(04-27-2016 12:14 AM)Wedge Wrote:  

(04-26-2016 10:21 PM)bullet Wrote:  FBS requires more sports than merely being in Division I. They can get to the minimum and focus more on basketball and the remaining sports.

That's the point. Look at the difference between EMU's current athletic budget and the athletic budgets of nearby D-I schools without football, like Horizon League schools.

EMU's athletic budget is about $34 million/year per the USA Today database. The median Horizon member's athletic budget is about $14 million/year. The difference between EMU being an FBS program with an essentially invisible football team and being a D-I program with no football team is $20 million/year. They're spending $20 million/year of their students' money just to call themselves "FBS" instead of "Division I".

Most of the math used to justify FBS is shakey.

Let's consider the difference in 85 scholarship FBS football players vs. Division II football. I don't want to look up EMU costs so let's say a full ride is $18,000 a year and $2,000 in COA for $20,000.

If EMU has a roster of 105 which is the max, the scholarship and COA cost will be $1.7 million. Tuition and fees from walk-ons will produce $360,000.

In Division II assuming a roster of 80. Maximum of 36 full rides divided with no COA. Cost $648,000. Tuition and fees received $792,000. The partial ride and walk on players essentially subsidize the scholarships with over $140,000 left over.

Salary costs will fall with a small staff and salaries can be significantly lower easily offsetting much of the FBS revenue.

If EMU football went to the Pioneer League in football. Scholarships charged to athletics $0, assuming a roster of 70, tuition and fees paid to the school $1.26 million. Again a smaller staff (FCS permits one fewer coach) and lower salaries for the staff hired.

EMU currently sponsors 21 sports, with football non-scholarship in FCS, EMU could drop down to as few as 14 sports. In Division II could drop as low as 10 sports.

When you see articles saying conference X members received $$$ in revenue, that's generally BS as well unless based on the actual distribution to the schools minus the dues paid to the conference. Who cares if you get $3 million in conference distribution in Conference X if the dues are $1.5 million and Conference Y distributes $2 million and assesses dues of $500,000 the net is the same but the cost of operation of the league is rarely factored in.

Even if the net ended up the same any change means EMU is no longer the butt of the "doesn't belong" conversation, no more articles detailing the cost of being FBS and no more why won't the NCAA stop the attendance sham.