Around FCS: Good Intentions Gone Awry

[smallcollegefbfan]

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/news/news.aspx?id=4188031

[Jackman]

I don't think I agreed with a single point raised in that article. In a four round playoff I'd be fine with leaving things the way they are, but if we're doing five rounds then this is the best accommodation that's been proposed so far.

[slostang]

I think that the positives far out weigh the negatives.

[MaximumBobcat]

I think that the positives far out weigh the negatives.

I agree...I think the article blows the negatives out of proportion just a bit.

[Saint3333]

Positives:
1) time for fans to make travel plans
2) time for injuries to heal
3) better time slot for TV (friday night is bad)

Negatives:
1) game could be played in the middle of the week, trumps time to make travel plans if the majority of fans can't make a mid-week trip
2) play could suffer due to layoff
3) will ESPN promote this time slot, they haven't done so with the other (I can hear the announcers talk 2 hours about the BCS championship game during the FCS game)

The first error was expanding the playoffs to 20 teams.xtwocentsx

[Grizzaholic]

Positives:
1) time for fans to make travel plans
2) time for injuries to heal
3) better time slot for TV (friday night is bad)

Negatives:
1) game could be played in the middle of the week, trumps time to make travel plans if the majority of fans can't make a mid-week trip
2) play could suffer due to layoff
3) will ESPN promote this time slot, they haven't done so with the other (I can hear the announcers talk 2 hours about the BCS championship game during the FCS game)
4) teams that have a winter will have to practice for an extended amount of time in the elements
5) Championship teams will have to house athletes for a longer period of time due to practices in the weeks before the Championship game.
The first error was expanding the playoffs to 20 teams.xtwocentsx

Added a couple


But you are right about the expansion of the playoffs!

[Appinator]

I really have to agree with Mr. C on this one. Watching App come down the stretch these past few years, you could just feel the momentum flowing through the team from one game to the next. I can only imagine that JMU had that type of momentum behind their team when they won the championship in '04.

I have a feeling that our best interest are not in consideration here. Just because our game might now present a scheduling conflict, and heaven forbid, take away potential viewers from Mieneke Car Care Bowl, doesn't mean that our tried and true ways of determining a resolute champion should be tampered with.

Thank god for the NCAA, without them, I wouldn't know what is the best way to watch football.

[Cincy App]

I also agree with much of Mr. C's article.

I don't like the playoff expansion but realize we are stuck with it. It does make sense to keep the start of the playoffs during Thanksgiving weekend as I don't think the playoff expansion should take away from the regular season or remove the off-week.

I consider it a huge mistake for our division to have a 3-week layoff between the semis and the finals. Such is typically a recipe for a mediocre game. I would prefer a 7 - 10 day timeperiod before the championship game. Anything over 14 days makes absolutely no sense at all.

[Go...gate]

The layoff is an oddball idea. Why not simply play 10 or 11 games instead of 11 or 12 and add the extra play-off week the third week in November?

[danefan]

Keep in mind, the details were presented by ESPN.

[FargoBison]

I'm all for it...

1.The game allows for players to heal and finish any remaining classwork
2.Gives fans more time to make travel plans
3.Better TV slot and ESPN has also agreed to televise more playoff games
4.Keeps the bye week intact during the regular season

Number 4 is the biggest for me, the whole 11 games in 11 weeks just seemed like a horrible idea and this is a much better alternative.

[FargoBison]

The layoff is an oddball idea. Why not simply play 10 or 11 games instead of 11 or 12 and add the extra play-off week the third week in November?

10 games? The rush to the FBS will be on if that happens, some teams were fighting for a 12 game season and will have nothing to do with going to 10.

[McNeese75]

xsmhx Playoffs are iron man football. Injuries are part of it and this just moves us closer to the BCS xlolx

[skinny_uncle]

It means players having to give up their Christmas break to practice. That stinks!

[Jackman]

Negatives:
1) game could be played in the middle of the week, trumps time to make travel plans if the majority of fans can't make a mid-week trip
2) play could suffer due to layoff
3) will ESPN promote this time slot, they haven't done so with the other (I can hear the announcers talk 2 hours about the BCS championship game during the FCS game)
4) teams that have a winter will have to practice for an extended amount of time in the elements
5) Championship teams will have to house athletes for a longer period of time due to practices in the weeks before the Championship game.

1. Worst case it'd be middle of the week during holiday season and typically school vacation, as opposed to a Friday (work day) prior to holiday season and frequently during final exams.

2. The kids in the championship game will have played a 14-15 game season most of the way through December. They will be far better prepared to play 2.5 weeks later than a FBS team that finished its 11 game season on the 3rd week of November. It's not comparable.

3. ESPN doesn't promote the current slot. It would be reasonable to expect that more people will watch a January FCS championship because more people will be on holiday and college football will be on their minds due to the upcoming BCS game.

4. Northern FBS bowl teams practice in the elements. Maybe it's because I'm a New Englander, but I'd rather practice in a blizzard than do two-a-days in a Deep South summer, and they do those every year.

5. The NCAA can provide the minimal costs of housing 2 teams for an extra period of time (the big cost is food, I'd assume). It's a helluva lot cheaper than having every single FCS team absorb that cost by starting earlier in the summer.

Ultimately, only two teams will be inconvenienced by this, if they even consider it an inconvenience. Most FCS teams would love to be inconvenienced.

[TheValleyRaider]

As far as housing goes, remember that the football team wouldn't be the only group staying on-campus over the break. At least at Colgate, a number of International students and other athletes stayed in the dorms over the long breaks. It happens, and certainly is a rare enough occurance as far as keeping the football team around

I do agree that the extended layoff could be a bit difficult, but I'm not opposed to adding at least a little to that week between the Semis and Final. As mentioned, it's final exam time for many schools, and it's not as if the teams couldn't benefit from getting healthy with an extra few days.

It's not as if the Friday night slot is all that great. Does FCS really benefit from the timeslot? Maybe we're not thrilled with the idea of being the BCS warmup game, but once you move from that first Friday (and given the additional teams to the playoffs, that seems likely), what's the better option? Smack in the middle of the meaningless bowls of late December?

Playoff expansion is here to stay. With that point settled, what's the next best option for the playoffs? Without moving the title game, you start talking about moving around the regular season, and that seems like it'd have far more consequences for far more teams, positive and otherwise xtwocentsx

[appfan2008]

I am in favor of the move... I think that the positives far outweigh the negatives and IMO he proved it in his article...

[Saint3333]

1. Worst case it'd be middle of the week during holiday season and typically school vacation, as opposed to a Friday (work day) prior to holiday season and frequently during final exams.

2. The kids in the championship game will have played a 14-15 game season most of the way through December. They will be far better prepared to play 2.5 weeks later than a FBS team that finished its 11 game season on the 3rd week of November. It's not comparable.

3. ESPN doesn't promote the current slot. It would be reasonable to expect that more people will watch a January FCS championship because more people will be on holiday and college football will be on their minds due to the upcoming BCS game.

4. Northern FBS bowl teams practice in the elements. Maybe it's because I'm a New Englander, but I'd rather practice in a blizzard than do two-a-days in a Deep South summer, and they do those every year.

5. The NCAA can provide the minimal costs of housing 2 teams for an extra period of time (the big cost is food, I'd assume). It's a helluva lot cheaper than having every single FCS team absorb that cost by starting earlier in the summer.

Ultimately, only two teams will be inconvenienced by this, if they even consider it an inconvenience. Most FCS teams would love to be inconvenienced.

1. January 5th isn't during the holiday season
2. A three week layoff will effect game play, I've seen a one week bye affect a team.
3. The BCS game will be on the minds of football fans and of course the announcers. Who gets the week after new year's off, I want your job?
4. ASU doesn't mind this, they have an indoor facility
5. The NCAA doesn't provide squat as it is now, the fees and ticket charges from the home teams go to pay the travel costs.

[Cranium716]

I'm all for it...

1.The game allows for players to heal and finish any remaining classwork
2.Gives fans more time to make travel plans
3.Better TV slot and ESPN has also agreed to televise more playoff games
4.Keeps the bye week intact during the regular season

Number 4 is the biggest for me, the whole 11 games in 11 weeks just seemed like a horrible idea and this is a much better alternative.

This is my favorite part of this. The fact that ESPN may expand coverage of the playoffs would be great. I'm assumming that one game would be on ESPN 2 and the rest would be on ESPN U. Getting more coverage is key to getting the general public somewhat interested in I-AA football. Plus, I guarantee that ESPN would hype the finals, as FOX has rights to the BCS major bowls.

[Duke Dawg]

hold the phones ! I actually agree for the first time ever with Mr. C...100% ! xnodx

I like the current format and I was against expanding to 20 teams all along.

There will be teams with 4 losses getting into the playoffs every year, and I just believe that any team that loses that many games (I don't care how or to who) just doesn't deserve a 2nd chance.

And I felt the same about my 7-4 Dukes in 2005....we screwed up losing to Coastal Carolina and did not deserve to be in the playoffs....regardless of whether we were one of the 16 "best" teams on the field or not. YOu lose, your out. period.

The way it is now is perfect IMO.

[yosef1969]

The expansion of the playoffs to 20 teams was the mistake but that's a done deal no point in rehashing it. This is the only answer that's feasible IMO. Usually agree with most of what Mr. C has to say but I think he's got this one wrong.

[Hoyadestroya85]

I think that the positives far out weigh the negatives.

says the man in the yellow hat

[JMU2K_DukeDawg]

The mistake was the playoff field expansion.

But given that, this offers a whole new world of media coverage, hype and potential for fans from a greater distance than 100-200 miles to make plans to be there in advance of the game.

The idea that FCS has been getting momentum and having bigger crowds is more of a function of App St's relative proximity to Chattanooga and their big win of Michigan gave FCS the media spotlight for a while. But really, we are already considered JV by casual college football fans. That won't change. But at least more people will likely tune in for our championship on the eve of the BCS game.

[ebirToG]

It means players having to give up their Christmas break to practice. That stinks!

I can't tell if your serious about this statement... but if you are - what!!!! How many players would complain they have to give up going home and being bored over Christmas break to play in the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP? Answer: None.

I am more concerned that it will be a cute little JV game to the real National Championship and the fact that FCS teams actually played to get there will be ignored.

[skinny_uncle]

I can't tell if your serious about this statement... but if you are - what!!!! How many players would complain they have to give up going home and being bored over Christmas break to play in the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP? Answer: None.

I am more concerned that it will be a cute little JV game to the real National Championship and the fact that FCS teams actually played to get there will be ignored.
Christmas break is something a lot of students look forward to. I'll agree playing for a NC could trump it. How this game is treated by the media will go a long way with whether it is a positive or negative for the division. I don't like the double-bye week(s). Maybe they could add a bye week before the semis to cut down on the gap before the final.