Has a school ever skipped a division when moving up? (For example going D-II directly to FBS). I assume it's allowed, just ill-advised.

(04-29-2020 04:37 AM)Erictelevision Wrote:  Has a school ever skipped a division when moving up? (For example going D-II directly to FBS). I assume it's allowed, just ill-advised.

St. Thomas is waiting on approval.
https://www.tommiemedia.com/news/breakin...-decision/

I assume teams HAVE skipped when dropping DOWN?

There's no mechanism in place for doing so ... the St. Thomas case has the NCAA looking at what should be the rules to transfer straight from D3 to D1.

A mechanism to jump straight from D2 to FBS without going through FCS does not seem to be in the cards.

Schools have jumped outside the NCAA structure:

Belmont, Lipscomb from NAIA to Di. Rather common before a new rule saying DII first
Utah Valley from JC ranks to DI

Many Southern schools without FB didn't participate in DII, like ORU, HOuton Baptist (started at DI level), Okla City U. These three have jumped up and down between NAIA and DI. OCU got stuck at NAIA when they wanted to go DI again.

(04-29-2020 05:48 AM)Erictelevision Wrote:  I assume teams HAVE skipped when dropping DOWN?

Centenary and Birmingham-Southern I believe moved from D1 to D3. New Orleans's original plan was D1 to D3, then it became D2, then they scrapped it entirely and stayed in D1.

I would imagine that if you were to stop providing athletic scholarships, there's no reason to transition to D2 on your way down.

(04-29-2020 05:49 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  A mechanism to jump straight from D2 to FBS without going through FCS does not seem to be in the cards.

Actually, NCAA rules allow it.

Quote:Q: May a reclassifying Division II institution move directly to NCAA Division I
Football Bowl Subdivision or does that institution need to qualify as a NCAA
Football Championship Subdivision member first?

A: Yes. A reclassifying Division II institution may petition for Football Bowl Subdivision
membership directly; however, it would need to fulfill all of the Football Bowl Subdivision
membership requirements to qualify as an active member of that subdivision.

West Texas A&M went from 1A independent to D2.
Tampa, CSU-L.A., Abilene Christian and Hardin Simmons dropped from D1 in the early 70s before the split between 1A/1AA.

(04-29-2020 12:41 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  West Texas A&M went from 1A independent to D2.
Tampa, CSU-L.A., Abilene Christian and Hardin Simmons dropped from D1 in the early 70s before the split between 1A/1AA.

Hardin-Simmons was once in the Border Conference with schools such as Texas Tech, Texas Western, Arizona, and Arizona State. After winning 3 games in 3 years, they dropped football in 1964. They remained in Division I until 1989. They were actually charter members of the Trans America Athletic Conference, now the Atlantic Sun. Hardin-Simmons then reinstated football in 1990. At this time, they dropped athletic scholarships for all sports and moved to Division III.

Hardin-Simmons Football

1977, SWAC jumped from NAIA to D1 which at that time, there were no split between D1A and 1AA at the time. So, they did played 1 season at the top.
I do think a couple of MAC schools did jump from D2 straight to 1A in the early 80s, before the forced down grade in 1982.

(04-29-2020 07:39 AM)NoDak Wrote:  Schools have jumped outside the NCAA structure:

Belmont, Lipscomb from NAIA to Di. Rather common before a new rule saying DII first
Utah Valley from JC ranks to DI

Many Southern schools without FB didn't participate in DII, like ORU, HOuton Baptist (started at DI level), Okla City U. These three have jumped up and down between NAIA and DI. OCU got stuck at NAIA when they wanted to go DI again.

Yes, we (Lipscomb) and Belmont made similar jumps because we had decades of sustained success at the NAIA level and each had a massive donor who basically bulit us 5,000 seat arenas fit for anything, especially basketball and concerts. It takes serious $$$ to skip a step. Neither of us sponsor football, either, which I think is key to actually making it work. If we had football, I think we would have struggled to go straight D-1.

Birmingham Southern dropped from I to III in 2006 and added football there. Centenary (non-FB) also dropped from I to III.

What both Belmont and Lipscomb did might have been rather unusual in that you rarely see two colleges located in the same city make such a divisional (NAIA to NCAA) jump up at about the same time (as I recall).

DavidSt might know.

(04-29-2020 12:40 PM)Inkblot Wrote:  

(04-29-2020 05:49 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  A mechanism to jump straight from D2 to FBS without going through FCS does not seem to be in the cards.

Actually, NCAA rules allow it.

Quote:Q: May a reclassifying Division II institution move directly to NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision or does that institution need to qualify as a NCAA Football Championship Subdivision member first?

A: Yes. A reclassifying Division II institution may petition for Football Bowl Subdivision membership directly; however, it would need to fulfill all of the Football Bowl Subdivision membership requirements to qualify as an active member of that subdivision.

Yes, thanks for that. I actually just saw the by-laws that specify that while looking up something for another topic, and it is indeed just like a non-FB Div1 school starting up a football program ... they petition for which football subdivision they wish to enter and have to meet the requirements of that subdivision.

(05-01-2020 08:23 PM)DFW HOYA Wrote:  Birmingham Southern dropped from I to III in 2006 and added football there. Centenary (non-FB) also dropped from I to III.

Birmingham–Southern actually jumped NAIA to D1 at the same time as Lipscomb, then went D3 within a few years.