College Continue To Add Football Teams

[GeauxLions94]

Talks about the new programs at Charlotte, Kennesaw State, Mercer and Stetson.


Universities and colleges are adding football at all levels, and administrators have developed sound plans, ensuring the new programs address the unique financial, academic and long-term objectives of their respective schools. The 36 institutions, who have implemented firm plans during the past few years, coupled together the more than 20 schools with exploratory committees, create a clear and undeniable trend that presidents and trustees nationwide see the value of a football program as part of their overall academic mission.

Link (http://sportsnola.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=573201&Itemid=578)

[McTailGator]

This should make the UTA folks happy. (;

[GoAgs72]

I'm not sure how football helps academics but I know having football helped make the decision for all three of my kids to go to UC Davis rather than non-football campuses like UC Santa Barbara or UC Irvine. I don't like dropping academic admissions requirements dramatically just to get a top football player and I know that was a major concern of the academic staff at UC Davis when going from D2 to FCS. I do think football helps campus spirit and cohesiveness and increases campus visibility.

[McTailGator]

That is how it helps.

Kids have a choice and so do the good students. Their presence will make UCD a better place.

And Football may have persuaded them to go.

[cmaxwellgsu]

If UNCC was founded in 1963 (per their chancellor in the article), why are they the 49ers?? Big Jerry Rice/Joe Montana fans??

[Libertine]

If UNCC was founded in 1963 (per their chancellor in the article), why are they the 49ers?? Big Jerry Rice/Joe Montana fans??
The 1963 date is misleading. The school was actually founded in 1946 as a "center program" of UNC. In 1949, the UNC system closed all the centers and the Charlotte branch became Charlotte College, a 2-year school. It was in 1963 that the school became a 4-year institution in its current form which is I guess where the article gets that founding date from. The nickname is the 49er's because of the year when it actually became a school.

[Franks Tanks]

I'm not sure how football helps academics but I know having football helped make the decision for all three of my kids to go to UC Davis rather than non-football campuses like UC Santa Barbara or UC Irvine. I don't like dropping academic admissions requirements dramatically just to get a top football player and I know that was a major concern of the academic staff at UC Davis when going from D2 to FCS. I do think football helps campus spirit and cohesiveness and increases campus visibility.

Davis is a great school, and I am sure there are plenty of good players and students who would love to play for Davis. Since D-II has lesser academic standards than D-I, moving to D-I actually ensures that the school can't recruit bottom rung academic guys. Once again is seems academic staff is uninformed about football.

[The Cats]

The nickname is the 49er's because of the year when it actually became a school.

WOW, I grew up close to UNCC, and all these years, I thought it was because it is located on NC Hwy 49. xchinscratchx

[UAalum72]

WOW, I grew up close to UNCC, and all these years, I thought it was because it is located on NC Hwy 49. xchinscratchx
Me too (my sister lives in Charlotte) - but the highway and the area's gold-mining history reinforce the name http://hr.uncc.edu/new-employees/49er-nickname

[bojeta]

I'm not sure how football helps academics but I know having football helped make the decision for all three of my kids to go to UC Davis rather than non-football campuses like UC Santa Barbara or UC Irvine. I don't like dropping academic admissions requirements dramatically just to get a top football player and I know that was a major concern of the academic staff at UC Davis when going from D2 to FCS. I do think football helps campus spirit and cohesiveness and increases campus visibility.

I'm at Davis right now visiting my daughter. I had guest passes for the ARC Center. Excellent facility!!! Great workout and so many other activities there. I stopped by the stadium again just to marvel at what a nice one it is. My daughter is working on her Ph.D. at Davis and loves it! Football is definitely a PLUS!!!!

[GoAgs72]

Thanks for the comments about UC Davis. It's hard to fault the academics there since a number of programs are in the top 5 in the country. I know Ecology is number 1. That may also help explain why we get only 8000 or 9000 total attendance at football games out of 32,000 students. Some people need to get out from behind the books once in a while.

[professor8315]

Any word if Wichita State will bring back football? There's plenty of fan interest to have the Shocker football program back.

[OB55]

Davis is a great school, and I am sure there are plenty of good players and students who would love to play for Davis. Since D-II has lesser academic standards than D-I, moving to D-I actually ensures that the school can't recruit bottom rung academic guys. Once again is seems academic staff is uninformed about football.

There is really not that big of difference in academic standards, maybe one years math plus two tenths of a point GPA for the Freshmen scholarship recruits.

No bottom rung academic guys are going to get a scholarship in D-II either. Sure you aren't thinking of Juco recruits?

[Franks Tanks]

Perhaps I was mistaken-- I though the NCAA Clearinghouse was only for D-I, but looks like it is for D-II as well.

Also Stetson named former Princeton coach Roger Hughes as their new head man.

[Redbird Ray]

Any word if Wichita State will bring back football? There's plenty of fan interest to have the Shocker football program back.

Wichita State would be an FCS powerhouse if they ever really wanted to bring football back and remain in FCS. From what I have heard from a sample of Shocker fans, they believe that when their current president steps down and a replacement is put in place, that the campaign to bring back football will be much stronger. The current president has been pretty firm on his stance to not bring back football.

Wichita is the kind of school that could be in FBS pretty easily. Large, passionate fanbase, large metro, recruiting pipeline to Texas in other sports (I assume football would be the same), 30K seat stadium in place with few touchups needed, etc.

That said, I would love to see them stick around the MVFC for football if they ever chose to reinstitute the program. Their presence alone would bring a lot of credibility and awareness to the league and to FCS football in general.

[SF State Gaters]

Another great link for Colleges continuing to add football teams:

http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/news_2011_0622_colleges_continue_to_add_football_t eams.html

[TexasTerror]

Another great link for Colleges continuing to add football teams:

http://www.collegefootballpoll.com/news_2011_0622_colleges_continue_to_add_football_t eams.html

Same article... lots of folks ran the NFF write-up.

[danefan]

There is a rather large difference between DI and DII academic standards.

The "Core Classes" that students need to take in HS isn't that much different (14 for DII vs. 16 for DI) especially considering that DII will up to 16 in 2013. The major difference is the sliding scale for GPA and Test Scores used in DI which is not used in DII.

DII only requires a 2.0 GPA (out of 4) in the 14 core classes.
DI GPA changes depending on the student's SAT or ACT score.

So a kid with a 2.0 will qualify for DII straight out. That same kid needs a 1010 SAT (math/verbal only) to qualify for DI. Generally speaking a kid with a 2.0 in HS is not getting close to a 1010 SAT.

https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/hs/d1_standards.pdf

[bjtheflamesfan]

I know you said generally speaking but I was a pretty average student in school but I still got an 1160 on the SAT (I got a 1050 the second time).

[TexasTerror]

There is a rather large difference between DI and DII academic standards.

The "Core Classes" that students need to take in HS isn't that much different (14 for DII vs. 16 for DI) especially considering that DII will up to 16 in 2013. The major difference is the sliding scale for GPA and Test Scores used in DI which is not used in DII.

DII only requires a 2.0 GPA (out of 4) in the 14 core classes.
DI GPA changes depending on the student's SAT or ACT score.

So a kid with a 2.0 will qualify for DII straight out. That same kid needs a 1010 SAT (math/verbal only) to qualify for DI. Generally speaking a kid with a 2.0 in HS is not getting close to a 1010 SAT.

https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/hs/d1_standards.pdf

One thing to remember...

Depending on the school, their admission requirements (barring any exceptions) exceeds that of the minimums set forth by Division I and/or Division II. While it may be easier to academically qualify for Division II than Division I, that does not necessarily mean that the Division II schools are slumping behind academically...

If I am not mistaken, the folks at the Division II level perform exceptionally when compared to the student body and may even do so at rates higher than that of Division I... would have to find the information I reviewed.

[bojeta]

There is really not that big of difference in academic standards, maybe one years math plus two tenths of a point GPA for the Freshmen scholarship recruits.

No bottom rung academic guys are going to get a scholarship in D-II either. Sure you aren't thinking of Juco recruits?

Whoa!!! Where does all this DI vs DII academic standards stuff come from??? For the record, there are plenty of DII and DIII and NAIA schools that have higher academic standards for athletes and non-athletes alike. DI status has NOTHING to do with academic standards. Each institution sets their standards.

[bojeta]

I know you said generally speaking but I was a pretty average student in school but I still got an 1160 on the SAT (I got a 1050 the second time).

This is because the SAT does not measure intelligence and only measures your mastery of subject matter to a degree. What it measures best is your ability to take tests along with your exposure to the vernacular used on the test.

[Franks Tanks]

Whoa!!! Where does all this DI vs DII academic standards stuff come from??? For the record, there are plenty of DII and DIII and NAIA schools that have higher academic standards for athletes and non-athletes alike. DI status has NOTHING to do with academic standards. Each institution sets their standards.

True, but the minimum standard for D-I is different. Many times a student will sign a D-I LOI and then not qualify to play D-I ball. Most go JUCO and try to increase their grades, but some end up in D-II.

As TT said most D-II schools have admission standard way above the NCAA floor, but some schools like Cal (PA) take every D-I non-qualifier they can find.

[ngineer]

True, but the minimum standard for D-I is different. Many times a student will sign a D-I LOI and then not qualify to play D-I ball. Most go JUCO and try to increase their grades, but some end up in D-II.

As TT said most D-II schools have admission standard way above the NCAA floor, but some schools like Cal (PA) take every D-I non-qualifier they can find.

Very true. While there are some excellent D-II schools, there are also a host of schools who will accept someone if they have a pulse. Cannot generalize this.

[bojeta]

True, but the minimum standard for D-I is different. Many times a student will sign a D-I LOI and then not qualify to play D-I ball. Most go JUCO and try to increase their grades, but some end up in D-II.

As TT said most D-II schools have admission standard way above the NCAA floor, but some schools like Cal (PA) take every D-I non-qualifier they can find.

OK, I see where you're coming from on this. You're strictly referring to minimum NCAA stds for athletes and not necessarily a school's standards. I went to a DI school with very high standards, but I don't want people assuming that someone they know who graduated from a DII or DIII school, necessarily had an inferior education. I get touchy about educational stereotypes :)

[Franks Tanks]

OK, I see where you're coming from on this. You're strictly referring to minimum NCAA stds for athletes and not necessarily a school's standards. I went to a DI school with very high standards, but I don't want people assuming that someone they know who graduated from a DII or DIII school, necessarily had an inferior education. I get touchy about educational stereotypes :)

Right-- strictly speaking of the NCAA floor for athletes. The number of D-II schools taking kids that aren't D-I eligible may be few, but a few of them take a lot of D-I non-qualifiers.

[ThompsonThe]

WOW, I grew up close to UNCC, and all these years, I thought it was because it is located on NC Hwy 49. xchinscratchx

YOU are correct. It was named 49ers because of Hwy 49 out front. Revisionist history being rewritten at uncc.

[49RFootballNow]

YOU are correct. It was named 49ers because of Hwy 49 out front. Revisionist history being rewritten at uncc.

Ahhhhh! That's so nice! You finally made it for your weekly visit to the library to use the internet. Good for you!

http://info.cclsd.org/bay_old/images/PCs1-4.JPG

[SF State Gaters]

Back to the OT article, there is a lot of potential to the Pioneer Model for schools who view the "focus ... first and foremost on preparing young men for leadership and the young men that you're attracting are first and foremost interested in the academics of the university."

The truth is, San Diego is stuck way the hell out West with nobody else in the conference to help with travel. It would really only take 1-2 schools to adopt the Pioneer model ("non-scholarship football offers the schools in the league an opportunity to actually generate revenue"). It would only generate revenue or be otherwise cost-effective for schools for whom they can bus to a fair number of their games. San Diego is in a precarious position but the Pioneer Model is out there for any one of the dozens of schools in D-II, NAIA, or even DIII (eventually!) to move up to FCS and have a chance to compete at the highest level and still not have to pay 58 scholarships.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/66/PioneerFootballLocations.png/800px-PioneerFootballLocations.png

The Pioneer Model would work particularly well for schools closer together; there is a cluster now in the South and another cluster in the Middle East (http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/a/anchorman-script-transcript-anchor-man.html), leaving San Diego on its own. There are any number of candidates who could some day make the move to play at this highest genuinely student-athlete level with the Patriot, Pioneer, and ivy, but it will be tough to see any come out of the West.

[bojeta]

Back to the OT article, there is a lot of potential to the Pioneer Model for schools who view the "focus ... first and foremost on preparing young men for leadership and the young men that you're attracting are first and foremost interested in the academics of the university."

The truth is, San Diego is stuck way the hell out West with nobody else in the conference to help with travel. It would really only take 1-2 schools to adopt the Pioneer model ("non-scholarship football offers the schools in the league an opportunity to actually generate revenue"). It would only generate revenue or be otherwise cost-effective for schools for whom they can bus to a fair number of their games. San Diego is in a precarious position but the Pioneer Model is out there for any one of the dozens of schools in D-II, NAIA, or even DIII (eventually!) to move up to FCS and have a chance to compete at the highest level and still not have to pay 58 scholarships.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/66/PioneerFootballLocations.png/800px-PioneerFootballLocations.png

The Pioneer Model would work particularly well for schools closer together; there is a cluster now in the South and another cluster in the Middle East (http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/a/anchorman-script-transcript-anchor-man.html), leaving San Diego on its own. There are any number of candidates who could some day make the move to play at this highest genuinely student-athlete level with the Patriot, Pioneer, and ivy, but it will be tough to see any come out of the West.

It's ironic, but when UCSB still had a football team in `92, they tried to form a conference (Div I-AAA was the concept) of non-scholarship DI schools. I believe they approached San Diego and were turned down. They couldn't find anyone out West interested and had to drop football all together when a student vote determined the ASB would not support a scholarship program.

[SF State Gaters]

It's ironic, but when UCSB still had a football team in `92, they tried to form a conference (Div I-AAA was the concept) of non-scholarship DI schools. I believe they approached San Diego and were turned down. They couldn't find anyone out West interested and had to drop football all together when a student vote determined the ASB would not support a scholarship program.


wow, i did not know about that! I'd love to read more about it if you have a link, book, or other source... that is really interesting because this "I-AAA/Pioneer Model" is something I've been on about for a long time... it really seems to me that the people who are doing this are like those AD's in the article or similar administration officials at some of these schools (Campbell, Stetson) are really going to be celebrated by their students Maybe get stadia or fields named after them!