If Illinois State goes FBS in football, who replaces them?

[TylerDurden]

Oh, I failed to answer the question of the original post as to who replaces ISU if we leave for football. IF THAT HAPPENS AND I SAY IF, the answer has to be SLU. There is a faction at that school that would love to leave the A10 and join the MVC. The travel costs and the time away from class on the many trips to the east coast does not please everyone at SLU. We have to admit, the footprint of The Valley fits them greatly. A writer in a St Louis paper contrasted the MVC tournament in St Louis and SLU going off to some east coast campus to play in an arena that might be 1/4th full for their conference tournament.

As for those who pine for Butler, don't hold your breath. They seem quite content in the Horizon.

NOT. GONNA. HAPPEN.*

SLU sees themselves as "better" than the MVC. Athletically, they clearly aren't. But that isn't always what influences decisions about which league to join.

They would be a nice addition to the MVC, however.











*under current university administration

[valleychamp]

As I mentioned before, at this point in time it is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when. I am not sure any other school in the MVFC can say that.

Actually, anyone can say that if they want to. Its just that, some are less delusional than others.

[jwa123]

He may not be as delusional as you think. While I am record to keep things as they are, there are a lot of good reasons why the MAC and ISU are a good match for each other. Not saying it's going to happen but FBS football and perhaps the MAC isn't delusional as you think. You are too far from the waterfront to know what is happening here in central Illinois.

[Khan4Cats]

He may not be as delusional as you think. While I am record to keep things as they are, there are a lot of good reasons why the MAC and ISU are a good match for each other. Not saying it's going to happen but FBS football and perhaps the MAC isn't delusional as you think. You are too far from the waterfront to know what is happening here in central Illinois.

Would ISU really jump ship to the MAC if it means leaving their rivalry with BU behind?

As for the league making the jump as a whole, it is certainly possible and I don't think NCAA guidelines would preclude an entire league making the shift, just individual teams. I think it is more likely that you see a shift with some of the lower FBS leagues and upper FCS leagues gravitating towards each other away and making a sub-BcS level football division and leaving the lower FCS leagues in a third tier.

As for the thought that the Valley should position itself to poach Iowa State or others from the Big XII(-2), I don't see it happening. A) I don't see Drake being willing to add a much bigger school to the league that is essentially a neighbor and B) I don't see Iowa State willing to lower itself into the company of the what many at ISU consider their little brother in UNI (nor do I see the Iowa Board of Regents accepting such a move). I agree that Iowa State is in a situation that models better with the MAC or WAC than a BcS conference, and I think that is where they ultimately end up.

[beatingrillz]

A move to D2 is looming. You have to pay teachers before you pay coaches. http://thegazette.com/2011/08/04/uni-fa ... dget-cuts/

[jwa123]

No I don't think an FCS league can all of a sudden call itself FBS. I read some NCAA rules on that lately and my interpretation and what some of the commentators were saying is that the NCAA won't allow that with the current rule structures in place. Now again I could be wrong and maybe something has changed but from what I know I truthfully don't believe MVFC can change it's bylaws and claim to be FBS.

As for leaving and losing Bradley, there would be a new and potentially better rivalry with NIU. It would encompass all sports including football. There are a lot of alums from both schools not only around the state but particularly in Chicago and it's burbs.

In all honesty, though, I don't see ISU leaving. Creighton would leave well before us.

[panther-state]

A move to D2 is looming. You have to pay teachers before you pay coaches. http://thegazette.com/2011/08/04/uni-fa ... dget-cuts/

Sometimes I actually think you're being serious. How silly of me

[Aargh]

WSU has some fans who insist on bringing FB back, but only at the FBS level - yeah, I know there has to be a few years at FCS first.

I've run the numbers and the financial commitment is insurmountable. Go to 100 FB scholarships and you've got to add 1 or 2 women's sports and 20 or 30 women's scholarships - plus their coaches, facilities, etc.

Instead of paying maybe $500K for an FCS coach, you'd better be ready to pay $1.5 mill for an FBS coach - and the same type of increase for about a dozen assistant coaches.

Every budget scenario I've ever run requires 50K butts in seats for every home game - unless the school has some guarantee from the league. League guarantees are based on TV revenues and bowl games.

The MAC is hanging in there without that, but they exist off of being paid to give the real FB schools enough W's to qualify for bowl games. The MAC and any re-classified MVCFB league would probably only get bowl games that are break-even at best.

The number for WSU to reinstate FB with the intention of going FBS is $100 mill. I haven't broken out the numbers for moving from FCS to FBS, but my estimate is that you'd better have a $20 mill commitment. Then you'd better have a stadum that holds 40K and some hope of being able to fill that.

Kansas State has some recent bowl success and national recognition. They've expanded their stadium to hold just under 50K. KSU gets a boatload of money from their league. WSU's athletic department is probably in better financial shape than KSU's.

FB is king in the south and in Ohio. Unless a school is in one of those areas, FBS FB is athletic department suicide unless you're in a BCS conference with huge profit-sharing.

[valleychamp]

FCS football is 63 scholarships, and FBS football is 85. Not 100.

You are also overestimating the pay of FBS coaches a little bit too, IMO. There are several coaches in BCS leagues that do not make close to 1.5 million.

[uniftw]

FCS football is 63 scholarships, and FBS football is 85. Not 100.

You are also overestimating the pay of FBS coaches a little bit too, IMO. There are several coaches in BCS leagues that do not make close to 1.5 million.

Most MAC level coaches are between 800K and 1.2mil.


Oh, and as for the UNI to D2 thing....not going to happen. UNI ran a study last year to see if an FBS or D2 move would save money. The answer was no for either. The increased revenue from any bowl/conference tie in doesn't make up for the 22 extra scholarships (most of which would be out of state cost), plus the extra coaches that would be required, the upgrades to the stadium, the extra pay for current and new coaches, and the extra scholarships for womens sports.

However, dropping to D2 would cause a MASSIVE decrease in financial commitment from the vast majority of people who donate to the "Panther Scholarship Club" (the athletic scholarship donation club). The estimate that was laid out in the research showed that a drop to D2 would cut attendance/ticket sales by about 70% and donation levels up to about 80%. In fact if it came to dropping to D2, it was basically better to drop to D3 completely.


The fact is being D1 and FCS is what is keeping UNI at the current level of a university. The biggest problem, as laid out in that article, is the lack of out of state students at UNI. UNI has always been proud to be the "in-state destination", and has always spent the most "recruiting" money on getting Iowa students in. However, UNI needs to get out-of-state students up about 7-10% because tuition is double for out of state students. Going from about 2-3 thousand out of state students to 5000 out of state students would be a HUGE increase in the pocketbook for the university.