|
Post by nycrusader2010 on Nov 28, 2023 14:39:18 GMT -5
Nova and Richmond would have to be football only affiliates obviously. William and Mary you’d have a small chance at all sports. William & Mary would be all sports if they joined the PL. If they leave the CAA, the only logical places they'd go would be the Patriot or the SoCon. Only other scenario would be if they somehow got invited to the A-10, who I doubt is inviting a hoops program yet to make the NCAA tournament in its history.
|
|
|
Post by midwestsader05 on Nov 28, 2023 14:46:24 GMT -5
Nova and Richmond would have to be football only affiliates obviously. William and Mary you’d have a small chance at all sports. William & Mary would be all sports if they joined the PL. If they leave the CAA, the only logical places they'd go would be the Patriot or the SoCon. Only other scenario would be if they somehow got invited to the A-10, who I doubt is inviting a hoops program yet to make the NCAA tournament in its history. By small chance I guess I meant of any of it happening. CAA football would have to eat itself and while there is uncertainty, it’s not exactly breaking.
|
|
|
Post by longsuffering on Nov 28, 2023 14:51:09 GMT -5
Men's hockey will travel as long or longer to Binghamton for games, but at least there is some ticket revenue from the corresponding home series. Same for basketball and football. It's a long way to go for non-revenue sports, especially outdoor sports like softball or baseball that can get rained out when you get there.
The NCAA should allow for arrangements like the "Southern New England Baseball League" or the "Greater Boston Softball League" as supplements to the season end primary league tournament. Make it interesting, perhaps with a potential route to the NCAA tournament through either configuration with two or three extra auto-bids nationwide for the best local League champs who don't get their primary league auto-bid.
|
|
|
Post by DFW HOYA on Nov 28, 2023 15:29:26 GMT -5
If the PL were to change rules to become more similar to other FCS conferences (e.g. - removing the ban on non-medical redshirts), I am not sure how GU would react. Would they want to be a part of a conference that would be moving away from an Ivy League model and towards a model similar to the CAA? I don't know. My gut tells me that they would consider leaving if there was a better alternative. That is why I referenced the Pioneer League. But, ultimately, you probably have a better insight on this than I do. So I will ask you...what would GU do under the situation I proposed? Would they stay in the PL with the new rules? A well worn topic so I will respect the patience of the readers. I don't see Georgetown as opposing redshirts or other changes to build a more competitive league; for that matter, they are not against scholarships inasmuch as they offer them in other sports. Football scholarships at Georgetown are part of a Rubik's cube of spending which is byzantine at best. With 65 scholarships total across all men's sports (and it has been circa 65 since the 1960s), adding men's grants in any sport runs up against 1) the ability of the athletic department to pay for them (which, given the millions of dollars in losses suffered by men's basketball over the last 10-15 years, isn't money available), 2) the high wire act of over $265 million in full-need financial aid commitments annually against a city-mandated enrollment cap (i.e., every new scholarship athlete is one less admit that could pay full price), and 3) the fact that most of it Big East sports are also underfunded and are considered an issue it must address over an affiliate relationship. That said, GU has made no effort to explore other conferences and as long as the PL does not mandate a "60 or out" approach, Georgetown is institutionally content getting punched around on the field to play Holy Cross and Lehigh instead of traveling to Lindenwood and Eastern Illinois for the same result. But back to the PL dilemma: it needs to add academically comparable schools but the arcane rules of the league keep them away. From a 2022 column, some thoughts about a solution to this long discussed problem. georgetownfootball.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-case-for-patriot-football-conference.html
|
|
|
Post by rgs318 on Nov 28, 2023 15:58:14 GMT -5
Indeed it will. Having a President and AD who seem to "get it" does make this a new game at HC. Change will be coming in many places, but I am not sure who in the PL would be in the game to make them League wide when financial implications may work gaainst other long term goals. I too have a wish list but it changes regularly so seeing what others are thinking can be entertaining. Right now I am looking forward to tomorrow's hoops. Each could be a good chance to see how the teams are developing. That is something I am looking forward to...for the first time in a while. PS: Make your donation to HC Giving Day yet? If you like how things are deveoping, why not pay it forward?
|
|
|
Post by efg72 on Nov 28, 2023 22:36:33 GMT -5
SCORES BRACKET RANKINGS STANDINGS STATS VIDEO HISTORY CHAMP INFO BROADCAST SCHEDULE football-fcs flag STAN BECTON | NCAA.COM | NOVEMBER 28, 2023
Making sense of FCS conference realignment
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE BEATS NORTH DAKOTA STATE FOR 2022 FCS CHAMPIONSHIP SHARE
It's been a wild offseason in FCS football, with teams and conferences changing more than ever. There are hundreds of FCS teams and a handful will be playing in a new conference in 2023 and beyond, but what does it all mean?
Here's a breakdown of the many changes to the FCS football landscape in the upcoming seasons amid major conference realignment.
This article was originally published before the 2022 season. All realignment news is updated as of November 27, 2023.
Moving from the FCS
The following teams are moving from the FCS to the FBS level:
SCHOOL FCS CONFERENCE FBS CONFERENCE James Madison CAA Sun Belt Jacksonville State ASUN Conference USA Sam Houston WAC Conference USA Kennesaw State ASUN Conference USA Delaware CAA Conference USA In 2022, James Madison will officially leave for the FBS, joining the Sun Belt.
In 2023, both Sam Houston and Jacksonville State will be FBS programs. In 2022, Sam Houston and Jacksonville State will begin their FBS transition and are ineligible for postseason play, but will remain in the WAC and ASUN conferences, respectively.
In 2024, Kennesaw State will be leaving for the FBS. The Owls will begin their FBS transition in 2023 and will be ineligible for postseason play.
In 2025, Delaware will be leaving for the FBS. The Blue Hens will be ineligible for a conference title or the FCS playoffs once the transition process begins in 2024.
Among the teams transitioning to FBS are three championships and eight championship appearances, including 54 percent of all championship appearances from teams not named North Dakota State since 2011.
New to FCS
So we know who's out, but here's who's joining the FCS. Here are the programs that made the jump to the Championship Subdivision in 2022:
SCHOOL DII CONFERENCE FCS CONFERENCE Texas A&M-Commerce LSC Southland Lindenwood GLVC OVC Stonehill NE10 NEC Texas A&M-Commerce moves up from Division II to the Southland. The former DII power won the DII title in 2017. Lindenwood joined the NCAA in 2012 at the Division II level and makes the move to the FCS a decade later. Stonehill was a charter member of the NE10.
In 2024, West Georgia will join the FCS, joining the ASUN conference.
Conference outlook
Before we get into the shifts within the conferences, let's first look at what the FCS conferences are. Here are all of the FCS conferences
ASUN+ Big Sky Big South CAA Ivy MEAC MVFC NEC OVC Patriot Pioneer SoCon Southland SWAC WAC+ +The ASUN and WAC are merging in 2023 to form a football-only conference. More info below
The importance of conferences
Conferences are important at the FCS level because conference winners* receive automatic bids to the 24-team FCS playoffs. However, for a conference to be eligible for an automatic bid, it needs to have a minimum of six eligible teams.
*The SWAC, MEAC and Ivy League do not send their conference champions to the FCS playoffs.
Changes within the FCS in 2023 and beyond
Murray State leaves OVC, joins MVFC
Murray State has announced it's leaving the OVC for the Missouri Valley in all sports. However, the Missouri Valley doesn't sponsor football. Instead many Missouri Valley programs compete in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, a separate entity.
In 2023, Murray State will join the MVFC after playing one final season in the OVC in 2022.
North Carolina A&T leaves Big South, joins CAA
For the second time in two seasons, North Carolina A&T has changed conferences. After joining the Big South in 2021, the Aggies are leaving for the CAA. North Carolina A&T was a power in the all-HBCU conference MEAC before struggling in a 5-6 2021 season. The Aggies will try and regain their success in the CAA, officially joining the conference in football in 2023.
Campbell leaves Big South, joins CAA
Campbell announced on August 3, 2022 that it would be leaving the Big South to join the CAA in 2023. The move becomes official July 1, 2023 and will bring the CAA to 14 member schools and 15 football schools. Campbell becomes the latest charter member to leave the Big South.
Western Illinois leaves MVFC, joins OVC
Western Illinois announced on May 12, 2023 that it will be leaving the Missouri Valley Football Conference to join the Ohio Valley Conference in 2024. The Leathernecks will join the OVC in all sports outside of football beginning July 2023, with the football program joining the new conference a year later.
Bryant leaves Big South, joins CAA
Bryant announced on August 10, 2023 that it will be joining the CAA in the 2024 season as a football member. The move comes two years after Bryant left the NEC to join the Big South as an associate football member (see below). Bryant gives the CAA 16 football teams in 2024.
Robert Morris leaves Big South, returns to NEC
Robert Morris announced on November 28, 2023 that it will return to the NEC — a conference it left in 2019 — in 2024 as a football associate member. Robert Morris' departure from the NEC leaves two teams left in the Big South.
Texas-Rio Grande Valley joins WAC
Come 2025, UTRGV will introduce its football program, joining the WAC at the FCS level.
Changes within the FCS in 2022
Kennesaw State and North Alabama leave Big South, join ASUN
Entering the 2021 season, we knew that Kennesaw State and North Alabama would be playing their final seasons in the conference. They'll head to the ASUN in 2022, with Kennesaw State taking the 2021 Big South title with it. Kennesaw State will leave the ASUN in 2024 (see above).
Austin Peay leaves OVC, joins ASUN
Austin Peay leaves the OVC for a revamped ASUN in 2022.
UIW spurns WAC, stays in Southland
In November of 2021, UIW accepted a July 1, 2022 invitation to join the WAC. However, UIW reversed that decision June 24, 2022 — exactly one week before the conference switch — instead deciding to remain in the Southland.
Lamar leaves WAC, joins Southland... earlier than expected
Lamar will be rejoining the Southland in 2022, a move coming a year earlier than previously announced. The decision to join in 2022 came on July 11, 2022, about a month and a half before the 2022 FCS season is set to begin.
Lamar, a founding member of the Southland, originally announced its decision to rejoin the conference in 2023 on April 8, 2022. Regardless, the move comes after Lamar left the Southland for the WAC in 2021.
Southern Utah leaves Big Sky, joins WAC
The WAC is revitalized and Southern Utah will join the conference in 2022. Southern Utah joins Utah Tech as the northernmost programs in the conference.
Monmouth leaves Big South, joins CAA
After missing out on another Big South football title, Monmouth departs the conference for the CAA in 2022.
Hampton leaves Big South, joins CAA
Four years after Hampton made its oft-debated move to leave the MEAC and join the Big South, the Pirates are making another switch. Hampton departs its former conference for the CAA in 2022. The Virginia-based HBCU now has a regional conference rival, with William & Mary only minutes away in the 757.
Stony Brook joins the CAA full time
Yes, Stony Brook was already a member of the CAA for football. But its decision to join the conference in every sport cannot be ignored.
Bryant leaves NEC, joins Big South
Bryant leaves the NEC to join the Big South as an associate football member. The moves comes after Big South lost multiple members. Bryant gives the Big South six football teams in 2022.
Conferences on the edge
Given the NCAA rule requiring six eligible teams to qualify for an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs, a few conferences are teetering the line. While the NCAA does grant a two-year grace period for conferences to raise membership numbers back to minimum requirements, here are the conferences with six or fewer FCS teams in the future.
ASUN
Once Jacksonville State officially goes to the FBS and Kennesaw State begins its transition, the ASUN will be left with four playoff eligible teams in 2023 and beyond — Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Austin Peay and North Alabama remain. That number will increase to five once West Georgia becomes eligible.
Big South
The Big South has gone through a gauntlet of departures recently, with eight schools departing in the last three years. In 2022, the Big South will have six teams thanks to Bryant's addition, just enough for an auto-bid. However, that number drops to four teams in 2023 when North Carolina A&T and Campbell depart and two teams in 2024 when Bryant and Robert Morris depart. Only Charleston Southern and Gardner-Webb remain.
MEAC
As mentioned before, the MEAC doesn't send its conference champion to the FCS playoffs — instead playing in the Celebration Bowl — so it doesn't have to worry about falling below the auto-bid mark. However, the conference did see Bethune-Cookman and Florida A&M leave in 2021, leaving the conference with six teams.
OVC
The loss of Austin Peay and Murray State will drop the OVC to six teams in 2023 — UT Martin, Southeast Missouri State, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and Eastern Illinois are the holdovers, while FCS newcomer Lindenwood joins. However, the conference will have five playoff-eligible teams during the 2023 season since Lindenwood won't be postseason eligible until 2026. That number will rise to six playoff-eligible teams during the 2024 season once Western Illinois joins, before rising to seven-playoff eligible teams in 2026.
WAC
In 2022 and 2023, the WAC will be down to three playoff-eligible teams since Sam Houston is transitioning to the FBS and Utah Tech and Tarleton are still in the FCS transition process.
However, Utah Tech and Tarleton's transition status will eventually end, giving the conference five playoff-eligible teams in 2024. In 2025, UTRGV will have joined the conference, bringing the total number of football-playing schools to six.
Conference associations
To maintain automatic-qualifying bids, conferences have initiated associations between each other to remain eligible. We saw the ASUN and WAC merge to form the AQ7 in 2021, but that was only a one-year partnership at the time. Here's some of the recent moves announced:
Southland-OVC
The Southland and OVC announced a scheduling alliance for non-conference games in 2022 and 2023, but that alliance does not have playoff implications.
Big South-OVC
The Big South and OVC have an association set for 2023. The two conferences will share one bid among the two conferences. The association between the two conference has an initial term of at least four years, going through the 2026 season. Together, the conferences will have eight playoff-eligible teams from 2024-2025 and nine playoff-eligible teams in 2026.
ASUN and WAC merge to form football-only conference: The United Athletic Conference
The ASUN and WAC announced on April 17, 2023 that the two conferences will make their partnership official as a new football-only conference called the United Athletic Conference (UAC). The UAC will begin play in 2023 as the ASUN and WAC will play a combined schedule with inter-conference play between ASUN and WAC schools. In 2023 the UAC will have nine football-playing members but only seven playoff-eligible members. In 2024, the joint conference will have nine playoff-eligible teams.
The UAC was denied a wavier-request to be formally recognized by the NCAA as a single-sport conference in 2023, so the UAC is technically unofficial, even with the ASUN and WAC sharing an auto-bid.
The ASUN and WAC first merged in 2021 to form the AQ7 to share one automatic bid.
The conferences then renewed their football alliance for the 2022 season. The two conferences played schedules and championships among their own members. The ASUN and WAC shared one automatic qualifying bid, going to one of the two conference champions. The automatic bid determining formula can be found below.
Each conference shall nominate its regular season champion (by the conference’s own formula) for AQ comparison. If the regular season champion is a reclassifying team, the conference shall nominate the team finishing highest in the regular season standings that is eligible for an FCS AQ. Tiebreaker formulas are to be set by each conference and may include use of the ASUN-WAC Power Ranking after the conclusion of regular season play. If the two nominated teams have the same W-L record in Countable Games, and they met during the regular season, the head to head winner shall be the AQ recipient. If item No. 3 above is not applicable, the team with the higher ASUN-WAC Power Ranking will be declared the AQ recipient. Click or tap here for the complete formula from 2022
More
Outside of the mergers, another notable happening during the most recent wave of conference realignment occurred when the SoCon doubled its exit fee for members to $2 million.
The FCS is ever-changing as more teams are making moves in the wave of conference realignment. It all makes for an exciting future in the sport.
Future number of teams per FCS conference NO. OF TEAMS CONFERENCE TEAMS 15 CAA Albany, Bryant*, Campbell, Elon, Hampton, Maine, Monmouth, New Hampshire, North Carolina A&T, Rhode Island, Richmond, Stony Brook, Towson, Villanova, William & Mary 12 Big Sky Cal Poly, Eastern Washington, Idaho, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Sacramento State, UC Davis, Weber State 12 SWAC Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Bethune-Cookman, Florida A&M, Grambling State, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, Prairie View A&M, Southern, Texas Southern, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 11 MVFC Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State, Murray State, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Southern Illinois, Youngstown State 11 Pioneer Butler, Davidson, Dayton, Drake, Marist, Morehead State, Presbyterian, San Diego, St. Thomas, Stetson, Valparaiso 10 UAC See ASUN and WAC schools 10 Big South-OVC See Big South and OVC schools 9 SoCon Chattanooga, ETSU, Furman, Mercer, Samford, The Citadel, VMI, Western Carolina, Wofford 9 NEC Central Connecticut State, Duquesne, LIU, Merrimack, Robert Morris*, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis (PA), Stonehill+, Wagner 8 Ivy Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Yale 8 Southland Houston Christian, Lamar, McNeese, Nicholls, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, Texas A&M-Commerce+, Incarnate Word 7 Patriot Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh 7 OVC Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood+, UT Martin, Southeast Missouri State, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, Western Illinois* 6 MEAC Delaware State, Howard, Morgan State, Norfolk State, North Carolina Central, South Carolina State 6 WAC Abilene Christian, Stephen F. Austin, Southern Utah, Tarleton State#, Utah Tech#, Texas-Rio Grande Valley^ 5 ASUN Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, West Georgia* 2 Big South Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb *As of 2024 ^As of 2025 #Playoff Eligible in 2024 +Playoff Eligible in
|
|
|
Post by midwestsader05 on Nov 29, 2023 9:08:09 GMT -5
If the PL were to change rules to become more similar to other FCS conferences (e.g. - removing the ban on non-medical redshirts), I am not sure how GU would react. Would they want to be a part of a conference that would be moving away from an Ivy League model and towards a model similar to the CAA? I don't know. My gut tells me that they would consider leaving if there was a better alternative. That is why I referenced the Pioneer League. But, ultimately, you probably have a better insight on this than I do. So I will ask you...what would GU do under the situation I proposed? Would they stay in the PL with the new rules? A well worn topic so I will respect the patience of the readers. I don't see Georgetown as opposing redshirts or other changes to build a more competitive league; for that matter, they are not against scholarships inasmuch as they offer them in other sports. Football scholarships at Georgetown are part of a Rubik's cube of spending which is byzantine at best. With 65 scholarships total across all men's sports (and it has been circa 65 since the 1960s), adding men's grants in any sport runs up against 1) the ability of the athletic department to pay for them (which, given the millions of dollars in losses suffered by men's basketball over the last 10-15 years, isn't money available), 2) the high wire act of over $265 million in full-need financial aid commitments annually against a city-mandated enrollment cap (i.e., every new scholarship athlete is one less admit that could pay full price), and 3) the fact that most of it Big East sports are also underfunded and are considered an issue it must address over an affiliate relationship. That said, GU has made no effort to explore other conferences and as long as the PL does not mandate a "60 or out" approach, Georgetown is institutionally content getting punched around on the field to play Holy Cross and Lehigh instead of traveling to Lindenwood and Eastern Illinois for the same result. But back to the PL dilemma: it needs to add academically comparable schools but the arcane rules of the league keep them away. From a 2022 column, some thoughts about a solution to this long discussed problem. georgetownfootball.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-case-for-patriot-football-conference.htmlDFW, you throw out Lindenwood and EIU in OVC but what about Davidson, Marist, Butler and Dayton etc? Some Good schools Eastern part of the Pioneer. If they aren’t going to get to 60-63 athletic scholies or equivalents, at least give themselves a chance to win Conf titles and play in the post season.
|
|
|
Post by efg72 on Nov 29, 2023 9:19:33 GMT -5
Great closing comment and a well-written, fact-based article. Thanks for sharing!
Properly envisioned, the Patriot Football Conference could be as impactful to Eastern football as the MVFC is in the Midwest. Without it, the PL is just one realignment removed from its own demise.
|
|
|
Post by longsuffering on Nov 29, 2023 12:44:23 GMT -5
If the PL were to change rules to become more similar to other FCS conferences (e.g. - removing the ban on non-medical redshirts), I am not sure how GU would react. Would they want to be a part of a conference that would be moving away from an Ivy League model and towards a model similar to the CAA? I don't know. My gut tells me that they would consider leaving if there was a better alternative. That is why I referenced the Pioneer League. But, ultimately, you probably have a better insight on this than I do. So I will ask you...what would GU do under the situation I proposed? Would they stay in the PL with the new rules? A well worn topic so I will respect the patience of the readers. I don't see Georgetown as opposing redshirts or other changes to build a more competitive league; for that matter, they are not against scholarships inasmuch as they offer them in other sports. Football scholarships at Georgetown are part of a Rubik's cube of spending which is byzantine at best. With 65 scholarships total across all men's sports (and it has been circa 65 since the 1960s), adding men's grants in any sport runs up against 1) the ability of the athletic department to pay for them (which, given the millions of dollars in losses suffered by men's basketball over the last 10-15 years, isn't money available), 2) the high wire act of over $265 million in full-need financial aid commitments annually against a city-mandated enrollment cap (i.e., every new scholarship athlete is one less admit that could pay full price), and 3) the fact that most of it Big East sports are also underfunded and are considered an issue it must address over an affiliate relationship. That said, GU has made no effort to explore other conferences and as long as the PL does not mandate a "60 or out" approach, Georgetown is institutionally content getting punched around on the field to play Holy Cross and Lehigh instead of traveling to Lindenwood and Eastern Illinois for the same result. But back to the PL dilemma: it needs to add academically comparable schools but the arcane rules of the league keep them away. From a 2022 column, some thoughts about a solution to this long discussed problem. georgetownfootball.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-case-for-patriot-football-conference.htmlMillions of dollars of losses in men's basketball? I thought joining the Big East was all candy canes and eggnog. Thanks for the informative analysis.
|
|
|
Post by longsuffering on Nov 29, 2023 13:12:17 GMT -5
I think that one thing that is important for all of us to realize...this is getting to be more and more about individual schools now and their commitment to D1 athletics....demonstrated through revenue generation, funding and facilities upgrades. Conference membership only gets you so far....individual schools truly determine their path forward. Good point Jeff. Do you think some of the league and division hopping is from schools looking for a short-cut to the expense and effort of on-going commitment to D-1 athletics?
|
|