Back to back 15k
Teams will be placed on a 10 year watch if they have 2 below 15k in the 10 year span will be lowered to 1-AA.
Eastern Michigan
Kent State
Buffalo
Florida Atlantic (Provisional School)
Louisiana-Monroe
Ball State


Last Year 15k
Middle Tennessee State (Warning Track)
San Jose State (Warning Track)

This Year 15k
Nevada
Bowling Green
Temple
Akron
Utah St.
Rice

This is not good.
:pop:

They will not be lowered to I-AA because NCAA through that rule out because they felt it would be unfair.

Everyone is still reporting this but I thought it was thrown out as well is that if a team falls below 15,000 for two years in a row they wouldn't be eligible for postseason play in the third year.

SWFootballFan Wrote:Back to back 15k
Teams will be placed on a 10 year watch if they have 2 below 15k in the 10 year span will be lowered to 1-AA.
Eastern Michigan
Kent State
Buffalo
Florida Atlantic (Provisional School)
Louisiana-Monroe
Ball State


Last Year 15k
Middle Tennessee State (Warning Track)
San Jose State (Warning Track)

This Year 15k
Nevada
Bowling Green
Temple
Akron
Utah St.
Rice

This is not good.
:pop:

The rule and these figures mean absolutely NOTHING unless and until the NCAA sets and enforces rigid standards for taking the count. Once, or if, they do that then the list will include considerably more teams.

eager eagle Wrote:The rule and these figures mean absolutely NOTHING unless and until the NCAA sets and enforces rigid standards for taking the count. Once, or if, they do that then the list will include considerably more teams.

That will never happen. Try a fair requirement. If Wyoming is required to maintain an attendance average of 50% of the area population, then you can say it is fair if Miami (FL) is only required to maintain an attendance average of .1% of the population for the same size area. I would imagine that enforcing the 15K would take all the money the NCAA has for the next 50 years considering the lawsuits they would face.

the attendance requirement rule was dropped last summer.
It is not scheduled to be considered again.

gaard Wrote:

eager eagle Wrote:The rule and these figures mean absolutely NOTHING unless and until the NCAA sets and enforces rigid standards  for taking the count.  Once, or if, they do that then the list will include considerably more teams.

That will never happen. Try a fair requirement. If Wyoming is required to maintain an attendance average of 50% of the area population, then you can say it is fair if Miami (FL) is only required to maintain an attendance average of .1% of the population for the same size area. I would imagine that enforcing the 15K would take all the money the NCAA has for the next 50 years considering the lawsuits they would face.

Looks like the discussion is moot in view of info stating the rule has been dropped. However, if it were maintained then NCAA could enforce it if standards applied to each and every school on an equal basis. It is a voluntary organization and fully within its rights to formulate rules for membership. Just like the BCS, they have rules for membership which most dont like but nothing illegal about it.

I agree - the NCAA just doesn't have the ability to enforce their attendance rules (which are continually revised and dropped and then revised and reinstated), and if they did attempt to make an example of any one school, they would immediately face a lawsuit that they probably couldn't win.

If a school is meeting their D-IA requirements (scholarships, sports offered, etc.), they're D-IA, regardless of attendance. If a program can pay the bills with 6,000 fans in the stands, let them play. If they can't pay the bills, they'll probably drop (the sport or a division). Plenty of schools with long D-IA traditions in football periodically have attendance problems due to down seasons, or weather (Wyoming as an example), or small markets. It's the school's decision on where they want to compete, and the fans, students, alumni, state, etc. to let them know when they aren't competing. It's just not the NCAA's business to really worry about if Wyoming or Utah State or Buffalo or Idaho are meeting some subjective attendance standard for what makes a D-IA football program.

And if the NCAA really did start dropping programs a division for low attendance, then the Alabama's, Washington's, Georgia's, etc. of the world would soon find themselves running out of their preferred OOC opponents...

Well said, Vandal9570.