(12-29-2017 09:02 AM)Ohio Poly Wrote: Does FCS not get good crowds and TV audience for the playoff games? If you eliminated the playoff and went to a system of FCS bowl games, would interest/attendance/viewership be better or worse?
Most crowds or fans are not interested in seeing schools from the NEC, SWAC, Pioneer, Patriot, Big South, MEAC and some smaller weak conferences in the playoffs. If the G5 gets a playoffs? you would see a lot of the top FCS conferences want to leave the weaklings behind. The crowd will pick up for the playoffs then for the FCS schools.
P5 + AAc and MWC are the top tier of FBS.
C-USA, MAC, SBC, Big Sky, MVFC, CAA, Southern, OVC, Southland are the FBS tier 2 conferences.
NEC, Big South. half of MEAC, Fordham, some SWAC, GSC, GAC, Lone Star, GNAC, RMAC, The Minnesota schools, the Michigan schools, NW Missouri State, Central oklahoma, Shepherd, University of Charleston would be the top FCS level type schools.
MEAC, Pioneer, Patriot, IVY, SWAC, D2 HBCU conferences and several D3 schools would be the tier 2 FCS strength.
The issue is that You do have the same type interest crowds of Tier 1 FCS and the top D2 schools have a common bound and could work better.
The lower FCS schools are more like the D2 lower schools and most of D3 for non=scholarship. I read a comment from a Birmingham-Southern fan that they should not dropped down to D3 just to play football, but to stay in D1's A-SUN and play Pioneer League football. They would have Stetson and jacksonville close by to play.
This is how I view the D1, D2 and D3 should break down. Imagine if University of Chicago, U. Washington-Missouri, Johns Hopkins, Case western and some others stayed in D1 or be in D1 today? They would play all other sports against some of the like minded schools like the Big 10 in all sports but football. Washington-Missouri might have been picked to join the Big 10 over Missouri. Saint Louis is a larger tv market.