The Division I Council adopted new membership requirements for Football Bowl Subdivision schools and also the cost to transition into the FBS.
The football attendance requirement at FBS schools has been eliminated and replaced with a scholarship requirement. And a hefty increase in the fee to transition from FCS to FBS has been implemented.
The fee to transition from FCS to FBS has increased from $5,000 to $5 million, effective immediately.
Schools already transitioning to the FBS right now, like Kennesaw State, are not impacted. But any school starting the FBS transition from this point forward would see this fee change. It certainly could change the mind of some, but not all, institutions on making the jump. Of course, a conference invite first has to be presented. For some FCS programs if given an invite, finding the $5M would not be a roadblock.
It also sends a message that the FBS wants its subdivision to be tougher to get into, as many believe the FBS is too big already. And it provides a little more stability for the FCS. Keep in mind that the council that passed this is not the NCAA, but a membership board made up of school and conference administrators representing every D1 conference.
The FBS attendance requirement has been replaced with a scholarship requirement.
All FBS schools are required to provide 90% of the total number of allowable scholarships over a two-year rolling period across at least 16 sports, including football. Schools are required to offer at least 210 scholarships each year, amounting to no less than $6 million in athletics scholarships offered.
These requirements would take effect Aug. 1, 2027, for existing FBS members and for schools already transitioning to FBS membership. Moving forward, for schools applying to transition to FBS beginning in 2024-25 and thereafter, the requirements would have to be met by the end of the two-year transition process.
FBS schools previously had to meet minimum attendance requirements (average 15,000 people in actual or paid attendance per home game), which had to be met once in a rolling two-year period.
