Ranking the top FCS leagues (2024)

Post: #21

(07-25-2024 08:44 AM)AssKickingChicken Wrote:

(07-24-2024 06:48 PM)andybible1995 Wrote:

(07-24-2024 06:02 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote: I definitely agree that the top 3 are:

1. MVFC
2. Big Sky
3. CAA

Everything after that is a muddled mess.

The CAA is a mess, too. Delaware is joining the FBS next season, Richmond is leaving for the Patriot League, and Villanova and William and Mary might be joining them, and the majority the conference never had any connection with the conference.

The MVFC is fine for now, but losing Missouri State will hurt, and essentially trading Western Illinois for Murray State may not pay off in the long run as far as football is concerned.

Missouri State has one co-championship in the last 34 seasons and that was the COVID year. Murray does suck but so does WIU so an even swap there.

Missouri St has had a winning conference record 3 times since 1996.

Western Illinois hasn't won a game since October 2021 and is one of the lowest resourced schools in scholarship FCS football.

Somehow, losing those two will hurt the MVFC according to the poster above you.

Post: #22

(07-25-2024 11:01 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote: Potential G5 climbers in blue (and longshots to move up in light blue)

11. MEAC: Howard, SC State

Howard? On what basis?

Post: #23

1. MVFC
2. Big Sky

At this point, the rest don't matter.

Post: #24

(07-25-2024 01:11 PM)DFW HOYA Wrote:

(07-25-2024 11:01 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote: Potential G5 climbers in blue (and longshots to move up in light blue)

11. MEAC: Howard, SC State

Howard? On what basis?

If the some/all of the Division I-AA HBCU's banded together and moved up to I-A

Post: #25

(07-25-2024 01:35 PM)PeteTheChop Wrote:

(07-25-2024 01:11 PM)DFW HOYA Wrote: Howard? On what basis?

If the some/all of the Division I-AA HBCU's banded together and moved up to I-A

It would be exceedingly difficult for a landlocked school like Howard, with a $19 million athletic budget, a stadium of 10,000, and limited S&C and practice facilities, to commit to the capital spending needed for G5, even in a HBCU conference.

Improving attendance (a 2023 average of 5,433) would also be a concern.

Post: #26

(07-25-2024 01:11 PM)DFW HOYA Wrote:

(07-25-2024 11:01 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote: Potential G5 climbers in blue (and longshots to move up in light blue)

11. MEAC: Howard, SC State

Howard? On what basis?

SCSU has 2600 students, one of the lowest athletic budgets in the country, & one of the lowest football budgets in FCS.

Post: #27

(07-25-2024 12:50 PM)DavidSt Wrote:

(07-25-2024 11:01 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote: Potential G5 climbers in blue (and longshots to move up in light blue)

1. MVFC: Illinois State, NDSU, SDSU, North Dakota, South Dakota, Youngstown State
2. Big Sky: Montana, MSU, Idaho, Sacramento State, UC-Davis
3. CAA: Stony Brook, Albany, NC A&T, Hampton
----------------
4. Southern: UT-Chattanooga
5. Southland: S.F. Austin, McNeese State
6. Ivy: none
----------------
7. Oliver Luck's UAC: Eastern Kentucky, Central Arkansas, TAMU-Tarleton, West Georgia
8. Ohio Valley: Tennessee State
9. SWAC: Southern, Jackson State, Alabama State, Florida A&M, Prairie View A&M
----------------
10. Patriot: none
11. MEAC: Howard, SC State
12. Big South: none
13. Northeast: none
----------------
14. Pioneer: none

Youngstown State does have the facilities to move up. Sacramento State and UC-Davis to the MWC to fill if Fresno State and San Diego State are gone.
Stony Brook and Townson should not be overlooked by FBS conferences. Stony Brook is in the NYC metro and Townson is in Baltimore's metro.
If SBC goes to 20? Chattanooga would be a school to fill a gap from the western schools and JMU.
Even Lamar has the better facilities of the two in light blue.
UCA and Tarleton State to CUSA to backfill when more movement comes. ACU could be grabbed as well. EKU can be the last minute grab and Austin Peay in the shadows of Nashville could get called up by CUSA. McNeese State yeah. SFASU is stuck in Southland for good. They made a mistake in not staying in the WAC to get noticed. McNeese State should have accepted the WAC's invite so that they could also build up. WAC does have the better tv media deal than the Southland.
Jackson State and Florida A&M are two schools that could move up to FBS.

North Florida, West Florida and Central Oklahoma are 3 schools that I watch out for. 1 if they add football, and the other 2 are in a heavy populated area.

Serious question: Will anybody be adding football, given the recent court rulings on remuneration of athletes? Some years ago, when Wichita State made a Final Four, there were rumors here in Kansas about WSU considering restoring/remodeling/rebuilding their unused stadium preparatory to restarting the football program. WSU moved up to a new conference, but I have read that the cost of restarting the football program is too great to consider. Can smaller programs do that? You often refer to the chances for smaller schools to move up if they can add football. Is it still possible? Duquesne University in Pittsburgh had a football program back in the early years of the 20th century, later folded up FB, then restarted it as a club sport (1980s? 1990s?) and are now in a league. With the new court rulings, might they have to go back to club football? It's a private, religious school, and I don't know if they have any sort of substantial endowment.

Post: #28

(07-25-2024 03:53 PM)EdwordL Wrote:

(07-25-2024 12:50 PM)DavidSt Wrote:

(07-25-2024 11:01 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote: Potential G5 climbers in blue (and longshots to move up in light blue)

1. MVFC: Illinois State, NDSU, SDSU, North Dakota, South Dakota, Youngstown State
2. Big Sky: Montana, MSU, Idaho, Sacramento State, UC-Davis
3. CAA: Stony Brook, Albany, NC A&T, Hampton
----------------
4. Southern: UT-Chattanooga
5. Southland: S.F. Austin, McNeese State
6. Ivy: none
----------------
7. Oliver Luck's UAC: Eastern Kentucky, Central Arkansas, TAMU-Tarleton, West Georgia
8. Ohio Valley: Tennessee State
9. SWAC: Southern, Jackson State, Alabama State, Florida A&M, Prairie View A&M
----------------
10. Patriot: none
11. MEAC: Howard, SC State
12. Big South: none
13. Northeast: none
----------------
14. Pioneer: none

Youngstown State does have the facilities to move up. Sacramento State and UC-Davis to the MWC to fill if Fresno State and San Diego State are gone.
Stony Brook and Townson should not be overlooked by FBS conferences. Stony Brook is in the NYC metro and Townson is in Baltimore's metro.
If SBC goes to 20? Chattanooga would be a school to fill a gap from the western schools and JMU.
Even Lamar has the better facilities of the two in light blue.
UCA and Tarleton State to CUSA to backfill when more movement comes. ACU could be grabbed as well. EKU can be the last minute grab and Austin Peay in the shadows of Nashville could get called up by CUSA. McNeese State yeah. SFASU is stuck in Southland for good. They made a mistake in not staying in the WAC to get noticed. McNeese State should have accepted the WAC's invite so that they could also build up. WAC does have the better tv media deal than the Southland.
Jackson State and Florida A&M are two schools that could move up to FBS.

North Florida, West Florida and Central Oklahoma are 3 schools that I watch out for. 1 if they add football, and the other 2 are in a heavy populated area.

Serious question: Will anybody be adding football, given the recent court rulings on remuneration of athletes? Some years ago, when Wichita State made a Final Four, there were rumors here in Kansas about WSU considering restoring/remodeling/rebuilding their unused stadium preparatory to restarting the football program. WSU moved up to a new conference, but I have read that the cost of restarting the football program is too great to consider. Can smaller programs do that? You often refer to the chances for smaller schools to move up if they can add football. Is it still possible? Duquesne University in Pittsburgh had a football program back in the early years of the 20th century, later folded up FB, then restarted it as a club sport (1980s? 1990s?) and are now in a league. With the new court rulings, might they have to go back to club football? It's a private, religious school, and I don't know if they have any sort of substantial endowment.

Yes, schools at the lower level have added football after the Alston's case was ruled on. Wichita State might need to add football if they want to stay in 1A for all sports, or they would be forced back to the MVC.

Post: #29

(07-25-2024 03:53 PM)EdwordL Wrote: Serious question: Will anybody be adding football, given the recent court rulings on remuneration of athletes? Some years ago, when Wichita State made a Final Four, there were rumors here in Kansas about WSU considering restoring/remodeling/rebuilding their unused stadium preparatory to restarting the football program. WSU moved up to a new conference, but I have read that the cost of restarting the football program is too great to consider. Can smaller programs do that? You often refer to the chances for smaller schools to move up if they can add football. Is it still possible? Duquesne University in Pittsburgh had a football program back in the early years of the 20th century, later folded up FB, then restarted it as a club sport (1980s? 1990s?) and are now in a league. With the new court rulings, might they have to go back to club football? It's a private, religious school, and I don't know if they have any sort of substantial endowment.

Duquesne University has played I-AA/FCS football since 1993. Prior to this, they played in Division III since 1979. There is little or no chance at this time they would reconsider club football given the inherent instability of the club football landscape.

Its 2023 endowment stands at $565 million.

(This post was last modified: 07-25-2024 04:43 PM by DFW HOYA.)

Post: #30

(07-24-2024 03:48 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote: If you had to rank the top 5 FCS leagues, how would you rank them?

If you’re feeling extra bored this off season, rank them all.

Based on games play beginning with Round of 16 (2019-23):

MVFC 47
Big Sky 35
CAA 20
SoCon 10
Sland 8
Patriot 4
UAC 3
OVC 2
NEC 1
Pioneer 1
*FBS 20

(Ivy, SWAC, MEAC excluded)

Semifinalists:

MVFC 8
Big Sky 5
CAA 2
Sland 1
*FBS 4

Post: #31

(07-25-2024 12:50 PM)DavidSt Wrote:

(07-25-2024 11:01 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote: Potential G5 climbers in blue (and longshots to move up in light blue)

1. MVFC: Illinois State, NDSU, SDSU, North Dakota, South Dakota, Youngstown State
2. Big Sky: Montana, MSU, Idaho, Sacramento State, UC-Davis
3. CAA: Stony Brook, Albany, NC A&T, Hampton
----------------
4. Southern: UT-Chattanooga
5. Southland: S.F. Austin, McNeese State
6. Ivy: none
----------------
7. Oliver Luck's UAC: Eastern Kentucky, Central Arkansas, TAMU-Tarleton, West Georgia
8. Ohio Valley: Tennessee State
9. SWAC: Southern, Jackson State, Alabama State, Florida A&M, Prairie View A&M
----------------
10. Patriot: none
11. MEAC: Howard, SC State
12. Big South: none
13. Northeast: none
----------------
14. Pioneer: none

Youngstown State does have the facilities to move up. Sacramento State and UC-Davis to the MWC to fill if Fresno State and San Diego State are gone.
Stony Brook and Townson should not be overlooked by FBS conferences. Stony Brook is in the NYC metro and Townson is in Baltimore's metro.
If SBC goes to 20? Chattanooga would be a school to fill a gap from the western schools and JMU.
Even Lamar has the better facilities of the two in light blue.
UCA and Tarleton State to CUSA to backfill when more movement comes. ACU could be grabbed as well. EKU can be the last minute grab and Austin Peay in the shadows of Nashville could get called up by CUSA. McNeese State yeah. SFASU is stuck in Southland for good. They made a mistake in not staying in the WAC to get noticed. McNeese State should have accepted the WAC's invite so that they could also build up. WAC does have the better tv media deal than the Southland.
Jackson State and Florida A&M are two schools that could move up to FBS.

North Florida, West Florida and Central Oklahoma are 3 schools that I watch out for. 1 if they add football, and the other 2 are in a heavy populated area.

I would put all UAC asun schools into a group that may eventually go FBS, but the timeline is uncertain if ever...

UNA has said they are building and could become FBS in the future but want to be the best they can be in the situation they are currently in.

North Florida has been on record saying not if they add football but when.

I have a feeling the FCS to FBS is about to slow down to a standstill if not stop all together though.

Post: #32

(07-26-2024 11:43 AM)lion1983 Wrote:

(07-25-2024 12:50 PM)DavidSt Wrote:

(07-25-2024 11:01 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote: Potential G5 climbers in blue (and longshots to move up in light blue)

1. MVFC: Illinois State, NDSU, SDSU, North Dakota, South Dakota, Youngstown State
2. Big Sky: Montana, MSU, Idaho, Sacramento State, UC-Davis
3. CAA: Stony Brook, Albany, NC A&T, Hampton
----------------
4. Southern: UT-Chattanooga
5. Southland: S.F. Austin, McNeese State
6. Ivy: none
----------------
7. Oliver Luck's UAC: Eastern Kentucky, Central Arkansas, TAMU-Tarleton, West Georgia
8. Ohio Valley: Tennessee State
9. SWAC: Southern, Jackson State, Alabama State, Florida A&M, Prairie View A&M
----------------
10. Patriot: none
11. MEAC: Howard, SC State
12. Big South: none
13. Northeast: none
----------------
14. Pioneer: none

Youngstown State does have the facilities to move up. Sacramento State and UC-Davis to the MWC to fill if Fresno State and San Diego State are gone.
Stony Brook and Townson should not be overlooked by FBS conferences. Stony Brook is in the NYC metro and Townson is in Baltimore's metro.
If SBC goes to 20? Chattanooga would be a school to fill a gap from the western schools and JMU.
Even Lamar has the better facilities of the two in light blue.
UCA and Tarleton State to CUSA to backfill when more movement comes. ACU could be grabbed as well. EKU can be the last minute grab and Austin Peay in the shadows of Nashville could get called up by CUSA. McNeese State yeah. SFASU is stuck in Southland for good. They made a mistake in not staying in the WAC to get noticed. McNeese State should have accepted the WAC's invite so that they could also build up. WAC does have the better tv media deal than the Southland.
Jackson State and Florida A&M are two schools that could move up to FBS.

North Florida, West Florida and Central Oklahoma are 3 schools that I watch out for. 1 if they add football, and the other 2 are in a heavy populated area.

I would put all UAC asun schools into a group that may eventually go FBS, but the timeline is uncertain if ever...

UNA has said they are building and could become FBS in the future but want to be the best they can be in the situation they are currently in.

North Florida has been on record saying not if they add football but when.

I have a feeling the FCS to FBS is about to slow down to a standstill if not stop all together though.

WAC needs to get rid of California Baptist, and move like Utah Valley to WCC or the Big West. Move UTA to the ASUN or MVC. Bring the ASUN football schools, and then add the Dakota twins as football only under the WAC's banner. Have Southern Utah to join the Big Sky. And then move up as the 10th FBS conference. There is a case that the MWC should be the M3 with Big 12 and ACC. Keep a west coast conference up there at the highest level.

Utah Tech
ACU
Tarleton State
North Alabama
UCA
Austin Peay
EKU
West Georgia
North Dakota State football only
South Dakota State football only
Lamar
McNeese State
SFASU
Future of Colorado Mesa, West Texas A&M, Angelo State and Central Oklahoma.

Post: #33

(07-24-2024 10:15 PM)TUowl06 Wrote: The SWAC is not above the Patriot League. The top teams in the PL can compete on the national level with other FCS teams. The SWAC can't. Just look at playoff performances. With Richmond moving to the PL next year the league will pull ever close to the CAA and SoCon. If they get 'Nova it's the best FCS conference East of the Mississippi.

Like usual, he places private school leagues down at the bottom from seemingly jealousy perspective. That's all you need to know to ignore the list.

(This post was last modified: 07-26-2024 12:36 PM by Scoochpooch1.)

Post: #34

(07-25-2024 11:37 AM)DFW HOYA Wrote:

(07-24-2024 10:15 PM)TUowl06 Wrote: The SWAC is not above the Patriot League. The top teams in the PL can compete on the national level with other FCS teams. The SWAC can't.

On a side by side basis, the SWAC has firepower the PL does not. Its non-conf. strength of schedule is also stronger.

Holy Cross... or FAMU?
Fordham...or Jackson St.?
Colgate...or Alcorn St.?
Lafayette... or Southern?
Lehigh...or Grambling?

All the schools on the left are thriving while the ones on the right are staving off bankruptcy.

Post: #35

A reminder that the Southland—through all the changes it’s undergone—has been a three playoff bid league more often than it’s been a one bid league over the past 20 years… the SLC has better sustained after it’s losses (Troy, TXST, recently SH and UCA) than the SoCon did when powerhouses Georgia Southern and App State left. SLC’s got a .547 postseason win% over the past decade compared to the SoCon’s .437, Southland’s also had five semifinalists during that span, SoCon hasn’t seen one since 2012 (and by a non-Deeper than Hate squad since 2005 Furman).

With SFA returning, RGV getting going, UIW’s rise and presumably a return to consistency from ONE of the traditionally stronger LA schools, the longterm question to me isn’t wether or not they’ll be better than the SoCon, but if they’ll step over the watered down CAA while they’re at it.

(This post was last modified: 07-26-2024 12:41 PM by EatEmUp11.)

Post: #36

(07-25-2024 12:50 PM)DavidSt Wrote:

(07-25-2024 11:01 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote: Potential G5 climbers in blue (and longshots to move up in light blue)

1. MVFC: Illinois State, NDSU, SDSU, North Dakota, South Dakota, Youngstown State
2. Big Sky: Montana, MSU, Idaho, Sacramento State, UC-Davis
3. CAA: Stony Brook, Albany, NC A&T, Hampton
----------------
4. Southern: UT-Chattanooga
5. Southland: S.F. Austin, McNeese State
6. Ivy: none
----------------
7. Oliver Luck's UAC: Eastern Kentucky, Central Arkansas, TAMU-Tarleton, West Georgia
8. Ohio Valley: Tennessee State
9. SWAC: Southern, Jackson State, Alabama State, Florida A&M, Prairie View A&M
----------------
10. Patriot: none
11. MEAC: Howard, SC State
12. Big South: none
13. Northeast: none
----------------
14. Pioneer: none

Youngstown State does have the facilities to move up. Sacramento State and UC-Davis to the MWC to fill if Fresno State and San Diego State are gone.
Stony Brook and Townson should not be overlooked by FBS conferences. Stony Brook is in the NYC metro and Townson is in Baltimore's metro.
If SBC goes to 20? Chattanooga would be a school to fill a gap from the western schools and JMU.
Even Lamar has the better facilities of the two in light blue.
UCA and Tarleton State to CUSA to backfill when more movement comes. ACU could be grabbed as well. EKU can be the last minute grab and Austin Peay in the shadows of Nashville could get called up by CUSA. McNeese State yeah. SFASU is stuck in Southland for good. They made a mistake in not staying in the WAC to get noticed. McNeese State should have accepted the WAC's invite so that they could also build up. WAC does have the better tv media deal than the Southland.
Jackson State and Florida A&M are two schools that could move up to FBS.

North Florida, West Florida and Central Oklahoma are 3 schools that I watch out for. 1 if they add football, and the other 2 are in a heavy populated area.

Stony Brook is only moving up if someone takes Jim Simons money and forces it towards sports. There is absolutely no interest in sports at the school especially as it becomes more aligned with Palestinian interests. Also, Asian Math and CompSci students are not interested in football.

(This post was last modified: 07-26-2024 12:43 PM by Scoochpooch1.)

Post: #37

(07-26-2024 12:39 PM)EatEmUp11 Wrote: A reminder that the Southland—through all the changes it’s undergone—has been a three playoff bid league more often than it’s been a one bid league over the past 20 years… the SLC has better sustained after it’s losses (Troy, TXST, recently SH and UCA) than the SoCon did when powerhouses Georgia Southern and App State left. SLC’s got a .547 postseason win% over the past decade compared to the SoCon’s .437, Southland’s also had five semifinalists during that span, SoCon hasn’t seen one since 2012 (and by a non-Deeper than Hate squad since 2005 Furman).

With SFA returning, RGV getting going, UIW’s rise and presumably a return to consistency from ONE of the traditionally stronger LA schools, the longterm question to me isn’t wether or not they’ll be better than the SoCon, but if they’ll step over the watered down CAA while they’re at it.

UAC could have two teams in last year, but they don't have an autobid because UAC is not recognized as a conference to the NCAA. Central Arkansas would have been a good team to watch along with Austin Peay, but a 6-5 school got in over a 7-4 UCA team who had a past history of being in the playoffs.

Post: #38

(07-25-2024 01:35 PM)PeteTheChop Wrote:

(07-25-2024 01:11 PM)DFW HOYA Wrote:

(07-25-2024 11:01 AM)PeteTheChop Wrote: Potential G5 climbers in blue (and longshots to move up in light blue)

11. MEAC: Howard, SC State

Howard? On what basis?

If the some/all of the Division I-AA HBCU's banded together and moved up to I-A

Banded together to form one real school? Yes maybe then

Post: #39

(07-25-2024 09:05 AM)mvfcfan Wrote: Tier 1
1) MVFC
2) Big Sky

Tier 2
3) SOCON
4) CAA

Tier 3
5) Southland
6) Patriot
7) UAC
8) OVC / Big South
9) Ivy League

Tier 4
10) NEC
11) MEAC
12) Pioneer
13) SWAC

Most accurate one yet

Post: #40

(07-24-2024 04:39 PM)Bobcat2013 Wrote: Based on the amount of FCS playoff bids it would be MVFC, Big Sky, CAA, and then Southern. All other leagues had only one bid. The Southland probably should have had two but somehow UIW got left out. So I'd put the SLC at 5

UIW got hosed last year. They went 8-1 against FCS competition with their only loss coming in Thibodaux against a Nicholls squad that was undefeated in SLC play.

Their schedule wasn’t great, it was a down year in the SLC but they’re coming off of a semis appearance and were consistent all year. No reason they should’ve sat at home while North Carolina Central and Mercer got to play. BS.