(03-08-2022 03:59 AM)TroyTBoy Wrote: (03-08-2022 02:15 AM)Milwaukee Wrote: Villanova has ruled out a move to FBS
Actually, Villanova did try to join the OBE/AAC football schools when Marinatto and Aresco were backfilling Pitt and Cuse but Temple blocked them from using Lincoln Financial Field.
So Villanova tried to make the jump using the Philadelphia Union's stadium but that was rejected.
That is a
very different version of the history of what happened than the one I am familiar with, and I have followed Philadelphia sports fairly closely.
You got the first and last parts of the story right: The Big East definitely did try to persuade Villanova to upgrade to FBS so that they could join the conference as an all-sports member.
However,
Temple did not "block" Villanova from using Lincoln Financial Field ("the Linc"):
1.
Temple couldn't have possibly "blocked" Villanova from using the Linc, because all Temple has is a rental agreement to play 6 home games at the Linc per season. The only authorities that could have blocked Villanova would have been the Philadelphia Eagles or the City of Philadelphia.
2.
The reason Villanova didn't see the Linc as being a viable home field is that, because Temple already had a pre-existing contract to play at the Linc., Villanova would have had to schedule their games around both the Eagles and the Temple Owls's schedules.
---It's possible that some Villanova fans might have blamed Temple for "blocking" them from playing in the Linc., but Temple simply had a pre-existing agreement with the Eagles to play their games at the Linc. Thus, Temple never tried to "block" Villanova from playing any of their games there.
---
Notably, the Eagles' owner, Jeff Lurie, has made it abundantly evident that he is extremely reluctant to have any college teams, including Temple, playing on his NFL team's home field. This fact may have further discouraged Villanova from trying to play any home games there.
3. Villanova could, however, have chosen to schedule some FBS games at the Linc., some at the University of Pennsylvania's (FCS) Franklin Field (capacity>40,000; former home of the Eagles).
4. Thus, Villanova definitely could have transitioned to FBS, and they still could, but they have chosen not to. They could have played some games at the Linc, some at Penn's Franklin Field, and some at the Philadelphia Union's field or the Philadelphia Phillies baseball Stadium.
5.
The real reason why Villanova decided not to make the transition to FBS is that the cost of doing so would have been excessive, since the Big East football schools didn't receive sufficient revenue to make it possible for Villanova to pay all the necessary costs to support an FBS team.
6. Attendance: Villanova's FCS attendance has only tended to range between 5,000 and 13,000 per game. For example, in 2021, their attendance ranged between 3,401 (playoff game vs. S. Dakota State) and 12,001 per game. Even if they could double that level of attendance, their average attendance would only range from 7,000 to 24,000 per game.
Villanova could make the transition to FBS at any time, but they have chosen not to do so, because the cost of doing so would be prohibitive, given their current levels of attendance and fan support.
The false impression that Temple "blocked" Villanova may easily have resulted from the fact that, with Temple already having their home games scheduled there, Villanova would have had to work around both the Eagles and Owls' schedules, which would have caused some blockage, even though Temple's scheduling was in no way designed to "block" Villanova, nor could it have been.
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Can the NBE start FBS Football, as 1 pod in a (WAC-inspired) 16-team CUSA?
