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D1-A vs D1-AA's name game

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Interesting article.Read On:

The name game
Coaches, athletic directors feel the Division I-AA tag should be eliminated

By RAY MELICK BIRMINGHAM POST-HERALD

What's in a name?
According to athletic directors and coaches at the NCAA Division I-AA level, plenty. And a year from now, the NCAA is expected to do away with the distinction between Division I-A and I-AA, a distinction that only applies to football but which coaches and administrators who compete at schools with I-AA football programs feel unfairly stigmatizes them all.

"It's the nomenclature of athletics," said Samford University athletic director Bob Roller. "What happens is, people say because we play I-AA football, we're a I-AA school. And that's wrong. In all other sports, if we're playing, say, Notre Dame, people say, 'Oh, that's a I-A game for you.' But it's not, because we're playing Division I in all other sports, just like everyone else."

The Division I-AA designation currently applies to 122 schools who offer a maximum of 63 scholarships in football, play 11-game seasons and can compete in a playoff to determine a national champion (although the Ivy League is I-AA and offers no athletic scholarships).

There are 117 programs currently designated Division I-A, which means they offer up to 85 scholarships, compete in post-season bowl games and, starting next year, play 12 regular season games.

There is no Division I-AA designation for sports other than football. But coaches of those other sports often find their programs are being referred to as "Division I-AA," particularly in the all important area of recruiting.

"In football, the I-AA level makes sense," Roller said. "But your entire program gets stuck with that moniker. Our golf team is in the NCAA Championships at Stanford ? not the I-AA championships, the Division I championships. Our baseball team has a chance to go to the College World Series in Omaha ? not a I-AA World Series. That's the biggest bone of contention."

Doug Fullerton, Commissioner of the Big Sky Conference, a I-AA power, was quoted as saying, "We just don't want to be called I-AA. Even though it only applies to football, I-A schools recruit against us and call our basketball teams and track teams I-AA programs. They're not, but people and recruits might understand better if we had a new term that was football specific."

However, it doesn't mean all schools at the Division I level will be equal.

"I would think you'll have programs that designate they will participate in the NCAA playoffs, and others that designate they will participate in the BCS series," said Mike Slive, Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference and member of the NCAA Management Council.

"I don't know how we'll designate them, but there will still be a difference."

One option, Roller said, is that "we'll be called 'Division I playoff institutions' and the rest will be called BCS (Bowl Championship Series) schools, I guess. That's why I say it's semantics, it's word play. It's not going to change the payout or who gets the bigger piece of the pie. We get a small stipend from the BCS every year to advertise college football (Division I-AA conferences get $190,000 each year of BCS revenue, while non-BCS conferences get in the neighborhood of $1 million). We can't use that money for anything other than advertising our games, for promoting our football program. Maybe that would be increased."

Part of the reason for the change is the rumor that a handful of Division I-AA football conferences, such as the Big Sky, have talked about voting to make the jump to Division I status en masse. In the past 15 years, 13 schools have moved from Division I-AA to Division I.

That is one reason the NCAA has begun making the line between the two designations less distinct, with such changes as allowing Division I-A teams to count a victory over a I-AA team every year in terms of bowl-eligibility, as opposed to once every four years as was the previous rule.

The move by the NCAA to allow an additional regular season game, combined with allowing victories over Division I-AA teams to count, has opened up tremendous revenue opportunities for I-AA programs by scheduling more games against I-A teams. Samford and Jacksonville State, for example, recently announced contracts for games against Georgia Tech, beginning in 2006.

"I know Jack (Crowe, JSU's head football coach) is talking to a number of teams in the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference), for example," said Jacksonville State athletic director Jim Fuller. "But our problem is, we can't play a 12th regular season game until 2008, so we're having to jockey our schedule around to try to take advantage of those opportunities to play the Division I schools.

"We're all calling each other, trying to move games even within our league (Ohio Valley Conference) to see if we can make the schedules fit. It's a nightmare, but it's worth it if you can work it out. The good thing is, all of us (at the Division I-AA level) are doing the same thing, so everyone is willing to try to make it work out so it's best for everyone."

Both Roller and Fuller say they have one common problem in scheduling games against Division I schools.

"I know we've called some ACC school, and what we get is, 'if you were in our state, we'd play you,'" Fuller said. "Vanderbilt is another one that told us they try to play in-state I-AA schools. That's what we're going through in this state."

Both Roller and Fuller have expressed frustration that neither Alabama nor Auburn will consider scheduling either of their programs, but will play I-AA programs from other states.

"I've talked to Mal (Moore, Alabama athletic director) about this," Fuller said. "But I think it goes beyond relationships with head coaches and athletic directors. I think it goes to the level of the Board of Trustees. It's higher-up people making these decisions. So we talk, but … '

Meanwhile, the I-AA programs are determined to find a better name for themselves.

"I think it's a good thing, to do away with that designation," Roller said. "And from what I'm hearing, by next spring it will happen."

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D1-A vs D1-AA's name game

And I was under the impression that 1-AA where so proud of that designation!!

Let them simmer in their own …… .
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D1-A vs D1-AA's name game

Remember all that crap from the AnyGiven Saturday website? I guess that now the upper brass have a change of heart? Reporter Tony Moss must be fuming. He's the mouthpiece that always slam D1-A football every chance he gets!
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D1-A vs D1-AA's name game

The funny thing is, the die hard 1-AA fans have so much displeassure for 1-A, yet they have no problem playing the money games and tell everyone how much better 1-AA is compare to 1-A. Yet look at how many 1-AA teams would make the jump up if they could afford it, now your talking about a hole conference making the jump :o

They took offense to FAU & FIU from the very beggining when we clearly made a commitment to go 1-A from the very inception of our program, knowing we had to take our baby step into 1-AA first.

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D1-A vs D1-AA's name game


Bytor said

They took offense to FAU & FIU from the very beggining when we clearly made a commitment to go 1-A from the very inception of our program, knowing we had to take our baby step into 1-AA first.

I remember those people from the Any Given Saturday message board, some of them were really offended about anything having to do with moving to I-A.

Panthers on the Rise
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D1-A vs D1-AA's name game


MaXx said

Bytor said

They took offense to FAU & FIU from the very beggining when we clearly made a commitment to go 1-A from the very inception of our program, knowing we had to take our baby step into 1-AA first.

I remember those people from the Any Given Saturday message board, some of them were really offended about anything having to do with moving to I-A.

I even remember articles from Otto Fad on I-AA.com bashing FAU and FIU and how I-AA football was too good for us. I wonder what's going to happen to all those websites once the labels disappear!! ;D
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D1-A vs D1-AA's name game

D1-A vs D1-AA's name game

Lets not be so quick to criticize the 1-AA teams. They dislike 1A because they don't agree with the BCS system. They prefer, as do most of us, the playoff system. However, no-one can blame them for taking 1A games for the money. It is the only way for those teams to survive.

2017 and 2019 Conference USA Champions
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D1-A vs D1-AA's name game

I don't criticize the teams at all and in fact I prefer their system. I learned a lot about the I-AA teams because FIU was a part of that division. What I don't like was the arrogance of the majority of the fans on that message board towards FIU and FAU about our plans to move to I-A.

Panthers on the Rise
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D1-A vs D1-AA's name game

I don't dislike 1-AA, in fact I like the system they use, it's how they act toward teams that want to make a move to 1-A and even how they act with certain 1-A teams and not only the lower level 1-A team, but solid 1-A teams from there own states. They want respect from 1-A, yet they show zilch!! They act as if they are superior - they just need to get a grip and work on building their own division and whatever image they what to protrait.

In the short period of time we have been in 1-AA, I have found that there some pretty good football being play at the 1-AA level - I have no ill feeling to 1-AA, but there are some that are associated with 1-AA that leave me with a bad taste in my mouth, yet I still hold an admiration for what 1-AA has to deal with and the level of play do have - I like the fact that the playing filed is much more level in the Top 25 then in the BCS system.
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D1-A vs D1-AA's name game


owlfan1 said

Lets not be so quick to criticize the 1-AA teams. They dislike 1A because they don't agree with the BCS system. They prefer, as do most of us, the playoff system. However, no-one can blame them for taking 1A games for the money. It is the only way for those teams to survive.

We are not criticizing the D1-AA group. Their anger and trash talking really had nothing to do with the BCS system. They just hated anyone who wanted to move up and FAU and FIU just happened to be the immediate target. Their post range from "haven't proved anything" to the nerve of us to even consider moving when most teams in D1-AA could wipe the field with us at anytime. Reporters Otto Fad and Tony Moss still take shots at us whenever they can. Attendance issues, the Dome and even the city of Boca itself!
Some of the main contributers? The entire Montana Griz group, Appl State fans,JohnStonge(?) from McNeese State,GA Southern and Cap'Cat . I was one who fought a daily battle over there but it went nowhere with those guys. Although we had every intention of moving up from day one.
I wish you could go back into the archive and see some of the posts. The Sky was falling every day around there. The moderator, Ralph, was pretty cool. I still write him from time to time. He always wished us luck but tried to explain the disdain of the crowd. They looked at us as passers by who were using their playground on a temporary basis. I understood that logic from him.

They do have the best playoff system in the NCAA world. The NCAA need to take a hard look. The BCS is concerned about education and prolonging the season. Yet some very good "academic schools" from a IVY League schedules participate and don't lose graduation points.
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