BCS leagues expanding - yeah?

Maybe so, but many of these schools are losing just as much money as FCS programs as they would as they would in FBS -- if not more.

Maybe it's the Appalachian State fanboi coming out in me, and I'm trying to temper that on this thread, but when people spout that FCS schools should stay where they are, I hear they should "know their damn role, and stay there". Maybe I am wrong in this instance, but on the whole, I know I'm not completely off base. I like the FCS model. The playoffs produce some great games (the Montana/ASU semifinal game in 2009 was as good as any that year, regardless of division), but I also feel schools should field programs at the level they desire and decide they can afford and not really care what others feel they should be.

 

What readers?

 

The readers of their newspapers and websites.

C'mon, this one's right in your wheelhouse.

 

Exactly.

 

I beg to differ those points. More exposure? Lots of people still don't realize they have a team, much less could name the coach or 3-4 players. Unless you are going whole hog, and going to a major conference, you're not going to get noticed anymore than you will in FCS.

Bowl games? Seriously? Look, the best you're going to do out of the Sun Belt or WAC is the GMAC Bowl or something akin to it.... played at a neutral site in front of a few thousand people. Back 30 years ago, going to a bowl game was a big deal. Now, that there are 35 (or more) of them, it's not. How many people --- again, outside of the diehards, students and alums --- will even notice?

True, if you suck you suck, regardless. But it's easier and faster to get good and stay good for awhile at the FCS level.

I debated all this with a lot of people two years ago for an enterprise piece I did surrounding the same issues and schools I covered. Consensus was that the cons (expenses, etc.) outweighed the pros.

 

I understand what you're saying about the bowls, but even the lower-level bowls pay out enough money to make it seem worthwhile to schools that might be thinking about making the jump.

 

Yeah, and the way it stands now about half the FBS team go to a bowl. But, remember, expenses (scholarships, coaching, facilities, support staff, etc. ) increase as well.

Honestly, I expect about 1/3 to 1/2 of the current bowls will be out of business by the end of the decade, if this playoff format thing gains any momentum. The BCS has managed to all but kill many of them already.

 

Appalachian State certainly can do whatever it wants despite my advice. My wife and kids generally ignore it also.

But the money a school gets from a small bowl generally does not cover expenses becasue the school has buy tickets for the game. I think Appalachian State will lose money on a move to the FBS. So I would advocate that such school spend the money on actually improving the quality of the school. I am sure Appalalchian State is a good school but I suspect there are things that they could do better.

And I am prouder of one of my alma maters for thier Nobel Prize winners because of Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to win the economics, than their multiple basketball championships.

 

Low-level FBS schools also can demand a much bigger payday in guarantee games. An FCS school might get $200,000 to play a power conference school. A Sun Belt school would get closer to $850K. One of the reasons the Savannah-OSU bloodbath happened is that OSU only wanted to pay around $350 and none of the lower-level FBS schools would take that low of a payout.

 

Well, I'm more proud of my alma mater for Franklin Graham than three FCS titles or 34-32, so I do not disagree. Appalachian State loses money on FCS football, already, so the only way to repurpose the money you say should go to other parts of the university would be to kill the football program. That idea would go over like a wet beer fart in church. My argument is that if you're going to lose money anyway, it makes more sense to do it where there is a better shot at recouping that money, which in this case is in the FBS. Enough about just one school. I realize the same doesn't hold true for all schools contemplating (or in the middle of) a move, but it is something each school should decide for itself, provided it can meet and keep the requirements for FBS ball.

 

It doesn't make sense for upper level FCS schools, either. Any school that can bring in a gate of 20,000 will make more money through ticket sales and concessions, at home, against another FCS or Division-II opponent. Especially with an offer of just $350K. For Savannah State, that's obviously good money. For Montana, it would be an insult.

 

Savannah State would have played for $350.00.