Making sense of FCS conference realignment

[Kabooom]

Good read.

https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2022-07-11/making-sense-fcs-conference-realignment?utm_campaign=inline-article

Pretty eye-opening ...the amount of FCS conferences that have, or will need to in the near future form alliances with other short handed conferences for the purpose of meeting the six team per conference minimum..needed to be considered for the FCS playoffs... Look at all the teams the CAA added since JMU went BIG.

 

[CatGrad-UMGradStu]

Good read.

https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2022-07-11/making-sense-fcs-conference-realignment?utm_campaign=inline-article

Pretty eye-opening ...the amount of FCS conferences that have, or will need to in the near future form alliances with other short handed conferences for the purpose of meeting the six team per conference minimum..needed to be considered for the FCS playoffs... Look at all the teams the CAA added since JMU went BIG.

This is a great article! Every team and their fans can now proclaim they were Conference Champions and made the playoffs in X year and made it to Frisco to fall short of NDSU...

PLUS! All the players get participation trophies! (Or All-Conference designations).

 

[Pounder]

The less conferences, the more basketball tournament at-large bids to the power conferences.

The less FCS conferences, the more at-large bids for the MVFC and Big Sky.

Both of the above mean $$ goes into less hands.

The NCAA has generally been the defense against this, empowering even the smaller conferences. Now with divisions taking a greater role in governance, with the NCAA kind of defanged, depending on what happens in the ongoing reorganization, the vulnerable probably become more vulnerable.

 

[griznative24]

The less conferences, the more basketball tournament at-large bids to the power conferences.

The less FCS conferences, the more at-large bids for the MVFC and Big Sky.

Both of the above mean $$ goes into less hands.

The NCAA has generally been the defense against this, empowering even the smaller conferences. Now with divisions taking a greater role in governance, with the NCAA kind of defanged, depending on what happens in the ongoing reorganization, the vulnerable probably become more vulnerable.

I am fairly new to the business of sports and find it interesting, but I have a question. Do you consider UofM vulnerable?

 

[IdaGriz01]

It's hard to put all the pieces together to reach a bottom line ... but I gave it a try.

If I have it right, the situation for 2022 will be the same as last year. That is, the "usual suspects" will get auto-bids, even though the conference lineups are changing a bit. That includes the Big Sky, of course, and even the OVC. And despite all the craziness, it looks like the Southland will survive (somehow).

But the number of auto-bids will apparently go down by one in 2023, when the Big South and OVC will need to combine to share an auto-bid. Meanwhile, the ASUN-WAC combine will continue for 2023, near as I can tell.

Who knows what happens in 2024 and after? Nobody, because there are likely to be even more changes before then. Also, it's hard to keep track of when teams get through their transition period.

 

[mthoopsfan]

The less conferences, the more basketball tournament at-large bids to the power conferences.

The less FCS conferences, the more at-large bids for the MVFC and Big Sky.

Both of the above mean $$ goes into less hands.

The NCAA has generally been the defense against this, empowering even the smaller conferences. Now with divisions taking a greater role in governance, with the NCAA kind of defanged, depending on what happens in the ongoing reorganization, the vulnerable probably become more vulnerable.

I am fairly new to the business of sports and find it interesting, but I have a question. Do you consider UofM vulnerable?

Not if UM stays in its FCS safe space.

 

[Pounder]

The less conferences, the more basketball tournament at-large bids to the power conferences.

The less FCS conferences, the more at-large bids for the MVFC and Big Sky.

Both of the above mean $$ goes into less hands.

The NCAA has generally been the defense against this, empowering even the smaller conferences. Now with divisions taking a greater role in governance, with the NCAA kind of defanged, depending on what happens in the ongoing reorganization, the vulnerable probably become more vulnerable.

I am fairly new to the business of sports and find it interesting, but I have a question. Do you consider UofM vulnerable?

Depends on the possibility of G5 becoming their own entity within D-1 and having a playoff. Does TV devote resources to that? Does doing so divert resources from FCS? Eh, if the answer to this is “not really,” then G5 schools are the biggest losers.

On a micro level, it’s hard to see UM really lose anything. The comment I made is more compatible with the comment IdaGriz made about some FCS conferences having to make joint arrangements in order to keep an autobid. If there’s a worry of some sort, it’s the number of commuter schools (including in the Big Sky) that end up no longer being able to play football. (NOTE- I intended to write play and it originally fat-fingered to “pay,” and I am damn sure Freud is involved)

 

[IdaGriz01]

I am fairly new to the business of sports and find it interesting, but I have a question. Do you consider UofM vulnerable?

Depends on the possibility of G5 becoming their own entity within D-1 and having a playoff. Does TV devote resources to that? Does doing so divert resources from FCS? Eh, if the answer to this is “not really,” then G5 schools are the biggest losers.

On a micro level, it’s hard to see UM really lose anything. The comment I made is more compatible with the comment IdaGriz made about some FCS conferences having to make joint arrangements in order to keep an autobid. If there’s a worry of some sort, it’s the number of commuter schools (including in the Big Sky) that end up no longer being able to play football. (NOTE- I intended to write play and it originally fat-fingered to “pay,” and I am damn sure Freud is involved)

There's truth lurking in that subconscious. :lol: :thumb: