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.