A Second Shoe Drops

[DoubleJayAlum]

According to Wisconsin's AD, Barry Alvarez, the Big 10 has decided not to play FB games against FCS schools anymore:

“The nonconference schedule in our league is ridiculous,” Alvarez said on WIBA-AM. “It’s not very appealing…

“So we’ve made an agreement that our future games will all be Division I schools. It will not be FCS schools.”

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/190943281.html
(Glad to see that even the BCS schools don't consider FCS FB to be D1 either. I know many of us here have been chastised and yelled at repeatedly for saying the same thing. )

I suspect this is going to create some issues, especially if this becomes a trend among BCS conferences. It could easily become a trend if the new BCS playoff formula contains a SOS component. I think this is important on a number of levels:

(1) It has been explained on this board that FCS football generates a large portion of its revenues from getting bought out by FBS (and, specifically in this part of the country, B1G teams);
(2) If not for the FBS buyout games, FCS football programs would lose even more money (or in the case of UNI, not break even);
(3) A great number of our football playing, MVC brethren are in severe financial distress even with the buyout games in place.

I think the following questions are going to have to be asked in the near future:

(a) Is it even worth keeping an FCS football program?
(b) If the FCS model will start hemorrhaging even more money without the aforementioned buyout games, do you dump football or try to move to the FBS level;
(c) How many of the MVC football playing schools have the funds necessary to move up a level?
(d) If any schools have the money to move up a level, how long will it take before such a move is made?
(e) What would the impact of such a move be on the MVC?

Maybe with wrestling no longer part of the olympics, UNi could drop their wrestling program and use the funds to cover any FB shortfalls. Last time I checked, MSU, SIU and InSU had substantial economic woes. What will they do? IlSU fans have talked for years about moving up a level. Is this the final nudge they've needed?

This could get messy.

[BCPanther]

This is going to get really messy.

It makes the choice clear though that you either have to drop football and, in UNI's case, add another men's sport (ie Soccer or Baseball) or move up.

UNI, IlSU, and NDSU are the only three schools currently in the MVFC that I believe can successfully make the jump now and not be an absolute doormat. These three have balanced their football budgets, have been consistently competitive and have an AD with the vision to make the jump. Non-scholarship football (ie Drake) is not an option. The travel costs are staggering and you lose the ability to draw crowds that bring revenue.

If/when Creighton goes (depends on if the C7 want 10 or 12) this league may crumble. UNI and Illinois State to the MAC (with NDSU). I can see WSU and Bradley cobbling something together with the remainder of the A10. Drake and Evansville to the Horizon. SIU and InSU to the OVC. Missouri State is in no man's land, maybe the Southland or the OVC??

Its going to be sad to lose a league that's been around for 100+ years, but that is the result of sitting on our hands for the past 5 years...

[TheAsianSensation]

Here's the problem, although I do need to look at the schedules to verify this.

Even if the B1G is the only conference to do this....this is a problem for MVCF teams.

Usually power programs stay local to play their FCS games. No sense in flying an FCS team cross country.

Well, guess who's regional to the MVCF? The B1G. Perhaps some of the northern Big 12 teams for the western MVCF teams....Missouri St kind of gets into SEC territory...etc etc.

But if buy games for MVCF teams are lost, but other FCS teams across the country still get them, that's a competitive problem for MVCF.

[CaliRdBrd]

I love my Redbirdas and enjoy seeing them play the occasional FBS program, but i always thought these matchup's are a waste of FBS time. I agree with Alvarez.

[cpacmel]

I really do think this is because the Big Ten is going to a 10 or a 9 game conference schedule, thus eliminating all but 1 or 2 non-conference games (11 game schedules).

There are still games to be had with the MAC, unless they change their policy too.

Will be interesting to see what happens with games already scheduled with Big Ten.

[jwa123]

This is going to get really messy.

It makes the choice clear though that you either have to drop football and, in UNI's case, add another men's sport (ie Soccer or Baseball) or move up.

UNI, IlSU, and NDSU are the only three schools currently in the MVFC that I believe can successfully make the jump now and not be an absolute doormat. These three have balanced their football budgets, have been consistently competitive and have an AD with the vision to make the jump. Non-scholarship football (ie Drake) is not an option. The travel costs are staggering and you lose the ability to draw crowds that bring revenue.

If/when Creighton goes (depends on if the C7 want 10 or 12) this league may crumble. UNI and Illinois State to the MAC (with NDSU). I can see WSU and Bradley cobbling something together with the remainder of the A10. Drake and Evansville to the Horizon. SIU and InSU to the OVC. Missouri State is in no man's land, maybe the Southland or the OVC??

Its going to be sad to lose a league that's been around for 100+ years, but that is the result of sitting on our hands for the past 5 years...

Not all FCS programs need buy games to survive. Some like Appalachian State, Delaware, James Madison, and Montana outdraw most FBS programs. (Appy State is rumored to be moving up to the Sunbelt soon) Will any current MVFC schools get there from an attendance standpoint? One could argue that NDSU is already there. Possibly UNI as well. IlSU isn't there but we have momentum so who knows.

As for potential move ups to FBS. I am of the opinion that NDSU doesn't have a snow balls chance in you know where to get into the MAC. Even though they have a great thing going in football they are not an outlier for the MAC's footprint instead they are not even remotely close. Bad geography and small population base for them. Some MSU fans say they are ready but their football stadium isn't yet and their atheletic budget is much too small for MAC standards. Addtionally for MSU they have the Sunbelt as an alternive if they get to that point as they are right on the edge of the Sunbelt's current footprint. As for UNI, they stretch the MAC footprint somewhat but it would be a doable thing. However, I'm not certain UNI sponsors enough sports to qualify for the MAC and their athletic budget is even smaller than MSU's. As for IlSU, the match with the MAC is a good one from an institutional one and we are in the footprint but I'm not sure the football program is at the point it would compete in the MAC. We have momentum but we aren't there yet in my estimation.

This also begs the question, would MSU, UNI, IlSU be willing to sacrifice their bball programs at the altar of FBS football? I don't know but I am sure it would be an item of consideration for each institution to consider because MAC and Sunbelt basketball is atrocious. Also, if the BCS conferences break from the NCAA for football, does this make the MAC as relevent as the MVFC? There may not be a bit of difference for some of the better FCS conferences some day and some of the lower FBS conferences - they both may be on the same level playing field. (bad pun)

All of this to say that Creighton may be gone soon but I don't envision the MVC in imminent danger of collapse.

[saluki762]

I really do think this is because the Big Ten is going to a 10 or a 9 game conference schedule, thus eliminating all but 1 or 2 non-conference games (11 game schedules).

This is most likely it.

[C0|db|00ded]

Now that a bunch of D2 football programs are going to go kaput, Wichita State needs to just go bargain shopping and buy somebody's program and convert it to D1. I'm thinking NIU's could get bought for pennies on the dollar. Perhaps we should negotiate with the State of Iowa though as they actually pay the bills for the program.

We can just assume all the coaching contracts at their current levels and arrange for all the NIU football players to transfer. We can send a few trucks to Frostbite Falls and pick up the exercise equipment, pads, jerseys, and watercoolers. After one down year, all of NIU's players plus our new recruits will give us a workable squad until we can fully overhaul the roster to meet Wichita State's level of excellence.


T


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[TheAsianSensation]

Remember, to move up to FBS, you need a conference invite.

Every single FBS conference is now at max capacity at 12 teams or more except the Sun Belt.

If any moveups happen, it's most likely going to have to be some collaborate effort, either to pull a whole conference up or to get the WAC/New Mexico St and Idaho to add a bunch of members.

[Fargobison]

Could the MVFC move up? It is concept I'm struggling with right now. I think only five schools could make it work(NDSU, UNI, MSU, ISUR and YSU). Maybe a few schools could be plucked from other conferences but you would need to give them an all-sports invite to lure them in. I guess NMSU and Idaho are out there as well, homeless and desperate.