BCS leagues expanding - yeah?

McMurphy answers my question, re: the move-up fee.

 

Delaware has been kicking around the idea of moving up for a while now. Honestly it is malpractice that they waited until the tab shot through the roof.

That said, I’m surprised the American didn’t take a run at adding them. It would make Temple and Navy (and now Army) less isolated and the Hens already have a bigger fan base than many of the schools they added last go round.

 

Delaware barely drew 4,000 fans to the first-round FCS playoff game on Saturday, which is super weird b/c they usually draw well over 10K. I guess this is better than the alternative, b/c as @Cosmo notes, the CAA is a disaster. But if there was a legit window for Delaware to move up, it was 15-30 years ago, when they were perpetual I-AA national title contenders under Tubby Raymond & winning it all under K.C. Keeler. They've just been sort of meh since Keeler. I guess they could pull a JMU and skyrocket into relevance, but that seems like a unicorn-like event. Plus. the fanbase down there is pretty old and I don't see the students getting as into it. But again, hoping to play in the Dollar General Bowl and figuring out a way to get revved up for Jacksonville State is probably their only option. Yay.

 

When I covered Liberty, that question came up regularly: Would you rather play in the FCS playoffs for a national championship with limited exposure or play in a one-off bowl game against a MAC school that may be the only thing on ESPN at the time? Financially, the latter is the right answer. I believe the FCS playoffs have value, and there are only a handful of schools that should be considering moving up -- flagship state universities, state schools with large enrollments like Kennesaw State, etc. We've been down this road before here, but the Dakota schools and Montana schools have kicked around the idea in the past and found that staying put is the right choice. For one, adding another 22 scholarship players to your roster in places with not a lot of high-level football talent isn't easy. Then there's the matter of Title IX and adding enough female sports to balance the move up. Some schools are equipped for that, but most in the FCS world aren't.

 

I’m still not entirely convinced it was the right choice for KSU.

 

Pretty much expected they would punt.

 

Robert Morris heading back to the Northeast as an associate football member. That's the realignment news you've all been craving.

 

But things have gone so great for UMass!

 

UMass and UConn would both be wise to consider the Idaho route. It takes some pride swallowing, but they're in a situation similar to the Montana schools -- just not enough great football talent in New England to go around and the elite players sure as hell aren't going to UMass or UConn. Split the CAA up, recreate the old Yankee Conference and go from there. Not to mention being an independent in FBS is simply going to be untenable going forward. UConn is in a great spot for basketball, which is that school's bread and butter anyhow.

 

Big South/OVC Football Alliance turmoil!

 

As a New England native, I have no idea why this hasn't already happened. I don't blame UConn for going for I-A when they did, but there's no path back to the lofty heights they enjoyed ever-so-briefly (UConn playing in a BCS game is still a mindfuck) and their ceiling now is stumbling into a bowl at 6-6. UMass' thought process was even more fucked up. There was never a path to anything tangible for them.