Quote:Dropping FCS opponents — what Delany termed an “athletic directors agreement” among member institutions — might be a gradual process: Eight programs face FCS teams in 2016, for example, while others have future dates set up with members of the FCS. Iowa has a matchup scheduled with in-state FCS member Northern Iowa in 2018.

Removing FCS teams also raises the league’s overall level of competition, Delany said, which in turn increases the value of the game-day experience. Even as Big Ten home games drew more than 6 million fans in 2014, dwindling attendance has been a topic of crucial concern among FBS commissioners and administrators.

“As we were looking at our future, there are challenges around the game-day experience,” he said. “So I think better competition draws the fans more. I think if you asked players, they don’t like practice very often but they love games. They love big games. So I think it’s partly (for the) player and fan and television.

“Everybody knows a major intersectional opponent on the road is more difficult, but it can swing both ways. We would have loved to win the game at Oregon and we would have loved to have beaten LSU, but playing those games is important. Whether you win it or you lose, it’s a great gauge, it’s a great measurement. And I think it’s what this is about: playing big games on big stages gets the juices going and flowing.”

But the Big Ten’s new criteria is influenced most heavily by the impact of the College Football Playoff, and specifically in how the 13-member selection committee culls through relevant data and metrics to select its four participants.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nca...Xec9HmQ5OQ