IS FCS FOOTBALL DYING?

[BlackFalkin]

Missouri State heads to FBS, joining Conference USA in 2025

https://www.espn.com/college-football/s ... e-usa-2025

Recent FCS to FBS —
Jacksonville State x
Delaware x
App State
Coastal Carolina x
Georgia Southern x
Georgia State x
Liberty x
Old Dominion x
James Madison (JMU) x
Sam Houston x
Kennesaw State x
Massachusetts (UMASS) x
Missouri State x

A little earlier—

Boise State
Nevada x
Texas State
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers x

x Do not have a 30,000 seat stadium.


The latest FCS Program to “accept an invitation from Conference USA” wasn’t an FCS powerhouse. Not only have championship caliber programs, like App State, Georgia Southern & JMU left the FCS, but regular .500 programs have left as well.. and they’re not looking back. What’s your opinion?

[AshevilleApp]

College football is changing and who knows where it ends up? I still think the big boys (SEC, Big 10,ACC, Big 12 and Notre Dame) will part ways with the other FBS conferences. From there I find it hard to say what happens to the rest of us. I wouldn't be surprised or against the current G5 and larger profile FCS programs combining. But who knows? I will say that where App is now has a strong 1AA feel to it. We play Marshall, Georgia Southern, JMU and Coastal in conference. That's like a tough playoff run in the old days!

[bonarae]

College football is changing and who knows where it ends up? I still think the big boys (SEC, Big 10,ACC, Big 12 and Notre Dame) will part ways with the other FBS conferences. From there I find it hard to say what happens to the rest of us. I wouldn't be surprised or against the current G5 and larger profile FCS programs combining. But who knows? I will say that where App is now has a strong 1AA feel to it. We play Marshall, Georgia Southern, JMU and Coastal in conference. That's like a tough playoff run in the old days!

How about the smaller programs especially Georgetown and the PFL teams? It will probably depend on the NCAA scrapping the Dayton Rule for the betterment of them and the Ivy League competition-wise.

[BDKJMU]

Missouri State heads to FBS, joining Conference USA in 2025

https://www.espn.com/college-football/s ... e-usa-2025

Recent FCS to FBS —
Jacksonville State x
Delaware x
App State
Coastal Carolina x
Georgia Southern x
Georgia State x
Liberty x
Old Dominion x
James Madison (JMU) x
Sam Houston x
Kennesaw State x
Massachusetts (UMASS) x
Missouri State x

A little earlier—

Boise State
Nevada x
Texas State
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers x

x Do not have a 30,000 seat stadium.


The latest FCS Program to “accept an invitation from Conference USA” wasn’t an FCS powerhouse. Not only have championship caliber programs, like App State, Georgia Southern & JMU left the FCS, but regular .500 programs have left as well.. and they’re not looking back. What’s your opinion?

If you’re going to include Boise St (moved up 1996) need to include Marshall (moved up 1997). That list is basically all publics except for Liberty:
-12 to 13 Southern schools
-2 Western
-1 to 2 Northeastern ones (not sure if you call UD northeastern).

FCS football is dead on the West Coast (only 5? full scholly FCS teams).
FCS football is dying in the southeast as far as publics go.

The stength is midwest/mtn west publics.

[bonarae]

If you’re going to include Boise St (moved up 1996) need to include Marshall (moved up 1997). That list is basically all publics except for Liberty:
-12 to 13 Southern schools
-2 Western
-1 to 2 Northeastern ones (not sure if you call UD northeastern).

FCS football is dead on the West Coast (only 5? full scholly FCS teams).
FCS football is dying in the southeast as far as publics go.

The stength is midwest/mtn west publics.

OK, did I get this list right?

West Coast
UC Davis
Sacramento State
Portland State
EWU
Cal Poly

San Diego Toreros play non-scholarship football in the PFL.

Only six west coast FCS teams all in all.

UD is mid-Atlantic I believe. They are still in the Northeast Census region too?

Alright, for comparison, here is the current list of playoff participating New England FCS Teams:
Maine
UNH
Holy Cross
Bryant
Rhody
CCSU
Sacred Heart
Merrimack (not yet come)
Stonehill (not yet come)

[kalm]

College football is changing and who knows where it ends up? I still think the big boys (SEC, Big 10,ACC, Big 12 and Notre Dame) will part ways with the other FBS conferences. From there I find it hard to say what happens to the rest of us. I wouldn't be surprised or against the current G5 and larger profile FCS programs combining. But who knows? I will say that where App is now has a strong 1AA feel to it. We play Marshall, Georgia Southern, JMU and Coastal in conference. That's like a tough playoff run in the old days!

All of this

[BlackFalkin]

FCS to FBS

Jacksonville State x
Delaware x
App State
Coastal Carolina x
Georgia Southern x
Georgia State x
Liberty x
Old Dominion x
James Madison (JMU) x
Sam Houston x
Kennesaw State x
Massachusetts (UMASS) x
Nevada x
Western Kentucky x
Missouri State x
Texas State
Boise State
Marshall

x Does not have a 30,000 seat stadium.

College football is changing and who knows where it ends up? I still think the big boys (SEC, Big 10,ACC, Big 12 and Notre Dame) will part ways with the other FBS conferences. From there I find it hard to say what happens to the rest of us. I wouldn't be surprised or against the current G5 and larger profile FCS programs combining. But who knows? I will say that where App is now has a strong 1AA feel to it. We play Marshall, Georgia Southern, JMU and Coastal in conference. That's like a tough playoff run in the old days!

All of this

That’s because 8 of the 14 teams in the Sun Belt transitioned from the FCS! The “tough playoff run in the old days” have been replaced by NDSU steamrolling everyone, with 9 National Championships since 2011, and SDSU with 2 consecutive championships in 2022 & 2023.

[AshevilleApp]

FCS to FBS

Jacksonville State x
Delaware x
App State
Coastal Carolina x
Georgia Southern x
Georgia State x
Liberty x
Old Dominion x
James Madison (JMU) x
Sam Houston x
Kennesaw State x
Massachusetts (UMASS) x
Nevada x
Western Kentucky x
Missouri State x
Texas State
Boise State
Marshall

x Does not have a 30,000 seat stadium.

All of this

That’s because 8 of the 14 teams in the Sun Belt transitioned from the FCS! The “tough playoff run in the old days” have been replaced by NDSU steamrolling everyone, with 9 National Championships since 2011, and SDSU with 2 consecutive championships in 2022 & 2023.

Yeah, the SB has been a haven for 1AA/FCS schools along with Conference USA. They've put together a pretty nice little football conference. Part of me misses the SOCON, but we're still in a pretty good place.

[dbackjon]

Chances are better that half or more of G5 conferences will be back in FCS + in 10 years than FCS dying.

[kalm]

Chances are better that half or more of G5 conferences will be back in FCS + in 10 years than FCS dying.

[AshevilleApp]

Chances are better that half or more of G5 conferences will be back in FCS + in 10 years than FCS dying.

If you mean a second level of D1 I agree, no matter what it's called. It's also likely that many smaller current FCS teams will move to D2 or D3. Maybe that's a good thing.

[UNI88]

Chances are better that half or more of G5 conferences will be back in FCS + in 10 years than FCS dying.

If you mean a second level of D1 I agree, no matter what it's called. It's also likely that many smaller current FCS teams will move to D2 or D3. Maybe that's a good thing.

A lot will depend on what the big boys do with the NCAA men's basketball tournament. If it stays close to what it currently is then schools will stick around so they have an opportunity to partake in the spoils. If the big boys make it their own invitational and exclude potential Cinderellas then the incentive to be D1 drops considerably.

[AshevilleApp]

If you mean a second level of D1 I agree, no matter what it's called. It's also likely that many smaller current FCS teams will move to D2 or D3. Maybe that's a good thing.

A lot will depend on what the big boys do with the NCAA men's basketball tournament. If it stays close to what it currently is then schools will stick around so they have an opportunity to partake in the spoils. If the big boys make it their own invitational and exclude potential Cinderellas then the incentive to be D1 drops considerably.

Good point. I'd be interested to see how much the basketball payout is for a one bid conference team.

[Gil Dobie]

Not the same teams as 1995, but it's not dying.

[UNI88]

Not the same teams as 1995, but it's not dying.

It's changing.

[AshevilleApp]

A lot will depend on what the big boys do with the NCAA men's basketball tournament. If it stays close to what it currently is then schools will stick around so they have an opportunity to partake in the spoils. If the big boys make it their own invitational and exclude potential Cinderellas then the incentive to be D1 drops considerably.

Good point. I'd be interested to see how much the basketball payout is for a one bid conference team.

And I guess another option is only being D2 or D3 for football, while staying D1 in other sports? Some schools are only D1 for hockey.

[UNI88]

Good point. I'd be interested to see how much the basketball payout is for a one bid conference team.

And I guess another option is only being D2 or D3 for football, while staying D1 in other sports? Some schools are only D1 for hockey.

I think a school can be D1 in 1 sport (or 1 men's & 1 women's sport) and D2 or D3 in all other sports but not vice versa.

NCAA tournament units mean payouts for men’s teams only. That will soon change.

The NCAA pays out 132 units per men’s tournament, one for every game played by a team. That means every squad that makes the tournament earns a unit for its conference.

Each unit is worth roughly $2 million. That money typically goes to the conference and is split among the schools in the conference. Some conferences split it equally others give an extra share to the team that earned the units. I believe the $2 million is spread out over 6 years. A final four run could mean $10 million for a conference.

The NCAA men's basketball tournament revenue is really the engine that funds smaller schools & conferences.