Interesting Article about Div. 1-A v. Div. 1-AA

[MrMustang1965]

Worth the time to read - MM65
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I-AA supporters, it’s over.



The move to stabilize-and-enhance I-AA football is dead. Sorry, Cedric, but to paraphrase John Blutarksy, there go seven years of effort, down the drain.



Legitimate, robust standards for I-A institutions are simply not going to happen. The NCAA Division I Board of Directors has made clear their intent through several recent and in-progress actions.



In lieu of I-AA enhancements, the Board has enacted legislation better characterized as I-A appeasements. A few years hence, they will become known as I-A inducements, at least for a significant percentage of those who currently occupy the upper echelon of I-AA football.



It is now clear that the Board’s desire to avoid sentencing even a single I-A program to involuntary reclassification has driven its legislative agenda concerning I-A and I-AA football.



The problem is that this short-term appeasement of non-BCS I-A programs will lead to more tumult in Division I football. While ensuring that San Jose State and Buffalo retain their I-A status, the Board has created an environment that will further destabilize I-AA, and lure more programs to I-A.



The Board’s collective actions have lowered the price for participating in the NCAA’s top subclassification, while providing top I-AA’s little incentive to remain in I-AA.



Actions intended to improve I-AA and other proposals under consideration are primarily aimed at lifting the majority of I-AA that resides below the ultra-competitive, full-scholarship automatic bid playoff level.



Neither expanding the number of seeded teams in the I-AA tournament (which will happen this fall), nor expanding the tournament field (which is being discussed) serves I-AA powers.





Division I’s New Math



The Board has changed the premise of the I-A feasibility equation. Henceforth, it would be irresponsible for any program running at a full 63 scholarships to not consider upgrading their perceived status and NCAA representative standing, when it only costs a few dollars more.



Had the Board elected to make “I-A” mean something, this would not be the case. However, the Division I football outliers -- once the non-BCS I-A programs -- are now the high-scholarship I-AA programs.



Below them are two Division I groups with a better deal.



The non-football I-AAA’s enjoy cheap Division I membership in all other sports, and they are statistically BETTER represented in NCAA governance issues.



Then there are the I-AA’s fielding football programs on the cheap, with annual operating budgets as low as $500,000, who can claim the same status (in the eyes of 99% of the public and sports media) as the guys who are spending over $3 million annually.



Above them are non-BCS I-A’s, some of whom spend significantly LESS money on athletics, yet who have a higher perceived status and better representation in the NCAA governance structure.



Taken together, these developments clearly indicate that the niche currently occupied by the Georgia Southern’s, JMU’s, Montana’s, Delaware’s, McNeese’s, etc., will soon feel pressure to critically consider their NCAA status.



Top I-AA’s will be forced to decide between upgrading a little to I-A status, or downgrading a little to remain competitive in I-AA, in a fiscally responsible manner.



It won’t happen this year, but absent widespread economic catastrophe or an about-face by the Board, we will soon see another rush on I-A. Western Kentucky will be first, but I-A may swell by as many as two dozen more programs in the coming decade.



Unlike previous I-A migrations, entire conferences will move to I-A in the new environment created by Board actions. The Big Sky and Colonial (nee A-10) could be the first two leagues to make the jump.



Other I-AA leagues are more heterogeneous and could be torn apart by the draw of cheap I-A status. In any event, expect major realignment in I-AA as the effects of the Division I Board’s actions are realized over the next few years…





Do you care about fair?



If (granted, that is a massive “if”) the Division I presidents wanted to support I-AA football, there are some measures they could take. Here’s my Rx…





Postseason scheduling



This year, for the first time in recent seasons, there are no bowl games scheduled until after (Chattanooga, Friday Dec. 16). New Orleans Dec. 20



That’s good, and should be made permanent and official through legislation, along with other measures to promote the Association’s premiere football championship.



NCAA Championship Football Saturday

· Require that bowl season begins at least one day after the I-AA title game

· Move the I-AA championship game back to Saturday evening

o Increases the financial benefits for host city (more hotel room nights)

o Increases time to promote the title game match-up

· Play the Division III and Division II games the same day

· I-AA.com proposed schedule for the third Saturday in every December:

o 12:00 PM Eastern – Division III National Championship game

o 4:00 PM Eastern – Division II National Championship game

o 8:00 PM Eastern – I-AA National Championship game

· Break-out the I-AA FB championship tournament as a separate property for multi-media rights bidding. Stop giving it away and treating the NCAA’s top FB championship as a “throw-in” or broadcast obligation.

· The only objection to an NCAA Championship Football Saturday would likely come from commercial TV interests wishing to pimp more meaningless December college hoops games.



Name Change

· End this absurd exercise, now! It doesn’t matter what you call us, because if the NCAA continues to unfairly limit I-A vs. I-AA play, they will be giving the media everything they need to continue to dismiss I-AA football as inferior by definition.



Twelfth Game

· Privately, real I-AA supporters are incensed that the opportunity to schedule 12 regular-season games was not granted to I-AA. No one is talking publicly about this story, but it reflects just some of the inadequacies with the current NCAA governance structure. When the I-AA members of the Division I Management Council met the week prior to the Board meeting, delegates voted to adopt the 12-game opportunity. Then, by a vote of 3-0, the “I-AA” Board members scuttled the proposal. It is rare that the presidents go against the wishes of their athletics experts, the
AD’s and Commissioners of the MC. That begs a closer look at the I-AA votes cast by both the MC and the Board. In the MC, the 12th game was supported by all the playoff leagues except for two:

o The A-10, which has distinguished itself as myopic and even contrary when it comes to supporting I-AA football and its future. Although the league is currently I-AA’s most competitive in terms of level-of-play, consider the league’s history of kowtowing to I-A member Temple. The A-10’s football members are a mishmash of A-10, CAA, and America East programs. Its core members play football in the Pioneer League, the Mid-American, and the soon-to-be Colonial Athletic Association FB League.

o The Patriot, which seeks Ivy League imagery, but with post-season access for its student-athletes.

o The two other I-AA leagues that voted against the 12th game in I-AA were the Ivy League and the non-scholarship Northeast Conference.

· So, who were the three “I-AA” presidents who voted against the twelfth game? There ain’t a one from a solid playoff conference. Here they are by affiliation:

o Alcorn State president, representing the SWAC – a non-playoff league that is promoting itself primarily on the basis of its cultural heritage, with its current NCAA classification a mere afterthought. Strangely enough, the SWAC’s MC representative, Commissioner Robert Vowells, voted FOR the 12 game a few days earlier.

o Dayton’s president, representing the Atlantic-10. Dayton is a non-scholarship program that played Division III football until the NCAA forced them into I-AA in the 1990’s.

o American University’s president, representing the Patriot. Yep, a I-AAA president helping to determine the fate of I-AA legislation, and casting a vote that would make the big brothers in the Ancient Eight proud.



Inter-classification (Division I football) play

· Eliminate “Bowl Victory Credit” restrictions on I-AA opponents. Require only that I-A programs win at least six games against “Division I competition.” Let the marketplace (attendance, public attitudes, and bowl committees) determine what wins are acceptable in counting six victories. The NCAA has no business regulating intra-Division match-ups, especially if the Association is not going to sponsor national championships for all classifications and subclassifications.



Realigning College Football

· I-AA leaders must get the word out publicly that they are not interested in creating the appearance of combining with Division II as proposed by Div. II leadership.

· An alternative worthy of exploration would be to allow schools to play FB outside of their governance classification, according to scholarship levels. I-AA.com proposed levels:

o I-A: 64-85 scholarships (eliminate the 90% max requirement)

o I-AA: 46-63 scholarships

o Div. II: 1-45 scholarships

o Div. III: 0 scholarships





I-A Attendance Requirements

· Strike the attendance provision altogether. “Tickets sold” is not the same concept as attendance, so why play this charade at all? By retaining the illusion of a public support requisite (with additional absurd loopholes), the illusion that the I-A label in and of itself distinguishes a school becomes even more ridiculous than it has heretofore proven to be, at least to the informed few.



NCAA Governance

· I-AA/I-AAA Advisory Board: Get rid of this I-AA appeasement before anyone starts believing that it somehow provides I-AA and I-AAA institutions adequate representation in the NCAA governance structure.

· Require that I-AA football votes are cast by presidents of I-AA institutions, preferably schools that are eligible to participate in the NCAA playoffs. Allow appointment of a temporary delegate to be appointed to stand-in for a I-AAA president who represents a I-AA conference.

· Appoint an Executive Director of I-AA Football… me.



The Czar’s Personal Fantasyland

· Require that all Division I institutions sponsor intercollegiate football at the Division I level. Yep, get Gonzaga and Xavier to Division II or wherever they want to go, and reward places like Wofford and Dayton, that realize (like the NCAA’s founders) the importance of college football.

Move the start of college basketball season to Dec. 15, Dec. 1 at the earliest. Since I began working on this article, I’m pleased to report that the SEC basketball coaches agree, and have authored a proposal to make hoops a strictly second-semester endeavor.

PERFECT STORM?



Absent economic catastrophe and/or decisive legislative action by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors, the following factors could create a rush on the gates of I-A:



· Lowered price to gain top NCAA classification and representation

· No significant NCAA incentives for top I-AA’s to remain in I-AA; arguably the opposite is true

· The appeasement trend (BCS towards the rest of I-A) shows no signs of slowing

· Liberal Title IX interpretation recently approved by Bush administration



NOTES:



LIMIT THYSELF: One of the most absurd NCAA actions ever was the Division I (-A) Board’s recent decision to regulate the number of pages in media guides. For an association whose manual is 504 pages, which requires paid staff and consultants for legal interpretation, limiting institutions to 208 pages of self-promotion is absurd. I move that the number of pages in media guides be limited to no more than twice the length of the NCAA’s regulations.



WIN-WIN? TCU’s hiring of Danny Morrison as the Horned Frogs’ AD is a win-win, if ever there was one. Morrison is destined for greatness, and will succeed spectacularly at TCU, as he has at every career stop. In a pivotal time for TCU athletics, the school has landed a capable and visionary leader. The only losers in this feel-good story are the Southern Conference, which found a gem in Morrison when Alfred White vacated the SoCon commissionership, and I-AA football, which is too frequently the victim when its leaders are assimilated into I-A.

http://www.i-aa.com/