FBS Frequently Asked Questions 2014

http://www.ncaapublications.com/productd...s/D119.pdf
Scroll down to page 388-89 for the FBS stuff.

Attendance. The attendance requirement is now over a rolling two-year period, not every-other-year. I don't know when that changed, but it's the rule now. I have to assume they're going to continue to use the paid attendance numbers, because I don't think anyone expects the turnstile count to be over 15,000.

Scheduling. This is obviously the hard part. 5 home games, 4 FBS home games. And "at least 60%" of games against FBS opponents. 60% of 12 is 7.2, which means 8. But 60% of 11 is 6.6, which means 7.

UConn has home games vs UMass, Indiana and FCS Maine. They have a road game @Illinois. So at the absolute minimum, they need 2 more FBS home games, and 2 more FBS road games, plus 3 more FCS games.

Buying tickets for empty seats and buying FCS opponents is going to be another financial drain.

Was not aware that you could play up to four FCS opponents a year and remain FBS. This sounds like a joke, but that legitimately makes digging out of the 2020 hole easier than I thought it would be.

2020 will be a challenge.

NMSU is full
Liberty is full
BYU is full

Army needs one game

(06-26-2019 12:20 PM)Bogg Wrote:  Was not aware that you could play up to four FCS opponents a year and remain FBS. This sounds like a joke, but that legitimately makes digging out of the 2020 hole easier than I thought it would be.

Nobody does it, because it means you have to win 5 out of 8 FBS games to be bowl-eligible. And you're asking your fans to buy tickets to 4 FCS games. But UConn isn't worried about bowl eligibility at this point, so...

(06-26-2019 12:24 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 12:20 PM)Bogg Wrote:  Was not aware that you could play up to four FCS opponents a year and remain FBS. This sounds like a joke, but that legitimately makes digging out of the 2020 hole easier than I thought it would be.

Nobody does it, because it means you have to win 5 out of 8 FBS games to be bowl-eligible. And you're asking your fans to buy tickets to 4 FCS games. But UConn isn't worried about bowl eligibility at this point, so...

I imagine it won't actually come to this (they may schedule two FCS teams), just nice to know it's there in a "break glass in case of emergency" sense.

(06-26-2019 12:09 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  FBS Frequently Asked Questions 2014

http://www.ncaapublications.com/productd...s/D119.pdf
Scroll down to page 388-89 for the FBS stuff.

Attendance. The attendance requirement is now over a rolling two-year period, not every-other-year. I don't know when that changed, but it's the rule now. I have to assume they're going to continue to use the paid attendance numbers, because I don't think anyone expects the turnstile count to be over 15,000.

Scheduling. This is obviously the hard part. 5 home games, 4 FBS home games. And "at least 60%" of games against FBS opponents. 60% of 12 is 7.2, which means 8. But 60% of 11 is 6.6, which means 7.

UConn has home games vs UMass, Indiana and FCS Maine. They have a road game @Illinois. So at the absolute minimum, they need 2 more FBS home games, and 2 more FBS road games, plus 3 more FCS games.

Buying tickets for empty seats and buying FCS opponents is going to be another financial drain.

The idea of dropping to 11 games would make a lot of sense under these rules. This would give them 8 home games, 4 FBS and 4 FCS, with only 3 road games.

The discussions about the move have all focused on 2020-21. With the 27 month notice requirement, it may also make sense to actually give the 27 months notice, which would put the scheduled move out to 2021-22. UConn could then negotiate to get its programs other than football into the Big East for 2020-21 but leave its football program in the AAC for that conference.

(06-26-2019 12:20 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  2020 will be a challenge.

NMSU is full
Liberty is full
BYU is full

Army needs one game

As mentioned in another thread, one thing UConn can try is talk to NMSU@UMass or UMass@Liberty whether they would be willing to split that game up and let UConn take both sides ... that is, eg, UMass at UConn, UConn@Liberty, or else NMSU@UConn, UConn@UMass. That gets one FBS home game and two FBS contests in one deal.

(06-26-2019 12:39 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 12:20 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  2020 will be a challenge.

NMSU is full
Liberty is full
BYU is full

Army needs one game

As mentioned in another thread, one thing UConn can try is talk to NMSU@UMass or UMass@Liberty whether they would be willing to split that game up and let UConn take both sides ... that is, eg, UMass at UConn, UConn@Liberty, or else NMSU@UConn, UConn@UMass. That gets one FBS home game and two FBS contests in one deal.

What hasn't been talked about is that if the AAC does not add a new member, they could still play the AAC teams that they would have played as in conference games.

Also, NMSU plays at Hawaii in 2020, so they have room to add UConn easily, as long as a date can be agreed upon.

(06-26-2019 01:02 PM)NotANewbie Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 12:39 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 12:20 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  2020 will be a challenge.

NMSU is full
Liberty is full
BYU is full

Army needs one game

As mentioned in another thread, one thing UConn can try is talk to NMSU@UMass or UMass@Liberty whether they would be willing to split that game up and let UConn take both sides ... that is, eg, UMass at UConn, UConn@Liberty, or else NMSU@UConn, UConn@UMass. That gets one FBS home game and two FBS contests in one deal.

What hasn't been talked about is that if the AAC does not add a new member, they could still play the AAC teams that they would have played as in conference games.

Also, NMSU plays at Hawaii in 2020, so they have room to add UConn easily, as long as a date can be agreed upon.

That might be the most expedient solution of all: UConn maintains their conference schedule for 2020 as a phantom member, but it's an OOC game for all parties. That gives UConn a chance to focus on building a legitimate indy schedule or finding a conference home, and if the AAC wants a 12th team, it gives them another year to figure out their next move.

EDIT: No clue if this is doable, but you could theoretically have UConn games still count in conference standings for AAC teams while not UConn is still an independent. It may not even permissible by NCAA rules, but the AAC is going to need a waiver of some sort for that season anyway, so they might consider floating this one by to see if they bite. Not sure if UConn wants to act like an AAC football member without getting the money for it, but perhaps a reduced payment can be negotiated and if nothing else, filling a schedule with eight games spoken for beats the piss out of trying to create one from whole cloth at this late date.

(06-26-2019 01:06 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 01:02 PM)NotANewbie Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 12:39 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 12:20 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  2020 will be a challenge.

NMSU is full
Liberty is full
BYU is full

Army needs one game

As mentioned in another thread, one thing UConn can try is talk to NMSU@UMass or UMass@Liberty whether they would be willing to split that game up and let UConn take both sides ... that is, eg, UMass at UConn, UConn@Liberty, or else NMSU@UConn, UConn@UMass. That gets one FBS home game and two FBS contests in one deal.

What hasn't been talked about is that if the AAC does not add a new member, they could still play the AAC teams that they would have played as in conference games.

Also, NMSU plays at Hawaii in 2020, so they have room to add UConn easily, as long as a date can be agreed upon.

That might be the most expedient solution of all: UConn maintains their conference schedule for 2020 as a phantom member, but it's an OOC game for all parties. That gives UConn a chance to focus on building a legitimate indy schedule or finding a conference home, and if the AAC wants a 12th team, it gives them another year to figure out their next move.

EDIT: No clue if this is doable, but you could theoretically have UConn games still count in conference standings for AAC teams while not UConn is still an independent. It may not even permissible by NCAA rules,

At that point, just sign them as a "Football Affiliate" for a one year contract, if the AAC can't get a waiver for a CCG with 11 teams, and wants time to figure out who to add. They'd be eligible for an AAC bowl, but that's a remote possibility anyway.

Quote: but the AAC is going to need a waiver of some sort for that season anyway, so they might consider floating this one by to see if they bite. Not sure if UConn wants to act like an AAC football member without getting the money for it, but perhaps a reduced payment can be negotiated and if nothing else, filling a schedule with eight games spoken for beats the piss out of trying to create one from whole cloth at this late date.

Is the AAC inclined to do UConn that favor though?
If they get a waiver for the CCG rules for 2020, they could just play each other more often instead of UConn--with 11 teams and an 8 game schedule, you can fill the hole pretty easily. I actually spent 10 minutes moving the pieces around, but then I deleted the post like a dummy. Two teams in teh West wouldn't play each other.

(06-26-2019 01:19 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 01:06 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  That might be the most expedient solution of all: UConn maintains their conference schedule for 2020 as a phantom member, but it's an OOC game for all parties. That gives UConn a chance to focus on building a legitimate indy schedule or finding a conference home, and if the AAC wants a 12th team, it gives them another year to figure out their next move.

EDIT: No clue if this is doable, but you could theoretically have UConn games still count in conference standings for AAC teams while not UConn is still an independent. It may not even permissible by NCAA rules,

At that point, just sign them as a "Football Affiliate" for a one year contract, if the AAC can't get a waiver for a CCG with 11 teams, and wants time to figure out who to add. They'd be eligible for an AAC bowl, but that's a remote possibility anyway.

I thought about that too; the two potential hangups would be a) what, if anything, do they pay UConn for being an affiliate (I'm guessing they don't get the Navy deal), and b) would they rather make the point that UConn really is outta here and doesn't let them have access to their bowls in '20 as a show of force?

Quote: but the AAC is going to need a waiver of some sort for that season anyway, so they might consider floating this one by to see if they bite. Not sure if UConn wants to act like an AAC football member without getting the money for it, but perhaps a reduced payment can be negotiated and if nothing else, filling a schedule with eight games spoken for beats the piss out of trying to create one from whole cloth at this late date.

Is the AAC inclined to do UConn that favor though?
If they get a waiver for the CCG rules for 2020, they could just play each other more often instead of UConn--with 11 teams and an 8 game schedule, you can fill the hole pretty easily. I actually spent 10 minutes moving the pieces around, but then I deleted the post like a dummy. Two teams in teh West wouldn't play each other.
[/quote]

I can't tell and maybe I'm not looking in the right places, but is this the start of a scheduling cycle for the AAC? If so, then allowing UConn to keep its place in the schedule next season (whether as an affiliate or a phantom member) makes scheduling a lot simpler and avoids the possibility of having teams go on the road to the same opponent two straight years. It might be worth that just to get UConn football out of their hair, but maybe it isn't.

I think UConn plays an AAC schedule in 2020, either as a football only member or as a phantom member playing AAC schools.

For 2021, they have Holy Cross, Purdue, @Umass, @Clemson

They should buy out that Holy Cross game (or move it to November) and try and get an FBS team to come to Storrs. Army and Liberty are full. NMSU has openings 10/23 and 10/30, so would be a perfect fit. Umass they could probably do a home/home with. It's going to be tough but there are options.

(06-26-2019 01:28 PM)Gamecock Wrote:  I think UConn plays an AAC schedule in 2020, either as a football only member or as a phantom member playing AAC schools.

For 2021, they have Holy Cross, Purdue, @Umass, @Clemson

They should buy out that Holy Cross game (or move it to November) and try and get an FBS team to come to Storrs. Army and Liberty are full. NMSU has openings 10/23 and 10/30, so would be a perfect fit. Umass they could probably do a home/home with. It's going to be tough but there are options.

UConn has stated no one has an open game.

Looking at Army on FBSchedules.com, you are correct about 2021, but it appears Army has an open date in 2020.

I tried to look at every school in FBS. Arkansas, TCU, FIU, ULL and UCF all appear to have two open dates, and Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Coastal Carolina, ULL, ODU, Southern Miss, UAB, Air Force, SMU and Louisiana Tech all appear to have open dates, most of which may be reserved for FCS opponents.

Perhaps some of these schools have agreements they have not announced yet, but I would sure be calling them right away.

UCF has two non conference openings in 2020. Maybe the Civil ConFLiCT will love to see another day!

(06-26-2019 01:02 PM)NotANewbie Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 12:39 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  As mentioned in another thread, one thing UConn can try is talk to NMSU@UMass or UMass@Liberty whether they would be willing to split that game up and let UConn take both sides ... that is, eg, UMass at UConn, UConn@Liberty, or else NMSU@UConn, UConn@UMass. That gets one FBS home game and two FBS contests in one deal.

What hasn't been talked about is that if the AAC does not add a new member, they could still play the AAC teams that they would have played as in conference games.

Also, NMSU plays at Hawaii in 2020, so they have room to add UConn easily, as long as a date can be agreed upon.

UConn will probably use some of all 3 of those strategies.

NMSU might be willing to start a series by playing a 13th game vs. UConn in 2020 because both teams are going to need home games in future seasons.

Other FBS teams playing at Hawai'i in 2020 might be open to playing UConn as a 13th game. Hawai'i already has 13 scheduled for 2020, but in addition to NMSU, UCLA, Boise State, Nevada, and UNLV would have an opening if they want to play 13 games in 2020.

Another thing that should help: UConn and the other indies have an "extra" week to work with when scheduling each other, because they can play during CCG week.

(06-26-2019 01:26 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 01:19 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  At that point, just sign them as a "Football Affiliate" for a one year contract, if the AAC can't get a waiver for a CCG with 11 teams, and wants time to figure out who to add. They'd be eligible for an AAC bowl, but that's a remote possibility anyway.

I thought about that too; the two potential hangups would be a) what, if anything, do they pay UConn for being an affiliate (I'm guessing they don't get the Navy deal),

Either "nothing, screw you UConn" or 70% or 75% of a share. The NAvy deal is complicated--I don't think it's a straight 75%. Navy brings in a Notre Dame game every other year, there's a deal with CBS-SN, lotta moving parts.

Quote: and b) would they rather make the point that UConn really is outta here and doesn't let them have access to their bowls in '20 as a show of force?

In that case, just let UConn go indy and watch them flounder. UConn's bowl access in 2020 is not a big issue for anybody. They'd be the last AAC team sent to a bowl, if they somehow win 6 games.

Quote: but the AAC is going to need a waiver of some sort for that season anyway, so they might consider floating this one by to see if they bite. Not sure if UConn wants to act like an AAC football member without getting the money for it, but perhaps a reduced payment can be negotiated and if nothing else, filling a schedule with eight games spoken for beats the piss out of trying to create one from whole cloth at this late date.

Is the AAC inclined to do UConn that favor though?
If they get a waiver for the CCG rules for 2020, they could just play each other more often instead of UConn--with 11 teams and an 8 game schedule, you can fill the hole pretty easily. I actually spent 10 minutes moving the pieces around, but then I deleted the post like a dummy. Two teams in teh West wouldn't play each other.
[/quote]

I can't tell and maybe I'm not looking in the right places, but is this the start of a scheduling cycle for the AAC? If so, then allowing UConn to keep its place in the schedule next season (whether as an affiliate or a phantom member) makes scheduling a lot simpler and avoids the possibility of having teams go on the road to the same opponent two straight years. It might be worth that just to get UConn football out of their hair, but maybe it isn't.
[/quote]

I think the AAC fans would rather do the "same opponent twice in a row" thing than deal with UConn. Especially now that they've been insulted.

(06-26-2019 01:40 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 01:26 PM)Cyniclone Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 01:19 PM)johnbragg Wrote:  At that point, just sign them as a "Football Affiliate" for a one year contract, if the AAC can't get a waiver for a CCG with 11 teams, and wants time to figure out who to add. They'd be eligible for an AAC bowl, but that's a remote possibility anyway.

I thought about that too; the two potential hangups would be a) what, if anything, do they pay UConn for being an affiliate (I'm guessing they don't get the Navy deal),

Either "nothing, screw you UConn" or 70% or 75% of a share. The NAvy deal is complicated--I don't think it's a straight 75%. Navy brings in a Notre Dame game every other year, there's a deal with CBS-SN, lotta moving parts.

Quote: and b) would they rather make the point that UConn really is outta here and doesn't let them have access to their bowls in '20 as a show of force?

In that case, just let UConn go indy and watch them flounder. UConn's bowl access in 2020 is not a big issue for anybody. They'd be the last AAC team sent to a bowl, if they somehow win 6 games.

Quote: but the AAC is going to need a waiver of some sort for that season anyway, so they might consider floating this one by to see if they bite. Not sure if UConn wants to act like an AAC football member without getting the money for it, but perhaps a reduced payment can be negotiated and if nothing else, filling a schedule with eight games spoken for beats the piss out of trying to create one from whole cloth at this late date.

Is the AAC inclined to do UConn that favor though?
If they get a waiver for the CCG rules for 2020, they could just play each other more often instead of UConn--with 11 teams and an 8 game schedule, you can fill the hole pretty easily. I actually spent 10 minutes moving the pieces around, but then I deleted the post like a dummy. Two teams in teh West wouldn't play each other.

I can't tell and maybe I'm not looking in the right places, but is this the start of a scheduling cycle for the AAC? If so, then allowing UConn to keep its place in the schedule next season (whether as an affiliate or a phantom member) makes scheduling a lot simpler and avoids the possibility of having teams go on the road to the same opponent two straight years. It might be worth that just to get UConn football out of their hair, but maybe it isn't.
[/quote]

I think the AAC fans would rather do the "same opponent twice in a row" thing than deal with UConn. Especially now that they've been insulted.
[/quote]

I believe 2020 is the last year of the AAC's four year cycle. I'm not sure whether there's any magic to that though.

(06-26-2019 01:39 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 01:02 PM)NotANewbie Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 12:39 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  As mentioned in another thread, one thing UConn can try is talk to NMSU@UMass or UMass@Liberty whether they would be willing to split that game up and let UConn take both sides ... that is, eg, UMass at UConn, UConn@Liberty, or else NMSU@UConn, UConn@UMass. That gets one FBS home game and two FBS contests in one deal.

What hasn't been talked about is that if the AAC does not add a new member, they could still play the AAC teams that they would have played as in conference games.

Also, NMSU plays at Hawaii in 2020, so they have room to add UConn easily, as long as a date can be agreed upon.

UConn will probably use some of all 3 of those strategies.

NMSU might be willing to start a series by playing a 13th game vs. UConn in 2020 because both teams are going to need home games in future seasons.

Other FBS teams playing at Hawai'i in 2020 might be open to playing UConn as a 13th game. Hawai'i already has 13 scheduled for 2020, but in addition to NMSU, UCLA, Boise State, Nevada, and UNLV would have an opening if they want to play 13 games in 2020.

ODU has UVA, Wake and @ UNC so it's assumed we would pick up an FCS game. But that would give us 7 home games so we could probably be persuaded to travel to Storrs.

Quote:

Quote:I think the AAC fans would rather do the "same opponent twice in a row" thing than deal with UConn. Especially now that they've been insulted.

I believe 2020 is the last year of the AAC's four year cycle. I'm not sure whether there's any magic to that though.

I did a 10-minute back-of-the-napkin based on FBSchedules, and I only got 1 repeat game out of the 5 new games. (SMU @ USF 2020, which is a repeat of 2019.)

I don't know what would happen in years after 2021, but by then the AAC has an answer on whether they need to go to 12 for their CCG, whether they have to keep 6-5 divisions, etc.

(06-26-2019 01:32 PM)orangefan Wrote:  

(06-26-2019 01:28 PM)Gamecock Wrote:  I think UConn plays an AAC schedule in 2020, either as a football only member or as a phantom member playing AAC schools.

For 2021, they have Holy Cross, Purdue, @Umass, @Clemson

They should buy out that Holy Cross game (or move it to November) and try and get an FBS team to come to Storrs. Army and Liberty are full. NMSU has openings 10/23 and 10/30, so would be a perfect fit. Umass they could probably do a home/home with. It's going to be tough but there are options.

UConn has stated no one has an open game.

Looking at Army on FBSchedules.com, you are correct about 2021, but it appears Army has an open date in 2020.

I tried to look at every school in FBS. Arkansas, TCU, FIU, ULL and UCF all appear to have two open dates, and Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Coastal Carolina, ULL, ODU, Southern Miss, UAB, Air Force, SMU and Louisiana Tech all appear to have open dates, most of which may be reserved for FCS opponents.

Perhaps some of these schools have agreements they have not announced yet, but I would sure be calling them right away.

I imagine many of those are slated for FCS teams. South Carolina for instance technically has an opening, but we are notorious for not announcing FCS games until the last minute and likely already have one lined up.

We might be convinced to take the game but it would definitely be in Columbia and would likely want a home basketball game in return as well.