What's the next realignment domino to fall?

[BEARZ77]

Gotta agree with Mikovio here. FCS football even when played well is a money pit that simply labels a legitimate D-1 athletics program as "less than" , thus also impacting the perception of other programs at the respective University. There is simply no one other than the few Universities that vie for the playoffs in FCS yearly that attach any significance to that sport. Now I agree if you are going to play it, you should strive to do it well, which MSU obviously sucks at; but the more FCS football drives decisions the more it drives us to oblivion.

[RacerJoeD]

Bearz, I think that is the plan.

[mvfcfan]

Making the Sweet 16 is also a big big if. Besides Wichita who has been to the Sweet 16 recently? If we go one and done the conference gets like what, $250K? Indiana State just got paid $500K to play at Tennessee. Yes football is expensive to field, but I'd be much more proud of a national title in FCS football than a Sweet 16 in basketball.

I'm sorry but basketball might excite me more if teams from Power 5 conferences weren't getting in the NCAA tournament when they don't even have a winning conference record or even 20 wins; but teams with over 25 wins get snubbed. And please don't pretend this is going to change. If you say you think it will or can be changed then you're kidding yourself. I also might be more excited about being in a conference with Drake, Bradley, Evansville, and Loyola if they ever were actually competitive. Instead all their fans talk about how basketball is so great, but yet get outperformed by the schools with football. Like did any private schools make it past Friday this last year? Weren't 3 of the 4 privates playing on Thursday? The MVC was the worst I have ever seen it last season and the privates still couldn't perform. Amazingly the team besides Wichita that had the most success last season was a team with good football. Just saying.....

But yeah having a ton of success in football is just terrible. Heaven forbid we actually be good at something besides just talking tough. If you don't think I'm proud of our conference's football success than I'm sorry to disappoint you. And if Murray State isn't proud of the fact that they could join the best FCS football conference than I don't want any part of them either.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Making the Sweet 16 is also a big big if. Besides Wichita who has been to the Sweet 16 recently? If we go one and done the conference gets like what, $250K? Indiana State just got paid $500K to play at Tennessee. Yes football is expensive to field, but I'd be much more proud of a national title in FCS football than a Sweet 16 in basketball.

I'm sorry but basketball might excite me more if teams from Power 5 conferences weren't getting in the NCAA tournament when they don't even have a winning conference record or even 20 wins; but teams with over 25 wins get snubbed. And please don't pretend this is going to change. If you say you think it will or can be changed then you're kidding yourself. I also might be more excited about being in a conference with Drake, Bradley, Evansville, and Loyola if they ever were actually competitive. Instead all their fans talk about how basketball is so great, but yet get outperformed by the schools with football. Like did any private schools make it past Friday this last year? Weren't 3 of the 4 privates playing on Thursday? The MVC was the worst I have ever seen it last season and the privates still couldn't perform. Amazingly the team besides Wichita that had the most success last season was a team with good football. Just saying.....

But yeah having a ton of success in football is just terrible. Heaven forbid we actually be good at something besides just talking tough. If you don't think I'm proud of our conference's football success than I'm sorry to disappoint you. And if Murray State isn't proud of the fact that they could join the best FCS football conference than I don't want any part of them either.

Being proud of an FCS title is like being the small kid, picked last, who is on the JV high school team that wins the title. WHO GIVES A $h!t?

[RacerJoeD]

The money is used to keep FCS schools pacified instead of angry. The big conferences keep almost all of it, and they do everything in their power to keep it. Hence the BCS, and now the Bowl playoff system.

Basketball is more of an even playing field. Or it can be.

[rally]

Making the Sweet 16 is also a big big if. Besides Wichita who has been to the Sweet 16 recently? If we go one and done the conference gets like what, $250K? Indiana State just got paid $500K to play at Tennessee. Yes football is expensive to field, but I'd be much more proud of a national title in FCS football than a Sweet 16 in basketball.

It's a little over $1.7 million paid over 6 years currently for someone who goes one and done in the NCAA. I'd rather see the MVC add a little more incentive to making the tourney by giving a larger portion of that amount to schools who earn them.

[BEARZ77]

When a team gets a huge payout for playing a BCS team in football, guess what, that money just goes to decreasing the collective debt incurred by playing FCS football. When a team gets $$ for making a NCAA Tourney in basketball [ and it's a lot more than $250,000], that adds to the profit line their basketball program is already generating and also benefits the conference financially, which unfortunately if they play FCS football, then just goes to decreasing the collective debt incurred by that program.

I'm sorry, but anyone who thinks any level of success in FCS football equates or surpasses making a NCAA tourney in basketball just doesn't get it. Again , I agree if you're gonna play FCS Football, then do it well, just like anything else. I admire the success teams like UNI and NDST etc. have had in FCS football. But for the vast majority of FCS football schools it's a money pit, and as I said, tends to equate in the general publics mind that the participating schools aren't really the same as the FBS schools are in athletics overall.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

http://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-a ... 69df0.html

This is what happens even when an FCS team wins 5 National championships in a row. Theyre still not profitable.

This doesn't mean the athletic department has been in the red, however. It states in the article that sponsors put them in the black. Still, sad when you're a juggernaut and cant make money.

[BEARZ77]

What often goes unstated is that the way these Universities show a balanced budget for athletics or even a profit sometimes [ ISUr in 2016]] is that this reflects money derived from student fees and subsidy from the general fund to offset expenses. It's shown as revenue, but honestly that's just budgeting gobblety gook.

The article does make a valid point that there are financial benefits that aren't direct revenue for really good Football programs like NDST in terms of donations to other projects etc. but still FCS Football is hugely costly for most Universities to play w/o much tangible benefit, unlike D-1 basketball when it's done right.

[mvfcfan]

There are 32 conferences in D1 basketball. Of those 32 conferences only 2 mid major conferences received at-large bids (3 teams total: VCU, Dayton, St Mary's). I'm still trying figure out how basketball is more of an even playing field. Yeah we may get money for being in the tournament. But the amount of money Power 5 schools are getting from tournament revenue, TV contracts, ticket sales, sponsorships, etc; is not even comparable to the chump change we're getting. Say what you want, but FCS is about as even of a playing field as you get.