North Dakota State is one FCS schools that could get a tv contract as an FBS team.

I am sorry, but there is not enough FBS teams west of the Mississippi river to support this idea. It does cost money to travel across the country to play games even after they lost the case that the schools have to pay their players now.

Why not thin the herd based on which conferences or indies regularly get aired OTA (ABC, NBC, CBS or FOX)?

In the last three seasons AppSt has played 14 SBC controlled games on ESPN/2/U.

Not horrible for a team in the FCS 8 years ago.

(07-05-2021 08:21 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  North Dakota State is one FCS schools that could get a tv contract as an FBS team.

I am sorry, but there is not enough FBS teams west of the Mississippi river to support this idea. It does cost money to travel across the country to play games even after they lost the case that the schools have to pay their players now.

NDState draws fairly well, too, for home games. I see the program has averaged about 18,000 some seasons.

(07-05-2021 09:34 AM)Yosef Himself Wrote:  In the last three seasons AppSt has played 14 SBC controlled games on ESPN/2/U.

Not horrible for a team in the FCS 8 years ago.

If I were "assembling" a 14-team league derived from I-A independents and programs from the MAC, SBC and C-USA, I would clearly have AppState. That's a strong program.

CUSA and SBC consist of programs that largely moved up from the FCS ranks and now configured in a more national arrangement than before. Thus they don't retain the FCS conference feel.

Then you have to allow for growth in the sport and that is what the newer FBS conferences allow for. I think that is healthy for everyone.

(07-05-2021 08:31 AM)ken d Wrote:  Why not thin the herd based on which conferences or indies regularly get aired OTA (ABC, NBC, CBS or FOX)?

That’s simply called the P5 (including ND) and everyone else.

We all know that’s the true line of demarcation. Those on the outside always want to believe that they’re just inside that next tier of a slightly more expansive definition.

(07-05-2021 11:00 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(07-05-2021 08:31 AM)ken d Wrote:  Why not thin the herd based on which conferences or indies regularly get aired OTA (ABC, NBC, CBS or FOX)?

That’s simply called the P5 (including ND) and everyone else.

We all know that’s the true line of demarcation. Those on the outside always want to believe that they’re just inside that next tier of a slightly more expansive definition.

The real demarcation is academics of the power leagues. Membership in a P5 adds prestige and you can't say the same for any of the G5.

AAC for example has good academic schools in it but its basically the conference they put you in when you can't get into a P5.

In the XII you've got programs like Texas Tech and West Virginia that even though the XII is not know as an academic conference they receive a boost from the P5 or before that BCS designation.

I think something else is eventually going to thin out of the Division 1 herd, and it won't be just in football either. Basketball will be thinned out as well, IMHO. What I think will eventually thin out the herd is something that JRSEC has been talking about for awhile: NIL and pay for play. I can see both of those things forcing a lot of the MAC, Sunbelt, C-USA, Ivy, Patriot, and the Pioneer/A-Sun, WCC, NEC, SoCon, etc.

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(07-05-2021 11:00 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Those on the outside always want to believe that they’re just inside that next tier of a slightly more expansive definition.

See: original post. It manufactures a definition where OP's team (UConn) just makes it in.

(07-05-2021 07:18 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(07-04-2021 05:12 PM)shizzle787 Wrote:  

(07-04-2021 04:59 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  But as for your criterion, is there any FBS school that doesn't have all their home games on national TV, either via cable or streaming?

To me, streaming is not on the same level as a nationally televised product but I digress.

I don't think that's a digression, it's the heart of your proposal - thinning out the FBS herd based on national TV.

To me, streaming to a TV counts as "national TV" these days so the criterion doesn't work for me.

Baylor's first three games this season (at Texas State, at home against Texas Southern, and at Kansas) are all on ESPN+. So if streaming is not considered being on national TV, which I agree with, then maybe Baylor does not qualify as an FBS school? I think streaming is here to stay and I think all of these games count as "national TV."

(07-05-2021 12:06 PM)DawgNBama Wrote:  I think something else is eventually going to thin out of the Division 1 herd, and it won't be just in football either. Basketball will be thinned out as well, IMHO. What I think will eventually thin out the herd is something that JRSEC has been talking about for awhile: NIL and pay for play. I can see both of those things forcing a lot of the MAC, Sunbelt, C-USA, Ivy, Patriot, and the Pioneer/A-Sun, WCC, NEC, SoCon, etc.

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You could get a best of the rest grouping containing the MAC/CUSA/SBC of 16 or 18 schools if some did want to drop.

I think you're underestimating the will of some of those programs to stay at the top level.

The more visible teams in the Sun Belt are getting 40-55% of their games on a national ESPN broadcast. Seems like a dumb measure for who belongs in FBS. Hell, local broadcast stations helps build those teams who have built conference networks and now has all their tier 2/3 stuff on a really deep cable channel.

(07-05-2021 01:05 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(07-05-2021 11:00 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Those on the outside always want to believe that they’re just inside that next tier of a slightly more expansive definition.

See: original post. It manufactures a definition where OP's team (UConn) just makes it in.

Precisely. CBS Sports Network is the dividing line simply because that is who UConn has a contract with. If they could have had a contract with NBCSN, then NBCSN would be the dividing line and CBSSN would lie outside the line. If they could have got a contract with some guaranteed carriage on ESPNU and the rest on ESPN+, then streaming would have been fine as long as there is "some guaranteed carriage on ESPNU or better".

It's just painting the boundary outside of where the javelin happened to land.

Meh

National tv should only count if you are on one of the national over the air channels. ABC, Fox, CBS, NBC. If your conference or independent school does not get at least 1 game on these channels, you don't count.

(07-05-2021 11:00 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(07-05-2021 08:31 AM)ken d Wrote:  Why not thin the herd based on which conferences or indies regularly get aired OTA (ABC, NBC, CBS or FOX)?

That’s simply called the P5 (including ND) and everyone else.

We all know that’s the true line of demarcation. Those on the outside always want to believe that they’re just inside that next tier of a slightly more expansive definition.

Yep, it stinks to be on the outside. Especially when your schools is larger, better academically, and better at both football & basketball than 1/2 of the P5.

But such is life. Even BYU and UNLV winning national championships weren't enough to get them an invite. You don't get to crash the cool kids party until you force your way in to the top 1/3 for a decade or more a la Florida State, Miami, or Louisville.

If we are using silly criteria like Saturday telecasts you have to let in Sun Belt who gets a pretty solid diet of ESPNU and occasional ESPN2 Saturday games in latter part of the season.

I’m sorry it chaps some asses but the top tier has always been more than the richest programs and the rich club stays pretty much the same size, for every Utah and Louisville there is a Rice and SMU

Outside of a select few, the hilarity is thinking that “drawing a national audience” matters. Perhaps 25 teams would interest the general public, and that’s being generous.

Far better to be a regional draw in the NLI environment. I guess time will tell, but NLI might lead to less of a focus on national exposure.

(07-04-2021 04:49 PM)shizzle787 Wrote:  I believe that there are far too many schools playing at the FBS level.

Why? What problem is there right now with the number of schools?

(07-13-2021 02:08 AM)dawgonit Wrote:  

(07-04-2021 04:49 PM)shizzle787 Wrote:  I believe that there are far too many schools playing at the FBS level.

Why? What problem is there right now with the number of schools?

None.

It’s the musings of people who couldn’t get into an exclusive club or exclusive college. They want ride the fandom coattails of exclusive by buying a hat.

Or they are the ones who have a touch of OCD and want all conferences to have exactly the same number of teams in a perfect geographic alignment