FBS vs. FCS: a case study
It’s a moot point now, considering both UTSA and Texas State are locked into paths to join the big boys in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
But it’s at least worth considering whether the move up from the Football Championship Subdivision is worth the many risks.
According to a study recently commissioned by the conference commissioners of the FCS, it probably isn’t. Among the interesting tidbits to be found in “A Case for FCS: The Benefits of Sponsoring FCS Football” :
* Of the 19 programs to move from the FCS (formerly I-AA) to the FBS (formerly Division I-A) since 1987, only five have won 54 percent or more of their games since reclassification: Boise State, Connecticut, Nevada, South Florida and Troy.
* Only six of those programs — the aforementioned five plus Marshall — have earned bowl berths in at least half their FBS seasons. Less than half played in a postseason bowl from 2005 to 2009.
* There is virtually no difference in the amount of football generated net revenue between the FBS’ lowest quartile — in which 14 of the 19 FCS move-ups reside — and the FCS’ highest, $2.31 million to $2.28 million in 2009.
Obviously, it behooves the FCS to retain members, so any report it releases is going to hammer home the perils of staying put and the benefits of moving up. So while I wouldn’t exactly accuse anyone of bias, I would certainly point out Mark Twain’s great line about there being three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.
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