2023 - Oklahoma
2024 - Okie St
2026 - Okie St
2027 - Arkansas
2028 - Okie St
2030 - Okie St
Keep in mind one school has dropped 1-A/FBS football in the last 25 years: Idaho.
The move backfired costing Idaho over 50% of its ticket and contribution revenue. And this was a school trading the Sun Belt 2k miles away for the Big Sky with historical/nearby rivals (Montana, EWU, et al).
https://www.idahopress.com/sports/colle ... 58997.html
Idaho Vandal football’s first season back in the Big Sky Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision occurred during the fiscal year 2019. The report shows that ticket sales for Vandal football games and contributions to the program dropped by about 50% during that budget year.
Biggest factor of all: career suicide. Dropping down is a politically unfeasible move for university presidents. Take Idaho’s Chuck Staben. The man was so hated, it was reported that Vandals fans carried “Fire Chuck Staben” signs into football games and even paid to fly a banner plane at their bowl game. Staben was run out of town soon after the dropdown.
FBS football doesn’t have to be profitable. Many pro sports franchises don’t profit yet are valued at $XXX,XXX,XXX because they’re used as loss leaders for a larger business portfolio. Think of FBS programs as loss leaders and university presidents as CEOs. The FBS program is used as a marketing driver for the university (ie. corporation).