In reply to: Too much money involved to drop down posted by jt
there are many FCS schools that are much more competitive than some group of 5 schools, and the administration is behind the program and supportive of the athletes.
Not the case at many group of 5 schools, where the administration sees the program and the athletes as a necessary evil or a means to an end, similar to the way a John thinks of a hooker.
...case with the MAC. Their admonistrations don't care about the players. They care about the money. But I think the MAC would benefit going to the FCS. Just my opinion. In any event, NIL money and the transfer portal definitely benefit the Power 5 schools the most. They can poach all the best players from the Group of 5 schools with NIL money and the way the transfer portal is set up makes it easier for such players to make the jump. I know you didn't like my scenario of NIL donors pulling strings on players, and I admit is was an unlikely thing to happen, but we can both think of other scenarios that can screw over the athletes. Sadly, right now, the NCAA has little power and gumption to do anything about the way things are heading.
some of those FCS schools would kill them, however. NDSU and UND are legit. Same with Montana and Montana State, and there are several others (SEMO, UT-Martin, Sac State).
Truth is, I know several kids in the 25 and 26 classes and we've talked about it already; if you want to go somewhere where you'll grow as an athlete, get good coaching, and play against good competition on Saturday (and not Tues and Wed), you're much better off in FCS. There are some real high level programs with very good coaching out there.
MAC and Conference USA are just whoring their athletes out there and don't give a fuck.
...that there are some very good FCS teams who would handle teams in the MAC and C-USA. I just think it's better than playing on weekdays and when they aren't playing such days, they are getting smoked by an SEC or B1G team. Sure, an upset occasionally happens, but that isn't the point. I think the difference in talent will widen the gulf in talent between Power 5 and Group of 5 talent as well. Now, I am not saying this will convince the powers that be in the Group of 5 conferences to make a move to the FCS, but it sure would be a legit excuse to make such a move. It's the money (TV money and money they get from the Power 5 team they are playing) that will keep the status quo.