornets history. Marion, most recently the offensive coordinator at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is known nationally for his creative “Go-Go” offense and is considered an excellent recruiter.

In 2021 he hired Oregon associate head coach Mark Campbell, who in two short years led the women’s basketball team to its first ever NCAA Division I championship tournament. Campbell was swiftly hired away by Texas Christian University, seemingly before the Hornets’ return flight home landed at Sacramento International Airport.

Orr also hired a new men’s basketball coach, Mike Bibby — the point guard during the Sacramento King’s golden era from 2001-2008. NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, whose son is a member of the basketball team, will serve as the unpaid general manager for the basketball team.

“I’ve always felt that college sports would work really well in this community, especially if it was competing at the highest level,” Orr said. “It’s exciting for me to be from here and have family here. It’s personal, it’s prideful.”

Wood said Orr “has the ability to create systems that prioritize our athletes as students first and hire coaches that are player-centered, as well as the tenacity to improve programs and resources that give us a competitive edge.”

Wood described Orr as “visionary, strategic, the ability to weather incredible storms and is fun to work with. Most importantly he is a home-town guy, he could be anywhere he wanted in the country but he chose to be here. Mark is the mastermind that made this all happen.”

Chris Orr, a Sac State alum, has noticed the recent rise in engagement with the university’s athletic program. “I didn’t feel a big community presence at Sac State growing up … there wasn’t a ton of excitement that we had for Sac State sports,” he said. “As a kid, I remember from time to time we would go to a game, but the energy now is completely different from what I saw when I was growing up.”

For Mark Orr, the decision to hire Black coaches and lay the groundwork for improved facilities and stadiums aren’t just to elevate Sac State’s athletics, but the school as a whole.

“Some of this is obviously athletic-specific.” Orr said. “Also, some of this is making sure our community here in Sacramento sees Sac State as a partner and a place to be. Whether it’s attending the school, whether it’s catching a game, whether it’s going to a play or an exhibit, or if you’re an alum, getting re-engaged with the university.”

Now, Orr is planning more initiatives to take the university’s athletics program to new heights. Starting in the 2026 academic year, Sac State will compete in the Big West Conference, which he called “a perfect match.” With the new conference having more schools within California, Orr believes this change will better suit all areas of athletics, from recruiting and travel to student and alumni engagement.

“Sacramento State has a lot of alumni who live in Southern California. We have a lot of students who come to Sacramento State, non-student athletes who are from Southern California,” Orr explained. “I think it helps us recruit student athletes. So the opportunity to join the Big West for all of our sports from my end was a no-brainer.”

Since the Big West does not sponsor football, the university will either wait to be invited to join a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conference or plan to play a FBS schedule as an independent

“Now we’ve got to get football into an FBS conference or as an independent, and that’s top priority right now in terms of [things we’re] working on,” Orr said.

Alongside a conference shift, the athletic program is also looking to develop new facilities. In 2024, Sac State announced its plan to develop a new football stadium that will seat more than 25,000 people, replacing the current Hornet Stadium. The new facility will also serve as a multi-use complex to host the university’s soccer and rugby teams, as well as other professional competitions, NCAA championships, and music events.

“Whether or not you’re an alum of Sac State, my hope is, if you live in Sacramento, Sac State’s the college team you’re going to follow,” Orr said. “Sacramento is in my blood and my family’s blood, and a lot of good things are happening at Sac State. It’s pretty cool to see, hopefully we can make alumni and community members proud.”

OBSERVER Editor in Chief Steve Magagnini contributed to this story