Future football scheduling is a primary topic again this year at the annual SEC Spring meetings in Destin, Fla. And as it so often does, the scheduling of Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponents came up.
Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools typically schedule FCS opponents for a few reasons. First, it ensures a home game without a return visit and it usually costs the FBS school around a mere $500,000. Second, that home game is usually the seventh or eighth on the schedule for power teams, which results in additional revenue for the school and the local economy. Last, the high probability of a win over an FCS opponent gives some teams a needed notch on their belt for bowl eligibility.
Most SEC schools are scheduling FCS teams for the first two reasons. It’s primarily a money-making decision because an extra home game can brings in several million dollars in revenue, depending on the school.
But playing the SEC and other FBS schools also helps the FCS teams add that guaranteed payment to their own athletics revenues. Plus there’s always the chance that the little guy will rise up to defeat the big school, as 12 FCS schools did last season.
On Wednesday, Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher was asked about playing FCS teams and he didn’t beat around the bush (via @Brett_McMurphy).
“I don’t mind playing 8 or 9 conference games, I do believe this: we need to play a (FCS) game,” Fisher said. “I came from that league, (former Florida State head coach) Bobby Bowden came from that league. How do those schools make budget (w/out a big payday game vs. Power 5)?”
Fisher continued his statement by saying that playing FCS schools was “…for the betterment of the game. I think you have to trickle the wealth down to those programs, so they can make budget.”
Now this isn’t exactly a new or unique viewpoint that Jimbo has. Seven years ago, former Georgia head coach Mark Richt shared the same opinion with the late Edward Aschoff of ESPN.
“I think it would be awful. I think we’d really hurt college football in America,” Richt said. “In my opinion, when it comes to strength of schedule, Power Five conferences should be able to use their top 11 and allow everybody to play an FCS school if they choose to without worrying about how it might affect the strength of schedule for the College Football Playoff.
“And I say that because these schools, the FCS schools need to play these games, they need the paydays for that to continue their programs as they exist today. Just imagine all the young men across America that wouldn’t be able to play football and have a scholarship and get it paid for if it weren’t for all these schools.
“The other thing I learned is that the Division II schools benefit from the FCS schools they play, and they get a little bit of a payday when an FCS school plays a Division II school. It kind of trickles down all the way through college football across America. So I think it’s huge that we should be able to, without the fear of some kind of strength of schedule…we don’t want to jeopardize a shot at a playoff bid.
“That’s why I say hey, let’s put a caveat in there with the committee and say Top 11 games is what we’re counting and the other one you can choose to do that if you want to bless the FCS programs.
“I really think for the health of college football at all levels across America, if we stop doing that (scheduling FCS teams), we’re going to hurt college football, and hurt the game of football in general, not just college football. I feel real strong about that one.”
Texas A&M is scheduled to open the 2021 season against the Sam Houston Bearkats, who are moving up to the FBS next season. The Aggies have future games scheduled against Abilene Christian (2022 and 2028), McNeese (2023), and Tarleton State (2024).
Although Alabama head coach Nick Saban wasn’t asked about FCS opponents (that we know of), his name did come up around the topic last week. Following Saban’s accusations towards Texas A&M’s recruiting tactics, Tuskegee head coach Reginald Ruffin called him out on not scheduling in-state HBCU programs.
“Just say you’re sorry in public and walk down to your AD’s office and say, ‘We need to play all the FCS HBCUs in the state of Alabama, because we are the only university in the state not playing the Alabama States or Alabama A&Ms in our great state.’”
According to Alabama’s 2021 football media guide, the Crimson Tide have never hosted an HBCU team and haven’t played an FCS team from the state of Alabama since their last game against Samford (then known as Howard College) in 1944.
The Crimson Tide are scheduled to host the Austin Peay Governors this season on Nov. 19. No other FCS opponents currently appear on Alabama’s future schedules.
I don’t really understand why Alabama has yet to schedule the two opponents they need for next season’s non-conference schedule to be completed, I’m 100% sure there will be an FCS opponent in November but the first one before Texas may be a G5 opponent, but I can’t find any empty spots to fill.
Also I don’t really want the SEC to go to a 9-game schedule because it would kill cool non-con matchups like Alabama vs Ohio State, and would prevent wanted matchups like Alabama vs Oregon from happening sooner.
Are the teams in the East really that afraid of playing Alabama every season? No need to drop the divisions. 9 conference games, 3 non-con (1 FCS, 1-2 G5, 0-1 P5)
West (East)
LSU (Florida) no change
Texas A&M (South Carolina) no change
Ole Miss (Vanderbilt) no change
Miss State (Kentucky) no change
Arkansas (Auburn) no change
Missouri (Georgia) no change
Texas (Alabama)
Oklahoma (Tennessee)
The rotation of other opponents will be on an 7 year cycle, which is hardly different than it is now. If you want to play a different team from the other division, win your side and see what happens.
Or sec teams could do what wake forest did and schedule a non con game against a conference opponent.
Nah, that’s silly.
Do You know how Melvin was Right?
Answer: With WFU & UNC scheduling each other last Season they both kept the Fans completely invested & attending the Games VS All the other North Carolina Schools.
In place of a nonp5 School, with lower Home Fan excitement & intensity Levels, or a lower to mid Tier p5 from Far away the 4 NC ACC Fan Bases got to see the Instate Round Robin Format for these 2 Teams & prove that their School had more wins instate than their Rivals or there was parity.
Both Schools Fans got All the Marbles in seeing their Teams play everybody in Football.
IMO, what’s “silly” is a Revenue Only Game.
Interesting article. I had never thought about how altruistic these coaches are about supporting the lower levels of football.
a few current/retired coaches say screw FCS…….Barry Alvarez comes to mind,
Games against FCS schools and even some G5 school are merely exhibitions. So I propose the following change to the calendar.
1. Practice starts Aug 1 all levels
2. Thu-Sat before Labor Day weekend is the window for an exhibition game against either an FCS or G5 opponent that does not count in the standings, rankings or records
3. Labor Day-Thanksgiving Weekend 11 game regular season with 2-3 byes. No divisions, play between 8-9 conference games
4. 8-team playoff 6 automatic bids ACC, Big-10, Big-12, Pac-12, and SEC champions if teams are tied and didn’t play head to head committee choses which school gets auto bid, committee choses one group of 5 champion and 2 at-large schools. Selection Sunday is the Sunday after Thanksgiving. 1st Round games rotate between Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Las Vegas one on Friday night 3 Saturday games 2 weeks after Thanksgiving. Semi’s like they are now late Dec/Jan 1, Championship like now 1st/2nd Monday in January.
Tell that to North Dakota State.
If the SEC teams are so altruistic, add another conference and each make a donation to the FCS team of each school’s choice. Add a more competitive game against a better team and they can feel good about having donated to a program that needs the money and won’t get beat 60-0.
People always seem to give the SEC a hard time for scheduling FCS teams. I’ve seen FCS teams beat G5 and P5 teams. A few years back, FCS Jacksonville State took Auburn into OT. I think the SEC is okay with scheduling them because they aren’t afraid to lose to them. Can’t say the same for the other conferences.
The Power-5 membership’s record against FCS schools is 345 wins and 16 losses (95.6%). No Power-5 program is afraid to schedule FCS opponents because they might lose. Fact is virtually all of them schedule an FCS opponent because 19 out of 20 times it is a win, and that win may well turn out to be the difference between bowl eligibility or not. If it was agreed upon to not count FCS game results toward a school’s bowl eligibility, the SEC (and all FBS conferences) would no longer be playing them.
I have absolutely no problem with SEC teams playing FCS opponents, as I am a fan of the entire FCS level. What I have a problem with are these games the SEC and, to a lesser degree, ACC teams playing FCS teams in November. This is right before the FCS Playoffs. There is no reason to be pounding on these outmanned opponents in November, the heart of what should be their conference season. FBS schools already have a 22-scholarship advantage, that plays huge into a team’s depth. Games in November, these FCS schools are more likely to have season-ending injuries and playing a much less than full strength. These FBS/SEC schools use this ploy just so they can run up a large margin victory late in the year, to make themselves look and feel better. By the same token, schools in the Southern Conference and the Ohio Valley Conference need to quit allowing the bigger schools to do this to them.
I agree with Jason A. Groomes,
I’m more likely to watch a 1-AA Team play @ a 1-A Team in September or early October before 3/4 of the 1-A (fbs) Team’s Season is over.
The CFP, LLC’s Committee has already released it’s Trust Five Invitational Rankings for multiple Weeks before the SEC Team’s play their Hometown exhibitionism scoring Exhibition (bowl).
I am also a 1-AA Fan. It has a great, real, meritorious System with the Playoff Schedule & seeding they have.
Look up ” The fcs Championship Game” on Wikipedia & you’ll see.
The Teams playing in the Division 1 National Championship don’t play “money, money, money” Schedules. For 30 Years they’ve won by playing each other, nonconference & conference. Winning through the First 4 Playoff Games, Winning it all in the 5th Game of the Bracket.
The question is, do these coaches want to keep FCS teams on their schedule because they really care about supporting the FCS programs financially, or because they want an easier opponent and revenue opportunity (another home game one-off)?
If the SEC programs are so altruistic, schedule a ninth SEC game which will bring in more revenue and give fans a more interesting and meaningful game. Then take the proceeds and each school can donate the money to an FCS program of their choice. That way no one has to attend a boring, one-sided college football game. Such a waste of time.
I completely agree with your last 2 Sentences.
I don’t watch the Game my School plays against a 1-AA Opponent.
I check it out the next Week. Irrelevant Wins are neither exciting, nail-biting, or Memory making.
Stephen, Good idea! Generally speaking, games versus Division I-AA schools are a joke and boring for fans to watch.
Jimbo’s such a great, great guy. Always putting other people first. So genuine, too. We should be so lucky as to have Jimbo transition from coaching football to political office.
Agree. Always thinking of the “little guy”.
As an alumnus of an FCS school, I support FBS schools playing us. If they didn’t, it would just further the divide within division 1 (remember, FCS is still part of division 1). You can’t get better if you don’t test yourself against the best occasionally, and there’s a good payout for playing the big schools.