The FCS Daily Dose is a blog-style article series featuring an assortment of news, rumblings, quick-hitters, and commentary on various topics. A new Daily Dose will publish multiple times a week to keep the FCS discussion going throughout the long offseason.
For March 20, 2024, let’s talk about…
WKU’s Decision Or Non-Decision Will Impact FCS-to-FBS Realignment
The realignment wheels never seem to stop spinning.
And some more massive dominos may fall as Clemson joined Florida State as the second school to sue the ACC as it seeks to exit the conference.
But in the shorter term and in the FCS-to-FBS realignment realm, eyes are on what the MAC and CUSA do next. More specifically, what Western Kentucky decides to do.
When UMass accepted an invite to join the MAC in late February, it created a wave of reactions, including in the FCS. UMass was thought to be a prime candidate to join CUSA as its 12th and potentially final member. If so, that would have stopped FCS-to-FBS movement for the time being. CUSA has recently added FCS members Jacksonville State, Sam Houston, Kennesaw State, and Delaware.
With UMass joining the MAC instead, it creates conversation on who the 12th CUSA team will be, and if the MAC will want a 14th team.
A pivotal team in this is current CUSA member Western Kentucky.
The Toledo Blade’s Kyle Rowland reported there is mutual interest between the MAC and WKU.
In 2021, WKU and Middle Tennessee were MAC targets until Middle Tennessee decided it wanted to stay put in CUSA. Now, the MAC would only need one of those teams.
The Bowling Green Daily News reported that “This time around, WKU is in much more stable shape and probably not perched at the train station with its MAC bags packed. A source close to the athletic administration verified that – not that WKU isn’t interested – but the university is just not clamoring for a relocation as it was during the near disintegration of CUSA, which has rebounded nicely.”
CUSA Targets
If WKU decides to stay in CUSA, expect CUSA to invite one more team to get to 12 members. If WKU leaves, CUSA could either stick at 10 for the time being or add two members.
Potential FCS targets for CUSA could be Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Missouri State, or Tarleton State. McNeese, SFA, and Austin Peay could also be on the long list of expansion candidates.
The thought is WKU could be a roadblock for in-state EKU to join the same conference. A WKU departure from CUSA may open the door for EKU, who certainly has FBS aspirations. Tarleton State has high FBS aspirations as well. And Missouri State hasn’t been shy talking about the FBS being a part of its future.
Some sections of FCS fans (in the Midwest) will scoff at those teams. None, if we’re being honest, have been nationally relevant in the FCS. Heck, Tarleton is just getting past its reclassification period from D2.
I’ve voiced some frustration over this too.
While I’ve said I’m not going to say an FBS move is a bad decision for a school, I have said that it’s frustrating to see multiple Tier 2, Tier 3, and even Tier 4 FCS teams either move up or be linked in potential FCS-to-FBS moves. My thought is if you have high aspirations for your athletic department and your football team, at least also be aggressive for the time being in putting a strong team on the field in a top-heavy FCS subdivision.
Schools have talked the talk on FBS aspirations, but they haven’t walked the walk on the FCS football field.
I also get there is a counter to that.
For a lot of these football programs, they feel stuck in the FCS mud. They see what the Dakotas and Montanas are doing to compete at an FCS championship level and realize they probably can’t reach that bar. Plus, while no one will say this publically, there isn’t as much ROI pouring money into FCS football in some regions.
Even a proud FCS blueblood like Delaware made the jump. While the Blue Hens like the tradition of the FCS playoffs and the chance to play for a national title, they weren’t exactly close to accomplishing that championship goal in the current FCS landscape anyway. So for these teams stuck behind the top-tier FCS teams and not gaining any ground, they believe an FBS move will be a jolt for their program. It could wake up the fan base, boosters, and alumni who aren’t as intrigued with FCS football.
Is the FCS really fun for these teams anymore? Is making the playoffs every now and then and losing in the first or second round while watching the runaway trains like SDSU, NDSU, Montana, and Montana State play in the title game every season that fun?
It takes a stronger football team to compete for an FCS title than to be bowl-eligible in a G5 conference. Maybe playing in bowl games gets the juices flowing more than early playoff exits. And it’s easier to invest in football more when there is more revenue coming in from the CFP, conference TV deals, and P4 buy games.
So while it’s frustrating to see average FCS programs being linked to the FBS, I get it. Some have asked why teams would want to go FBS when they aren’t even competitive in the FCS. The answer is an FBS jump could boost excitement from fans, donors, sponsors, and recruits for a team that isn’t going anywhere in the FCS anyway and doesn’t have the means to compete at the top of the FCS.
And of course, location is why these programs are in a position to make a potential jump.
Tarleton is pretty interesting.
The general vibe is the school is all in on going FBS. I remember an assistant coach even hashtagged FBS a year or two ago when tweeting about the football facilities.
I don’t know many Tarleton fans, partially because they haven’t been a playoff factor as it transitions from D2. I expect that to change this fall. But as I was ranking Tarleton in my Top 25 ballot late in the 2023 season, one fan reached out and said this about not wanting to go FBS:
“Absolutely not. Look at Sam Houston. Rather be competitive in FCS than a mediocre G5 team. Tarleton alums are used to deep runs in playoffs, that won’t happen in FBS in our lifetime. We also like to keep the motto of the “best kept secret in texas”. We love being a small school for rural kids, a rodeo school. I don’t know a single alum who wants to go to CUSA.”
Interesting.
I’d love to hear more from Tarleton fans and get their take on if an FBS move is wanted or not.
MAC Targets
If WKU decides to join the MAC, the MAC is probably done expanding at 14 members. If WKU does not join the MAC, the MAC is probably done expanding for the time being.
Conferences usually like an even number of teams, but playing with 13 members isn’t abnormal. In fact, the MAC played with 13 teams when UMass was a member in the early-to-mid 2010s.
Matt Brown wrote, “Industry sources have also told me if WKU could not be persuaded, the MAC is unlikely to target an FCS program in the immediate future.”
And he tweeted: “My best guess RIGHT NOW is that they wait if they can’t get WKU. There’s no immediate pressure to do anything or reach on anybody.”
There was some online scuttle about if NDSU could be a target for the MAC. The Bison are overdue for an FBS move, but location has made such an invite hard to get. The MAC is the most regionally friendly.
No smoke is out there regarding an NDSU to the MAC move. That doesn’t mean there aren’t conversations through deniable backchannels happening. But it’s uncertain how much interest the Bison have in the MAC. And there are no indications the MAC is interested in NDSU. In a bus-trip league, expanding east to UMass and then expanding west to NDSU would be out of character.
And two former NDSU football players tell me the MAC wasn’t interested in working with NDSU during the unique 2020 COVID season when the Bison were looking for help to fill out a fall schedule: “To your point on NDSU not getting a MAC invite, NDSU sent out feelers for a one off during the COVID season (2020 with Lance, Radunz, etc) in order to play a season. Calls were made and quickly declined. They’ll never let them in.”
Other Daily Doses
If trends continue from the last two seasons, there will be plenty more transfer portal movement this spring. Plus, the five best HC jobs that were open this offseason. READ MORE
Does transferring to the FBS increase an FCS player’s draft stock? READ MORE
SDSU Athletics keeps on rolling, will the G5 start its own playoff, and Mel Kiper ranks 3 FCS players. READ MORE
