(04-07-2014 12:31 PM)slycat Wrote:  Idaho isn't going anywhere. I don't see them dropping down anytime soon. NMSU is even less likely.

NMSU is an odd duck or pato.

Playing FCS football is no more viable than playing FBS because there are so few FCS schools within reasonable distance. They would save little if any on travel and quite possibly spend more. Having the rivalries with New Mexico and UTEP make it improbable that the Aggies would elect to go down or drop football (they've played New Mexico 104 times and UTEP 91 times)

Idaho is in a different pot of stew.

They have an in-state school more than willing to welcome them back to the Big Sky in Idaho State and their second most played rival (Montana) is in the Big Sky (first is Washington State). Boise State will no longer play them and they show only one future game with Washington State.

I think you can sit down and crunch the numbers and come to the conclusion that as long as NMSU plans to make football part of their sport offering as a Division I school that they should play FBS. With Idaho and the budget adjustment that would come with playing FCS, I don't think it is clear-cut that FBS is their best option in a spreadsheet analysis, not that many schools actually do a spreadsheet analysis in determining their level of play.