Big Ten to no longer schedule FCS opponents

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:30 pm

http://tracking.si.com/2013/02/13/big-t ... &eref=sihp#

It's about damn time. Now let's see if the SEC is willing to follow suit.

Van · Post by **Van** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 6:33 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:http://tracking.si.com/2013/02/13/big-t ... &eref=sihp#

It's about damn time. Now let's see if ~~the SEC~~ everybody else is willing to follow suit.

Damn straight.

Oh, and I love how the guy states that Wisky's schedule includes "only one" FCS opponent this year. Yes, by all means, let's go ahead and give them a cookie for that.

L45B · Post by **L45B** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 9:51 pm

I guess this means that Michigan can switch out Appy State with Toledo in 2014.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Wed Feb 13, 2013 10:41 pm

Props for that.

What this means though is there will be huge payments between schools now for breaking contracts. Many schools have little choice but to schedule FCS when another schools backs out only months before scheduled games.

It could also mean interesting conf schedules as realignment continues. You might see a new conf member play a game less then the other members for a season or two until their non-conf schedule frees up.

Van · Post by **Van** » Thu Feb 14, 2013 12:00 am

Lefty wrote:Many schools have little choice but to schedule FCS when another schools backs out only months before scheduled games.

Little choice, perhaps, but they certainly have some choice. The fact that there remain a handful of programs that have never stooped so low as to schedule a D1-AA (despite the occasional cancellation) means that yes, everyone ultimately does have choices.

What, are you saying those four or five programs are the only ones that never had to scramble to find another opponent after some shlep team cancelled on them?

WolverineSteve · Post by **WolverineSteve** » Thu Feb 14, 2013 1:14 pm

Good. Nothing like shelling out 85 bucks to see UMass etc.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Thu Feb 14, 2013 5:12 pm

Van,

Plenty of stories out there this past season about West Virgina canceling the trip to Florida State in late spring when they were able to get out of the Big East. FSU tried to find a FBS replacement and even offered money to potential opponents opponents but ultimately nothing worked.

That is just one example. And a reason why in the future you might see reduced conf schedules for some teams as they enter new conferences.

Van · Post by **Van** » Fri Feb 15, 2013 2:40 am

Yeah, well, I might be a bit more inclined to buy your one example had you not chosen a program that just this past season prison-raped two FCS 'opponents.' Sorry, but methinks they aren't trying too very hard to find quality replacements whenever they're faced with cancellations.

But that's just me. I'm kinda cynical that way.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Fri Feb 15, 2013 1:34 pm

Left Seater wrote:FSU tried to find a FBS replacement and even offered money to potential opponents opponents but ultimately nothing worked.

That may or may not be the case (I don't know, and I'm not just going to take someone's word on it), but for every instance like this, there's a dozen more where a school schedules Bumfuck U just for the automatic win. Nobody cares about the exception to the rule.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Fri Feb 15, 2013 2:05 pm

Sudden Sam wrote:Not trying to excuse scheduling FCS schools ('cause I hate those games), but a lot of those deals are favors to coaching buddies.

No, it's a lame cop out. If you want to do something nice for your "buddy," take him to dinner.

WolverineSteve · Post by **WolverineSteve** » Fri Feb 15, 2013 3:24 pm

When some of these teams came to the big house the payday funded the entire athletic dept for the year...it's win/win for the pastry an no-win for he big school.

Van · Post by **Van** » Fri Feb 15, 2013 4:01 pm

Sudden Sam wrote:Not trying to excuse scheduling FCS schools ('cause I hate those games),

Good. We're on the same page.

Sudden Sybil, attempting to excuse the scheduling of FCS schools, wrote:but a lot of those deals are favors to coaching buddies.

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Mon Feb 18, 2013 3:29 pm

Sudden Sam wrote:Not excusing it at all. Just stating a fact.

Nothing I hate worse. Well...I dunno about that, but nothing else related to college football anyway.

I wanna see more Alabama-Penn State, Alabama-Michigan, Ohio State-Texas games.

Hell, I'm looking forward to the Colorado State-Alabama game...McElwain vs Saban.

i notice you leave out Oklahoma-Alabama.....games you lose?

you give Texas way too much credit. those clowns have had way too much mileage from the one OOC serious game Deloss scheduled in the last decade. anyway, tOSU should have won that game at the Shoe. i am still angry at Tressel for that colossal nutless job. the world is a much better place without a 05 Texas NC.

King Crimson · Post by **King Crimson** » Mon Feb 18, 2013 3:32 pm

anyway, i thought Colorado should have hired McElwain when they homered up for no one else is interested NFL tight end coach Jon Embree.

but, CSU wasn't exactly making magic last year under McE.

you and me, Sam, and half this board are better than CSU. ain't gonna be football game. Bama blowout. Troy State is tougher than CSU right now.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Mon Feb 18, 2013 9:39 pm

I see you working KC, but Texas doesn't schedule FCS schools. Plus they have had UCLA, Arkansas, Carolina BYU and other BCS conf schools on the schedule. Not really Dodds fault those schools weren't ranked #1 7 or 8 years after the contracts were signed. Going forward they have USC, ND, Arkansas, BYU, tOSU etc on the schedule.

You can give them crap for a ton of things, but not their OCC schedule, IMO.

Van,

No doubt rip them for their annual FCS season opener, but WVU left them at the alter last season.

Van · Post by **Van** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 4:49 am

So grab someone else...but not a D1-AA school.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:51 am

WolverineSteve wrote:When some of these teams came to the big house the payday funded the entire athletic dept for the year...it's win/win for the pastry an no-win for he big school.

Those schools spend most of that AD money on the very same football team that brought in the big paycheck. Are probably still in the red. Would be less so if they dropped down to D-1AA or even cut football altogether. Either way, just leave big boy football to the big boys.

WolverineSteve · Post by **WolverineSteve** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 3:12 pm

M Club wrote:
WolverineSteve wrote:When some of these teams came to the big house the payday funded the entire athletic dept for the year...it's win/win for the pastry an no-win for he big school.
Those schools spend most of that AD money on the very same football team that brought in the big paycheck. Are probably still in the red. Would be less so if they dropped down to D-1AA or even cut football altogether. Either way, just leave big boy football to the big boys.

Agreed.

Was watching the B1G network this am. They were discussing going to ten conference games and the likelihood of moving some non-con games to later in the slate, citing scheduling conflicts from not being able to play FCS schools. They interviewed osu's AD, he said he and Brandon are committed to keeping The Game as the finale and going to an east west divisional format that would put the two in the same division.

Screw_Michigan · Post by **Screw_Michigan** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 5:23 pm

But then the SEC would implode. Who else would it schedule for its September non-travel month?

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:17 pm

WolverineSteve wrote: Agreed.

Was watching the B1G network this am. They were discussing going to ten conference games and the likelihood of moving some non-con games to later in the slate, citing scheduling conflicts from not being able to play FCS schools. They interviewed osu's AD, he said he and Brandon are committed to keeping The Game as the finale and going to an east west divisional format that would put the two in the same division.

I wish they'd go to 10 conference games because then the other conferences would follow suit, meaning the mid-majors could only whore themselves out for 2 games and not 4 so would be forced to give up the pretense of D1 football. And personally, I'd love to see CFB return to a regional sport where each conference sends their top representatives to the national stage rather than pretending 3/4th of our conference is good because everyone got 7 wins by beating up on 4 shitty OOC teams.

The Seer · Post by **The Seer** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:05 am

[quote="Van"]The fact that there remain a handful of programs that have never stooped so low as to schedule a D1-AA quote]

Not mentioning them by name was a glaring omission in this thread of yours...

UCLA
USC
NOTRE DAME
WASHINGTON

Van · Post by **Van** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 5:54 am

M Club wrote:I wish they'd go to 10 conference games because then the other conferences would follow suit, meaning the mid-majors could only whore themselves out for 2 games and not 4 so would be forced to give up the pretense of D1 football. And personally, I'd love to see CFB return to a regional sport where each conference sends their top representatives to the national stage rather than pretending 3/4th of our conference is good because everyone got 7 wins by beating up on 4 shitty OOC teams.

~swoon~

Van · Post by **Van** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 5:57 am

The Seer wrote:
Van wrote:The fact that there remain a handful of programs that have never stooped so low as to schedule a D1-AA
Not mentioning them by name was a glaring omission in this thread of yours...

UCLA
USC
NOTRE DAME
WASHINGTON

This isn't my thread, it's Mgo's. Besides, if I ever mention USC regarding anything, the content of the post is automatically dismissed.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:05 pm

The Seer wrote:
Van wrote:The fact that there remain a handful of programs that have never stooped so low as to schedule a D1-AA
Not mentioning them by name was a glaring omission in this thread of yours...

WASHINGTON

Off the top of my head, UDub played 1AAs in each of the last 2 seasons... and barely beat Eastern Washington.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Wed Feb 20, 2013 6:33 pm

Hell, they were prolly sick the whole game from looking at the field.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Thu Feb 21, 2013 2:40 pm

Sudden Sam wrote:Where else are the little schools gonna get a payday like that? Shit, one game brings in more than 5 games* at their own level.

Oh look, Sam is suddenly concerned about the plight of the little guy.

I get your argument when we're talking about MAC and Sun Belt schools. You know, Division 1. But D1 should not be mixing with lower divisions, period. In basketball, if a D1 school plays a DII school, it's an exhibition. It doesn't count for or against your record, which is how it should be.

M Club wrote:I wish they'd go to 10 conference games because then the other conferences would follow suit

Everyone but the SEC because the SEC wouldn't have any incentive to. Look at Georgia - they beat three cupcakes OOC (plus Ga Tech), only played two ranked teams in the SEC (lost to one of them), and were still only one play away from the MNC.

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 1:10 am

schmick wrote: If they have good football at that level then they wont need to sell themselves as sacrifices to the FBS schools anymore.

That's not necessarilly true. The University of Northern Iowa is a highly respected and highly ranked FCS program who stuggles financially and has for many years scheduled Division I teams to stay out of the red. They generally only sell out their domed stadium if Iowa and Iowa State are on the road and need the big payday to fill their coffers that allow them to compete. I'm sure they're not the only FCS school facing that problem.

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 1:54 pm

schmick wrote:If a team can not financially support its self by competing at the level it competes at then maybe it should fold instead of just selling Wins against them to teams from the higher level. That is what they did at Cal St Fullerton, Long Beach State, Pacific...

Yeah, that would be good for college football.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:17 pm

Be careful what you wish for Schmick.

Back in the SCCC days when people were laughing at SC they weren't always making money.

Van · Post by **Van** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:44 pm

They also weren't scheduling D1-AA teams, nor were they looking to other schools for handouts.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 11:16 pm

Agreed, but that wasn't Schmicks point.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sat Feb 23, 2013 2:17 am

The not-looking-to-other-schools-for-handouts part was definitely his point. He's saying that if the only way a program can survive is through the largesse of other schools then perhaps they need to be allowed to die on the vine or, at the very least, they ought to dial things back to a more realistic level.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Sat Feb 23, 2013 2:25 pm

If people care about it they will pay to keep it around. Either it makes money or it doesn't and should die.

If that's is the test then college football would have about 10 to 12 teams.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Sat Feb 23, 2013 9:11 pm

Oh look, Lefty's suddenly all socialist about the things that matter to him.

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Sun Feb 24, 2013 6:39 pm

UNI scheduling Division I schools helps keep their athletic department afloat and I don't think that's a bad thing. They've played Iowa, Wisconsin, Iowa State, and Kansas over the past several years and are always competitive, having beaten Iowa State and Kansas on occasion. Iowa had to block two FG attempts in the final seconds to win a game a few years ago and ultimately ended up in Orange Bowl that year. They also gave Wisconsin all they wanted this year. It's hardly a cupcake game. The football money also helps them to compete in basketball and they've made their appearances in the Big Dance over the past few years....beating Kansas a few short years ago.

Year in, year out, UNI puts a better team on the field than most of the MAC schools that Iowa schedules, and I'd rather pay to watch an Iowa-UNI game than Iowa-Northern Illinois. The matchup with UNI has some appeal to all Iowans, at both Iowa and Iowa State, and they know they're in for a fight when they play them. I understand the reasoning for getting these schools off the schedule, but it's going to come at a cost to a lot of smaller universities, which I think is wrong.

Screw_Michigan · Post by **Screw_Michigan** » Sun Feb 24, 2013 10:42 pm

Mace wrote:I understand the reasoning for getting these schools off the schedule, but it's going to come at a cost to a lot of smaller universities, which I think is wrong.

The MAC and Sun Belt seem pretty positioned to make more money off this. Get rid of half their competition for the paycheck games, they can charge more. scUM and other elitest schools won't let the MAC disappear, just the 1-AA schools.

Though I do agree with you Mace on why this doesn't pass the smell test. Just more of the haves not wanting to share with the "have-nots."

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Sun Feb 24, 2013 11:22 pm

I agree with you on both counts, S_M. The MAC and Sun Belt will both benefit from this decision and the big dogs will still schedule their cupcake games, and with bigger paydays. In the case of UNI, both Iowa and Iowa State were happy to pay out the money to their in-state little brother, and UNI always entered those games thinking they could and would win.....and sometimes they did. It was an in-state rivalry game for UNI and their players always played with a chip on their shoulders for having not been recruited by the two bigger schools. I doubt that UNI is unique in that respect. Personally, I'll miss seeing those matchups. I know there's not any national appeal to them but there's a lot of in-state appeal and, when they play Iowa or Iowa State a close game, it increases attendance at UNI home games for the remainder of the season.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:54 am

Screw_Michigan wrote:
Mace wrote:I understand the reasoning for getting these schools off the schedule, but it's going to come at a cost to a lot of smaller universities, which I think is wrong.
The MAC and Sun Belt seem pretty positioned to make more money off this. Get rid of half their competition for the paycheck games, they can charge more. scUM and other elitest schools won't let the MAC disappear, just the 1-AA schools.

Though I do agree with you Mace on why this doesn't pass the smell test. Just more of the haves not wanting to share with the "have-nots."

Which is fine. If the big boys truly had their own way there'd be a 16-game schedule, 12 of those home games, in which case UNI, UNNI, and UNNNI could all move up to D1. There's a pecking order, and just as one could say some D-1AA teams are better than MAC/Sun Belt teams, so are some MAC/Sun Belt teams better than some BCS teams. But who gives a fuck since a line has to be drawn somewhere, and I'd personally like to see it drawn somewhere that removes incentives for rando schools none of us have ever heard of until our team scheduled them to move up to D-1 for the sole purpose of losing games.

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Mon Feb 25, 2013 4:29 pm

Until this becomes an NCAA rule, it will only pertain to the B1G, so the playing field won't be level nationally, only in the B1G conference. UNI will continue to schedule Big 12 schools and will open with Iowa State in 2013. They played Wisconsin and Iowa in 2012, losing 26-21 to the Badgers and 27-16 to Iowa. Can't speak for Wisconsin, but I'm sure Iowa will continue to schedule MAC and Sun Belt teams for OOC games.....and hopefully scheduling MAC teams they can beat.

I look for the B1G to go to a 10 game conference schedule once all of the realignment is finished, so there will only be two OOC games on the schedule, with Iowa State being one for Iowa.

Mace · Post by **Mace** » Tue Feb 26, 2013 2:35 am

No surprise that you would be opposed to both. All conference schools getting an equal share of the TV revenue is only fair if you want to have a conference where every school is considered an equal partner in the relationship. Allowing a school who has more success to receive a bigger portion of the pie than those having less success only creates a bigger gap in talent levels and is not good for the conference, imo.