Yates of Wrath: Sacramento State’s Parking Lot Legend

At Sac State, one man fills students’ hearts with fear, frustration and a touch of admiration: Officer Colin Yates. 

Known across Reddit threads and whispered on campus, he has become a parking legend. To some, he’s a vigilante with a citation pad. To others, he’s just doing his job. But nearly everyone agrees—if you’ve parked at Sac State, you have either been or will be “Yated.” 

“He’s a boogeyman with a badge,” said Dani Hurst, a senior business major. “I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but he’s so harsh when it comes to giving tickets. He could chill out.”

In the Sac State Reddit community, users have turned “getting Yated” into campus slang. One post warns of parking enforcement being “on the prowl,” accompanied by a photo of a parking enforcement vehicle. Another jokes that “Yates is not simply a man. He is a force of nature.” 

Some speculate he might be nothing more than a persona shared among enforcement officers to maintain anonymity. A CSU-styled Krampus meant to scare drivers into their best behavior. “Is Yates even real or does every UTAPS employee just use that name to stay anonymous?” one commenter questioned.

Officer Yates did not respond to multiple interview requests, but his boss did, and he confirmed that not only is Sac State’s parking garage Grendel real, he’s also a pretty nice guy.

Jeff Dierking, director of University Transportation and Parking Services (UTAPS), spoke glowingly of the prolific ticketer. 

“Officer Yeats is extremely good at his job, he does a fantastic job every day,” Dierking said. “He is a very kind and courteous officer if you ever speak to him in the field.”

But not everyone sees him that way.

JP Alfaro, a Sac State alumnus who graduated in 2024 with a degree in computer science, described his parking experience on campus as “atrocious.” He said he eventually stopped driving to campus due to traffic and frustration with finding parking.

In the brief time Alfaro drove to campus, he too was “Yated.” He received a ticket for parking in a staff lot. Alfaro said signage in the lot was not clear and that he was running late for a final. He later disputed the ticket, complete with photo evidence, and had it overturned.

Alfaro described seeing Yates seemingly wait in his car for students to park improperly. He said it felt predatory.

Despite Alfaro’s experience, Dierking said parking enforcement officers do not single individuals out for punishment. 

“We don’t cite people—we cite cars,” Dierking said.

Sac State has never run out of parking spots, according to Dierking. The problem is reportedly location. 

“The spot might not be close to where you want to go, but there is always parking available on campus,” Dierking said. He encouraged students to use the online parking occupancy map to better plan their commute.

Dierking pushed back on the idea that Yate’s prolific ticket writing is meant to bolster Sac State’s finances. He said parking enforcement is a compliance tool, not a revenue generator.

California’s education code has strict requirements on how money collected via fines and parking passes can be utilized. The funds can only be used for a school’s transportation program. That includes maintenance and alternative transportation initiatives like campus shuttles and bike infrastructure. The money from parking tickets cannot go toward funding Sac State’s planned stadium, despite calls for “Yates Stadium” on Reddit.

Stadium or not, Sac State parking is serious money. According to CSU financial data, Sac State issued over $666,000 in parking fines during the 2023-24 academic year, averaging $22.08 per enrolled student. Parking permit revenue brought in nearly $7.6 million, which UTAPS uses to fund operations, maintenance and services.

Still, frustrations remain. One Reddit user summed up their experience in a post titled “Got Wrongfully Yated.” The user said they received a ticket for parking in a residence hall zone—despite having a valid residence hall permit.

One user replied, “Yates is what everyone in fantasy football would want. Bro always making all kinds of numbers. Bruh don’t miss.”

Despite his negative parking experiences, Alfaro admits there’s a charm to the parking dissonance. 

“It’s going to be ingrained in the Sac State lore for a long time to come,” he said. “I think it’s pretty funny.”

Reddit commenters appear to agree with Alfaro’s sentiment. In one thread, a student playfully bragged about finishing their degree without buying a parking pass or receiving a single ticket. “Suck it Yates,” they concluded.

Back on campus, the myth of “YateGod” is as real as a parking ticket. “Everyone I know has been Yated,” Hurst said. “It’s like, welcome to Sac State. Hope you brought $55.”

Whether he’s considered a villain or a hardworking UTAPS officer doing his job, Officer Yates has become more than a name on a uniform. He’s a rite of passage, a meme, a ghost story—and maybe, in a weird way, part of what makes Sac State feel like home.