When do the "Group of 5" schools drop to IAA?

The attendance thread got me thinking about the future of CFB. The thing that bothers me most about IA football is that it is - by intentional design - a system of haves and have nots. With only four spots, teams from the Group of 5 have little to no shot at a playoff bid. I realize that on most occasions the best team from the Group of 5 would not be able to play with the best team from the Power 5, but they are all part of the same division so that should not matter. What is the point of approximately 120 division IA schools if there is no "equality of opportunity?" Again, I am fully aware of the disparity but same division should mean same opportunity.

On top of that, these schools are spending money they do not have to keep up with their Power 5 neighbors and meet NCAA requirements like attendance and seating. So, simply by being a member of IA football, these schools are incentivized to waste money on hosting a IA football program. Even worse, subsidizing their football programs is passed on to students and taxpayers. I am not sure how feasible this is in the long run. It seems like something has to give. I don't know if that is dropping down, the NCAA creating a new division, or even leaving the NCAA for their own athletic association (that seems way too drastic). In any even, IA football does not have room for the MACs or Sun Belts of the world. To be honest, it never really did, but with the nature of the system and rising costs of athletics it is more true than ever before.

My knee jerk reaction to this has always been that they should be in their own division. Call it division 1B and they should have their own national championship. You can keep the bowl games as they are and designate some of them as div 1B playoff bowls. You can still have ooc games between div 1A and 1B teams. That being said, it's my knee jerk reaction and I really haven't thought it through so I really don't know what the consequences would be. It may not be feasible. I don't know, but it seems like a workable solution.

Code_Warrior wrote:My knee jerk reaction to this has always been that they should be in their own division. Call it division 1B and they should have their own national championship. You can keep the bowl games as they are and designate some of them as div 1B playoff bowls. You can still have ooc games between div 1A and 1B teams. That being said, it's my knee jerk reaction and I really haven't thought it through so I really don't know what the consequences would be. It may not be feasible. I don't know, but it seems like a workable solution.

I agree. It has to be more feasible than the current arrangement. I am sure they stay, at least partially, for the payout games. But those could remain in place. However, with five power conferences and four playoff spots, power five teams are going to have to schedule fewer cupcakes. That would be the case even if it went to six.