![]() ![]() And some good news for Vandals' fans who want to see a rivalry renewed: the move down could mean games with Boise State in the future.Reddit Rules/FAQ Announcements Filter Twitter Social Media Poll/Pick 'Em Team Guide Awards Merchandise Amazon Referrals Select Flair Submit Game Thread It's not like the Vandals didn't give it a shot - twenty years is a long time to try and make something happen.īeginning with the 2018 season, Idaho will move its football program to the Big Sky conference where the Vandals are already a member for all the program's other sports. You don't have to win a national title to benefit from the exposure at the FBS level, but you can't have a 0.293 winning percentage either. These are similar to the reasons Georgia Southern gave me in 2013 for their move up from FCS.Īre there benefits (tangible and intangible) to playing at the FBS level? Absolutely.Īre those benefits always worth the cost of doing business at that level? Of course not. Many of the advantages to fielding a team at the FBS level were intangibles like maintaining or increasing UAB's African-American male enrollment and the "publicity value" of playing on national television (which increases awareness of the university and can result in increased applications and enrollment). I was on the consulting team with College Sports Solutions which produced a report for UAB last spring about the various situations UAB could find itself in either with - or without - football. It also means at least $1 million annually in revenue from the College Football Playoff (without even playing in a game) and payouts for guarantee games against Power 5 schools. Coastal Carolina will begin the transition in 2017 and be bowl eligible in 2018.Īnd the FBS trend hasn't hit a saturation point.Įach of the consultants I spoke with said they know of schools currently contemplating the move from FCS to FBS - meaning there are still teams willing to make the move up, even though it means funding more scholarships (85, as compared to 63) and playing stiffer competition. Nine schools have moved up from FCS or added a new football program at the FBS level since 2012: Appalachian State, Charlotte, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, UMass, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Texas State, and UTSA. Even without their inside knowledge, it's easy to see that FBS membership hasn't lost its luster. UAB nearly followed Pacific in 2014 but was saved with just two seasons lost, set to return to the field in 2017.īoth consultants I spoke with were hesitant to predict that any other schools will follow in Idaho's footsteps. The last move from FBS happened in 1995 when Pacific disbanded its football program (and the last move down to FCS was way back in 1982). Staben also ruled out playing as an independent at the FBS level, saying it was "irresponsible." “To become successful enough to affiliate with any FBS conference would entail unjustifiable, unstastainable expenditures.” “UI has always been one of the lowest-resourced FBS football teams, and therefore has struggled to achieve a winning record during our time in the FBS,” Idaho president Chuck Staben said at a press conference today. Idaho president Chuck Staben blamed the Vandals' poor performance at the FBS level on finances at a press conference today where the move was officially announced. And in 20 years, Idaho has made just two bowl appearances, both in the Humanitarian Bowl on Boise State's campus (now the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl). Since 2000, the Vandals have just one winning season, an 8-5 campaign in 2009. ![]() In twenty seasons at the FBS level, Idaho is 67-162 - a 0.293 winning percentage. The Vandals had 15 winning seasons and went into the post-season 11 times. And many are relying on student fees to support the larger budget required to compete at FBS.īoise State and UConn are the notable exceptions, but Idaho is not.ĭuring 18 years playing at the FCS level, Idaho went 134-79 for a 0.629 winning percentage. Very few of those schools have seen any success - or even any improvement - on the field. It had been an eye-opening discussion for me.Ī total of 19 teams made the move from FCS to FBS during the time period studied. ![]() Back in 2013, I wrote a piece for ESPN after attending a convention where the NCAA's chief financial officer discussed the findings of a study focused on schools who had reclassified from FCS to FBS from 1978 to 2010. ![]()
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