Matador Motorsports is CSUN’s Formula SAE team. Since 1988, our students have designed, built, tested, and raced formula-style race cars, competing against more than 100+ universities from around the world.

As a senior capstone project for mechanical engineering students, Formula SAE brings classroom knowledge to life. Our team operates like an engineering company, giving students hands on experience in design, manufacturing, testing, project management, and teamwork. Through this process, students develop the technical knowledge, creativity, and problem-solving skills needed to tackle real world engineering challenges and prepare for their future careers.

Our team brings together hardworking, motivated, and dedicated CSUN students but bringing a new car to competition each year takes support from people like you. Your donation helps provide the materials, tools, and resources that turn our designs into a competitive race car while investing in the next generation of engineers.

In May 2026, Matador Motorsports competed against 140 universities at Michigan International Speedway and earned 21st place overall! This follows a strong record of results, including 11th overall in 2025, 12th in 2024, 15th in 2023, and 5th in 2021. These accomplishments reflect the passion, dedication, and hard work of our student engineers, along with the generosity of our friends, families, alumni, and sponsors. Their support makes it possible for us to bring our designs to life and represent CSUN at Formula SAE, a collegiate engineering competition organized by SAE International, formerly known as the Society of Automotive Engineers. Each season gives our team valuable experience and lessons to build upon. With your support, we can continue improving our car, developing our skills, and striving for even stronger results.

Where Your Donations Will Go
Our $30,000 fundraising goal will help us complete this year’s race car while supporting tools and resources that future Matador Motorsports teams can use. Below is a breakdown of how your donation will help bring our car to competition and support the next generation of CSUN engineers.

Chassis Manufacturing

The chassis forms the structural backbone of our race car, providing a strong, lightweight, and rigid foundation. Your support helps us purchase the tubing and build the jigs needed to accurately position and secure each tube during welding, giving students hands-on experience in fabrication and assembly.

Manufacturing Parts
With support from Haas, our students use CNC machines to manufacture the majority of our race car’s parts in-house. Your donation helps us purchase the raw materials needed to turn our designs into precision components, giving students valuable hands-on manufacturing experience. Any remaining usable materials will be saved for future Matador Motorsports teams, extending the impact of your support beyond this year’s car.

Building a competitive race car requires substantial resources for design, manufacturing, tuning, and driver training. By partnering with Matador Motorsports, you help sustain a hands-on educational program that prepares future engineers for real-world challenges. Contributions are managed through the CSUN Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We welcome both financial contributions and in-kind support, including materials, equipment, and services. We invite you to explore our sponsorship opportunities. If you are interested in a custom sponsorship arrangement, please reach out—we would be happy to discuss how your support can benefit our team while aligning with your organization’s goals.

For Contributions through check,

Please make checks payable to:
" California State University, Northridge Foundation " or " CSUN Foundation " 
Please note in the memo to designate this gift to:

" Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE ) Vehicle Fund - A7311 "
Checks should be sent to:
California State University, Northridge Foundation
18111 Nordhoff Avenue - University Hall 110
Northridge, CA 91330 - 8296
If you reside outside of the United States and would like to support our project, please donate using the link below:
https://engage.csun.edu/giving-pages/donation-form_new?fid=YklFyUBCBro%3d&fdesc=8o4qKzTWkr1FXHmBVPZZt3Gm6EfhbYC9YAH11YnlA%2f3bIdL5P2ANibWFMxO68nMBf%2fM4Z6KGNB%2bwib9bSq8lzw%3d%3d

Without the continuous support of our community and alumni, this program wouldn't have been able to continuously produce highly sought after engineers for over 38 years. Thank you sincerely for your time and consideration.

For any questions or concerns, reach out to us at csun.sae@my.csun.edu.
Check out our website at ecs.csun.edu/sae/
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