Big Dream, Rude Awakening

[Harry]

AMHERST, Mass. Hung from lampposts and tacked to bulletin boards, the maroon and white banners were everywhere this past fall on the pastoral campus of the University of Massachusetts.

This year, UMass took the mighty step up to big-time college football, shedding its lower-level pedigree to enter the sports highest tier, the Football Bowl Subdivision. To make the leap more concrete, UMass decided to play its home games at Gillette Stadium, the domain of the N.F.L.s New England Patriots.

When UMass completed its Gillette home schedule last month, the campus banners part of nearly $3 million in new football expenditures had apparently gone unheeded. There were only 6,385 fans in a stadium that seats 68,756 as UMass lost, 42-21, to Central Michigan to finish the season 0-5 at home. UMass finished the season 1-11 over all and was outscored by opponents, 482-152.

Such is the big time, where the newcomers take a beating and a vast majority of established football programs lose money just like their lesser-level brethren.

But UMass and a flock of other institutions with far-reaching football dreams from Texas State to Old Dominion are undeterred.

In an unforeseen convergence, nearly a dozen institutions of limited football renown are trying to force their way into the cutthroat, unrestrained arena dominated by college football monoliths like Alabama, Notre Dame and Oregon universities that will be on display as the sports most prestigious bowl games are held over the next eight days. As many as 15 other institutions across the country are publicly or privately discussing such a move.

Big-time college football programs may have been linked recently to scandals involving illicit payments to players (Ohio State), academic improprieties (North Carolina) and child sexual abuse (Penn State), but that has not slowed a rush to join the fraternity. The institutions chasing a new football status do so with baby steps and varied circumstances, but the common journey has a visionary end some would call it illusionary and it is a wonderland of television riches, national exposure and ecstatic alumni donating money by the bushel.

The reality is that football schools who move up a division almost always lose even more money, said Daniel Fulks, an accounting professor at Transylvania University who has spent the last 15 years as a research consultant for the N.C.A.A. Theres not much defense of the economics in the short term or the long term. There are arguments for countervailing, intangible benefits more national exposure, more admission applications, better quality students and increased alumni donations.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/sports/ncaafootball/universities-chase-big-time-glory-in-fbs.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[DeepGreen]

But Lombardi sees a brewing quandary.

“The number of F.B.S.-level football teams is already too large to be sustainable,” he said. “And the teams at the top are a very strong, organized group. As more schools join at the bottom, it’s going to force the N.C.A.A. to restructure. They’ll have to start putting F.B.S. teams into categories.

“So there will be a second tier again, and that’s certainly not what a lot of these people joining now had in mind. What happens then?”

D1A, D1AA?

[UNT90]

But Lombardi sees a brewing quandary.

“The number of F.B.S.-level football teams is already too large to be sustainable,” he said. “And the teams at the top are a very strong, organized group. As more schools join at the bottom, it’s going to force the N.C.A.A. to restructure. They’ll have to start putting F.B.S. teams into categories.

“So there will be a second tier again, and that’s certainly not what a lot of these people joining now had in mind. What happens then?”

D1A, D1AA?

What happens then is a class action anti-trust lawsuit.

That's why what Lombardi suggests will never happen.

[wardly]

They did it when they split into 1a and 1aa divisions, and I don't recal any lawsuit. The NCAA is an organization that you join. If you don't like their rules try the NAIA.

[filmerj]

I see the big six forming an "NCAA" of their own so they can create their own rules.

[untjim1995]

What happens then is a class action anti-trust lawsuit.

That's why what Lombardi suggests will never happen.

Except that all the legislatures and their governing bodies are all connected to the universities with all the power. As Wardly brought up earlier, this has already happened once and it will happen again. The Big Powers will create their own NCAA before they share anymore than they have to with schools like ours. I am actually at a point where that great schism won't bother me--because those semi-pro programs should play each other and the others that are actually college teams should compete against each other. The best part will be watching the hangers-on, like SMU, Baylor, TCU, UH, Tulane, etc...will find out what its been like to be treated as the truest of rejects. Plus, I think that might be the only chance that we will ever have of being in a conference with any of these programs that have been looking down on us for decades. I'd still watch a UNT-SMU game even if it was a FCS-type game, versus what it is today, a faux FBS vs faux FBS game.

[GrayEagle]

If they want to separate the best way to do that is establish reasonable standards that each university must comply with in order to be admitted. Otherwise, they will be subject to collaboration and anti-trust.

Withdrawal from the NCAA and forming their own association might be an alternative but if it became a closed consortium that might also violate anti-trust laws.

There's certainly nothing wrong with expanding conferences and I believe that's the way they should go. Frankly, I'd hate to go back to the independent days but cronyism in conference selection isn't the answer either. Politics will no doubt rear its ugly head if the system gets too far out of kilter.

[North Texas Shep]

I do not know the way this works and one of you probably do. Can a team like UMass tuck their tail between their legs and asked to move back down? They might realize they made a big mistake and try to do what is best for them. Just wondering if that is even possible.

[GrayEagle]

I do not know the way this works and one of you probably do. Can a team like UMass tuck their tail between their legs and asked to move back down? They might realize they made a big mistake and try to do what is best for them. Just wondering if that is even possible.

I would think so but in UMass' case they have yet to qualify. One qualification is 15,000 attendance and they haven't met that.

[wardly]

I see the big six forming an "NCAA" of their own so they can create their own rules.

I am repeating myself,which I often do,but in the end it will be like high school divisions: 5a,4a,& 3a. Pac 12,Big 12, Big 10,SEC,and ACC will be 5a.MWC,CUSA,Sun Belt,MAC, and Big Least will be 4a. All 1aa scholls will remain at 3a. Its just a natural evoluation,which makes too much sense to happen.

[GrandGreen]

A lot difference environment now than the days of the 1a and 1aa split. Some schools like NT were almost happy to be downgraded. People frankly didn't know how big a blow their programs were facing when sentenced to 1aa.

Depending how many and which programs would be left out of the new Division 1, it could get a lot of opposition both politically and legally. I am not sure the power schools want a challenge that could result in the possible lost of their non-taxable status as well as monopolistic charges.

There are also practical considerations, like do the powers really want to limit games to schools that actually may have a realistic change to win. Lot of those 8-4 and 7-5 records in the past become losing years.

[Arkstfan]

They did it when they split into 1a and 1aa divisions, and I don't recal any lawsuit. The NCAA is an organization that you join. If you don't like their rules try the NAIA.

Not totally true.

After the 1981 forced reclassification of schools from I-A to I-AA, one of the schools pushed down sued and got an injunction to stay I-A. While the case was pending, they met the I-A criteria in 1982 and were no longer under threat of reclassification so the case was dismissed.

Maybe you've heard of Cincinnati.

[Arkstfan]

A lot difference environment now than the days of the 1a and 1aa split. Some schools like NT were almost happy to be downgraded. People frankly didn't know how big a blow their programs were facing when sentenced to 1aa.

Depending how many and which programs would be left out of the new Division 1, it could get a lot of opposition both politically and legally. I am not sure the power schools want a challenge that could result in the possible lost of their non-taxable status as well as monopolistic charges.

There are also practical considerations, like do the powers really want to limit games to schools that actually may have a realistic change to win. Lot of those 8-4 and 7-5 records in the past become losing years.

Vastly different.

The Valley, Southern, Southland and Yankee were all without guaranteed bowl access. Moving down guaranteed they would have post-season play if they won their conference.

The NCAA still controlled TV at the time and the TV package was going to guarantee some regional TV appearances on ABC and CBS. Then in 1983 the Supreme Court struck down the NCAA TV package.

At the time a I-A could play up to four I-AA with no impact on bowl eligibility. Then right around 1988-1990 the NCAA adopted a rule saying no wins over I-AA would count toward bowl eligibility, then it was changed to you could count one every four years before landing on today's count one each year.

Until the Supreme Court deregulated TV and the NCAA essentuially deregulated the bowls and made it harder to get games, I-AA wasn't a bad place. Up until the change in bowl eligibility, there were some I-A's that were playing home and home series with old rivals that were in I-AA.

[GrayEagle]

I have a very different remembrance of 1982 than some. I don't know how many friends of mine quit coming because we were forced to 1-AA. I even sat out a year myself but unlike most of the others, I came back.

Dr. Hurley wanted to make academic improvements and we didn't have the money for stadium expansion nor the attendance to stay Division 1-A so academics won out over athletics. The fans at that time were for academic improvement but did not want to see the athletic program downgraded. At least the hardcore fans that we had. Remember, we had been in the highest classification for thirty years when this happened. Odus, Rod, and Hayden had taken us part of the way up the mountain and we weren't ready for the fall.