At what point will the FBS become so large that the upper half will want to break away. I'm not talking about P5 breaking away but with CUSA looking like it will need some FCS call ups I am curious where that FBS line is. It happened when IA/IAA was created so why couldn't it happen again.

My topic got me curious on the number of teams in 1978.

1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Teams: 43
1978 NCAA Division I-A Football Teams: 138

(10-22-2021 08:42 AM)Curtisc83 Wrote:  At what point will the FBS become so large that the upper half will want to break away. I'm not talking about P5 breaking away but with CUSA looking like it will need some FCS call ups I am curious where that FBS line is. It happened when IA/IAA was created so why couldn't it happen again.

I could see that happened back in the 1930s to split, but not in today's climate as travel, place to stay and food prices have gone up which became too expensive even for the larger programs.

If CUSA folds, I don't see this happening at all. There would only be 9 FBS conferences -- 4 to supply the P5 with buy games.

If what Huggins from WVU spoke about (P5 basketball having their own tournament) happens, that would do it. NCAA Basketball Tournament is what feeds the NCAA budget and relevance.

I have been working on a theory that we might see a bigger FBS but smaller D1. All FBS conferences go to somewhere between 12-16 teams. The bigger pure basketball conferences (A-10, Big East, etc.) will remain D1 but the smaller conferences/FCS conferences drop to D2. Then I think stabilize for a bit. I think we have a long while before the P5 truly breaks off.

(10-22-2021 08:53 AM)Curtisc83 Wrote:  My topic got me curious on the number of teams in 1978.

1978 NCAA Division I-AA Football Teams: 43
1978 NCAA Division I-A Football Teams: 138

And then they knocked down 45 or so schools in 1982.

It's about money so it was always gonna happen it is just a matter of when and who leaves with the split. 5 conferences of 16 basically 10 divisions of 8. Each conference has a championship game each champion plays in a tournament.
And best of all, All the money is split 5 ways between 80 teams.
No more sugar teat for the g5. Just buy games .. maybe.

Your seeing the beginning of this now.

(10-22-2021 10:37 AM)jhjhanaway Wrote:  I have been working on a theory that we might see a bigger FBS but smaller D1. All FBS conferences go to somewhere between 12-16 teams. The bigger pure basketball conferences (A-10, Big East, etc.) will remain D1 but the smaller conferences/FCS conferences drop to D2. Then I think stabilize for a bit. I think we have a long while before the P5 truly breaks off.

The problem is we have to look at which schools that have potential to stay D1 and ones not. I would have a public school needs to be 7000 + to stay D1 and 5000 + private schools. The exceptions would be for the military schools. 21 public and 46 private schools missed the cut. Only 1 FBS school would be demoted to D2.

1 AAC Tulsa
9 Big South
5 MEAC
1 OVC
2 Southland
7 SWAC
1 WAC Chicago State
3 Ivy
4 NEC
4 Patriot
1 Big East
1 CAA
4 ASUN
2 SoCon
3 A 10
1 Horizon
7 MAAC
4 MVC
1 Summit
2 WCC

Big names we lose?
Winthrop
Grambling State
Tulsa
Charleston Southern
Brown
Dartmouth
Princeton
Bucknell
Providence
Davidson
Drake
Valparaiso
Furman
Wofford
Bethune Cookman
Richmond
Manhattan
Niagara
Rider
Siena
Evansville
Oral Roberts
St. Mary's


Central Oklahoma could move up.