Big Ten to Stop Playing FCS Schools

[davidmc467]

http://espn.go.com/college-football/...dule-fcs-teams

Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez says Big Ten officials recently agreed to stop scheduling nonconference games against FCS programs.

"The nonconference schedule in our league is ridiculous," Alvarez said on WIBA-AM in Madison, Wis. "It's not very appealing ...

"So we've made an agreement that our future games will all be Division I schools. It will not be FCS schools."

I actually have to commend the Big Ten for doing this. I hate when we play FCS teams. It is no fun to watch, and there is nothing to gain.

What do you all think?

[jxh107]

Michigan probably wants to stay away from FCS schools after that App State game a few years ago!

[reddot8481]

guess when you lose to App State, Youngstown State, South Dakota, and North Dakota State; the easiest thing to do is not schedule them anymore....

[COCKDIESEL]

I'm with the OP, there is nothing to gain from playing these schools. Only when you have something like WVU did to FSU should you have a schedule with lower division teams on it. I thought it was a bad idea when we set the 6 games up with in state teams then and I still do now. I'm not saying we need to go and play Oklahoma every year but even a Con USA or Sun Belt opponent still gets on tv and we lose that with playing Coastal and Wofford.

[Lonnie]

It also makes sense when you consider that strength of schedule is going to be a top priority when determining who makes a 4 team play off when we get there...

[Cockholio]

I agree. All risk and no gain. It's like trying to psyche yourself up for sex with Marge Simpson. Tailgating is sparse and is flat. Crowd in the stadium sits on its hands and is flat. Team can't get pumped up and plays flat. The only good thing about games like this is that people who normally wouldn't be able to go can essentially pick tickets up off the ground before kick-off.

[Spur's Addiction]

Agreed. Hyman was all on the kick to schedule Wofford, Furman or SC State every year. I never much care for them and hope we get away from it.

[sc455]

I like the idea. i am sure the school club members will also like a better game for their money. the opponents have been really crappy since they added the twelfth game.

the sec has been doing the same thing and it is frustrating. i think if the sec stays at 8 conference games then this policy should be used. if the sec goes to a 9 game schedule i think we should still schedule fcs opponents.

[M.C.]

there are some pretty bad d-1 schools

[bravecock524]

The main reason we do it is to help out the instate schools.

[reddot8481]

Sounds like there are gonna be a whole lot more MAC teams on their schedule..... cuz its not like they are gonna start scheduling SEC, ACC, Pac, or Big12 teams. Lets get real...

[M.C.]

Originally Posted by reddot8481

Sounds like there are gonna be a whole lot more MAC teams on their schedule..... cuz its not like they are gonna start scheduling SEC, ACC, Pac, or Big12 teams. Lets get real...

exactly

[markymark550]

Mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, with SOS becoming more important I'd hate to see us lose a chance at the playoff because of playing an FCS team. On the other hand, I'd hate to take that opportunity to play the big name team away from the little guys....especially seeing that playing one of these games can go a long way into shoring up the athletic department budget for thos FCS schools. Kind of equate it to banning MEAC, Big South, SoCon, etc teams from the basketball tournament, which I would be completely against.

[ElectricCock]

I never want to play an FCS school again. I don't want to give them $200,000, then have our players not wake up for the game, have half the fans leave (or not show up), and then the other team treats it like the Super Bowl.

I would rather schedule a home game against Wake Forest, Duke, or any other crappy ACC school. Why not? We have played Wake Forest almost 60 times in our history, but not in the past 25 years... that needs to change.

Those crappy little schools already get auto-bids to the NCAA basketball tourney when teams like our 2009 bball team have to sit at home and watch. Its bull. I dont want to give them anything.

[Emery]

No team in the SEC will ever have to worry about being kept out of a playoff based on strength of schedule.

These games should be a easy win, keeps money in state, and gives exposure to local kids who otherwise don't get it. Are they exciting? Hopefully not but they've been in past, but I will take a W against a lesser team that doesn't hurt us than playing a more difficult game that doesn't benefit us at all.

[robgusc76]

Thats because there enough crappy teams around the country which make up for it.

[sandstorm2001]

Personally I like looking at that free W on the schedule. Chance for guys to get healthy. Clowney got to sit and rest up the weekend before Clemson and I feel like that worked out pretty well for us. We also let Connor run around hurt against Wofford so we could play a totally healthy Dylan against Clemson. Again, worked out pretty well. Let's be honest, playing FAU isn't any more exciting than playing Wofford or Coastal or somebody. Might as well pay a small in state school instead of paying a lower tier D1 team to come in from out of state.

[803scdantes]

Originally Posted by Emery

No team in the SEC will ever have to worry about being kept out of a playoff based on strength of schedule.

These games should be a easy win, keeps money in state, and gives exposure to local kids who otherwise don't get it. Are they exciting? Hopefully not but they've been in past, but I will take a W against a lesser team that doesn't hurt us than playing a more difficult game that doesn't benefit us at all.

I disagree. Why even spend the money to play any team? Why should we pay a team $250k to play us? Nobody pays us to play them. The SC athletic department isn't running a charity for in-state college football programs. Let the other schools figure out how to operate football programs on their own or drop the programs altogether.

The games are not exciting. If they are, then the few fans that went are normally irate and bash the coaches and team.

Being willing to take a W against a lesser team that doesn't hurt your team is exactly why Clemson remains in the ACC.

The 2 FCS games are nothing more than cash grabs. You pay full-price for a glorified scrimmage.

I say either drop the season to 10 games or require all teams to play BCS schools for every game.

[Cock Kool-Aid]

I don't see the point in replacing an in-state FCS school with a crappy out-of-state D1 team. If our players and fans don't get up for an in-state FCS school then why are they going to get up for a crappy, lower-tier d1 MAC school or something? It doesn't make any sense. It's still going to be one of those "meh" games on the schedule. We are in the SEC- did you see our schedule last year? We don't have to worry about strength of schedule. Also, with the gauntlet-like schedules we have been put through recently, the FCS schedules give some of our better players time to rest and heal up. That is a huge advantage. The only legit argument for removing FCS schools is to save our athletic department money, but I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be scheduling these teams if we were broke and could not afford it. I will let the athletic department worry about their own finances. Last I checked, we were one of the most profitable programs in the nation... so yeah, I see zero argument that makes sense for doing away with FCS teams.

[sandstorm2001]

Originally Posted by 803scdantes

I disagree. Why even spend the money to play any team? Why should we pay a team $250k to play us? Nobody pays us to play them. The SC athletic department isn't running a charity for in-state college football programs. Let the other schools figure out how to operate football programs on their own or drop the programs altogether.

The games are not exciting. If they are, then the few fans that went are normally irate and bash the coaches and team.

Being willing to take a W against a lesser team that doesn't hurt your team is exactly why Clemson remains in the ACC.

The 2 FCS games are nothing more than cash grabs. You pay full-price for a glorified scrimmage.

I say either drop the season to 10 games or require all teams to play BCS schools for every game.

We don't play two FCS games.