(02-21-2017 09:48 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  Just to give a rough idea.

Start with the assumption that each scholarship costs $20,000 with full cost of attendance.

Adding the required scholarships to go from FCS to FBS plus complying with Title IX means $880,000 more every year and that assumes that is all you need to get to 200 rides. Many FCS aren't giving out all the allowed rides in sports other than football and men's and women's basketball.

You will add at least one assistant for football and path appears cleared for a 10th FBS assistant. Paying those two assistants at bottom of scale, with taxes and benefits, you add roughly $150,000.

Add one sport (to absorb the extra women's scholarship), presumably something with low equipment and travel costs, and a single coach, add another $200,000 scrapping the bottom.

Beefing up the recruiting a minimal amount just to stay moderately competitive (you've got to travel more to see more kids and bring more in on visits) and recruiting costs for the new sport, call it another $150,000.

Salaries are going to have to beef up at most any FCS, let's do it marginally and toss another $400,000 in the pot for head coach and top assistants.

So you are looking at $1.8 million more a year. Scrimping let's call it $1.5 million.

OK you can sign a P5 game for around $1.2 million but as an FCS you were getting around $400,000 for that game so you've only gained $800,000 more. Basically you need two P5 road trips to cover the costs to break even.

Problem is you are no longer going home/home with FCS and want a winnable game so you might find a regional FCS to play single shot for $200,000. Even with two P5 opponents you are at best where you started financially after buying a game and you've likely tacked an extra loss on to your results which may impact your ticket sales.

This is assuming you need no facility upgrades and no debt service for those upgrades.

Not quibbling with your numbers but adding one more -- at Idaho athletic contributions are already down $873K year-over-year and we haven't even made the drop yet. It's reasonable to believe that at some places boosters can be more motivated by the idea of FBS football, just as they are being turned off by a drop to FCS.

Also, tacking on an extra loss to a P5 may impact your ticket sales negatively, but I bet bringing bigger-name schools to your stadium would more than offset that.