(02-17-2017 10:55 AM)msm96wolf Wrote:  I know many of you are too young to remember when Independent football was not that uncommon. I actually am for it. I doubt the P5 will have issues with it because it provides more home games for them. I do see why the G5 will hate it, because it harms them more financially. My problem with the G5 argument, the is unfair for the P5 to make more money but is ok for the G5 to be against FBS independents because it could impact their profit. I a free market person, the market will bear what it wants.

Using the 15K rule for FBS and 2015 attendance. Here are my predictions on next Independents.

1. Montana 7 168,975 24,139 Strong Contender. Really should be in MWC and Replace Hawaii who should go Indy.
2. Jacksonville St. 8 164,781 20,598 Has show strong interest but finance is big question.
3. Yale 4 82,189 20,547 Does anything need to be said?
4. James Madison 7 136,483 19,498 Strong Contender. Really should be in SBC but missed the ship
5. Montana St. 6 115,032 19,172 Strong Contender. Could be start of Big Sky/WAC rehash.
6. Liberty 5 94,950 18,990 Done Deal
7. North Dakota St. 9 166,472 18,497 Should have happened with Libery
8. Southern U. 4 73,239 18,310 Finance is big question. Especially La state finances.
9. Delaware 6 94,954 15,826 Probably most surprising and deserving. Be a great fit with UMASS.
10. South Carolina St. 5 78,147 15,629 With Coastal might be hard
11. Florida A&M 4 60,240 15,060 Florida already FBS overload
12. N.C. A&T 5 74,940 14,988 NC already FBS overload doubt there is room for 8th FBS team
13. Youngstown St. 6 89,125 14,854 Similar to Delaware and is a football town. Very Marshall type program.

I don't think that many schools will follow LU.

Lets move through them.

1) Montana. Could try for it. But it would be terribly expensive. And they wouldn't get in the MWC. Idaho is committed to moving down. Barring a massive move out of FCS, there will be no FBS WAC or Big Sky.
2) Jacksonville State. Wants to jump. Badly. But they're poor and they're not in an economically or demographically growing area. Small enrollment. And there are THREE P5 programs and FIVE FBS programs within two hours of the school. And all of those schools have better media access than JSU. I don't see them being successful at jumping. Also, their current conference will probably kick them out.
3) Ivy league schools will not be jumping. Period
4) JMU might jump, but seeing as they turned down the Sun Belt, which will probably have better scheduling, will have more money, and will have better bowl access, I don't see them jumping now. Possible, but unlikely.
5) Montana State - See Montana
6) Liberty - They're jumping.
7) NDSU - Could jump. Probably the best team on the table.
8) SWAC teams aren't jumping
9) Delaware appears to be not interested at this time
10) MEAC teams aren't jumping.
13) Possible but its really expensive for them to do so. They would be the EIGHTH FBS program in Ohio.

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Guys, this comes down to money. Without the CFP money, and with the extra (and more expensive) coaches and scholarships involved with moving up, and without a conference or a scheduling alliance of nearby teams, moving to FBS gets really expensive really quickly. And that's before facilities come into play.