Should James Madison University Move to FBS?

Last Updated on June 5, 2014

Earlier this month, the JMU Board of Visitors was presented with the results of a study by CarrSports Consulting considering whether a move should be made from playing football at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The study concluded JMU is “well-positioned for a potential transition to FBS.” Recent comments from faculty, however, suggest not everyone believes the move is in the best interest of JMU or its students.

Physics professor Kevin Giovanetti said that JMU might be hurting themselves by moving into a tougher athletic conferences in the FBS.

“I think the secret of getting funding with the athletics program is success,” he said. “If you move into a tougher arena, your success deteriorates significantly, causing what I would say is a step back from some of the community interest.”

Giovanetti is right on that point. NCAA research presented at the NACDA Convention this summer showed very few institutions who improved on the field after a move from FCS to FBS. Of the 19 teams who moved from FCS to FBS from 1978 to 2010 just six teams average more wins per year at the FBS level than they did at the FCS level: Boise State, UConn, FIU, Louisiana Tech, Marshall and South Florida. For the record, FIU and Louisiana Tech still don’t have winning seasons on average.

School	FCS Wins/Year	FBS Wins/Year
Boise State	7.44	10
Uconn	5.33	6.82
Florida International	3.75	3.86
Louisiana Tech	5.64	5.79
Marshall	7.26	7.44
South Florida	6.75	7

According to NCAA research, the 19 teams who moved from FCS to FBS from 1978-2010 experienced a winning season in 64.4 percent of years. That percentage dropped to 37.2 percent after a move to FBS.

However, Tom Kleinlein, athletic director at Georgia Southern University, who is moving from FCS to FBS next season, says exposure at the FBS level might be worth more than winning at the FCS level.

“Go ask someone 100 miles from Statesboro how many national championships we won at the FCS level,” he said. “No one knows.”

For the record, Georgia Southern holds six national titles.

Kleinlein is quick to point out that the FCS national championship game rarely out-rates even the lowest-rated bowl games.

Last season, the FCS championship game beat out just one bowl game: the 2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl, which pitted Purdue against Oklahoma State.

There’s a cost associated with that exposure, according to NCAA research. Subsidies increased an average of $1.2 million when teams reclassified from FCS to FBS.

However, CarrSports Consulting’s report for JMU states that current trends support the conclusion that athletic-generated revenues (tickets, guarantees, donations, conference distributions, etc.) growth will outpace any growth in expenses, actually decreasing the dependence on student fees.

But wait, there’s a catch….

When the report says the dependence on student fees will decrease, it doesn’t actually mean students will pay less. Currently, JMU student fees account for almost 80 percent of the $33 million it costs to fund JMU athletics. CarrSports’ report estimates that percentage will drop to 72.7 percent to 74.8 percent, but because expenses are expected to increase by 12.8 to 13.7 percent, the cost per student would still increase.

Reliance on student fees is a hot button for faculty at JMU who have been asked to weigh in on the situation.

Accounting professor Tim Louwers says it should be alumni, not current students, who fund the additional expenses associated with a move to FBS.

“It’s the alumni who really are pushing for this move, but they don’t seem willing to pay for it … so the question is, why can’t we pass that along to the alumni who want this?”

“I would be very much in support of the move if it was paid for by people who are calling for this rather than it being passed onto the students.”

The CarrSports report did estimate alumni donations would increase from $2 million per year to $4 million per year by 2019 with a move to FBS. The average public FBS university reported $12.6 million in donations last fiscal year, according to reports filed with the NCAA. However, $4 million in donations would be JMU in the company of schools like San Diego State, Marshall, Houston and Louisiana Lafayette.

What if the revenue growth doesn’t outpace the expense growth, as predicted in the report?

UMass Amherst is struggling with that currently. In December, an ad hoc committee presented its findings on the program’s move to FBS to the faculty senate, including information on expenses far beyond projections.

In fiscal year 2011, the program’s last year in FCS, football expenses totaled $4.4 million, $3.2 of which came from university support, student fees and out-of-state tuition waivers.

UMass Amherst’s first year in the FBS was expected to cost $5.4 million with $4.4 coming from the university and students. Instead, expenses totaled $6.0 million, $5.0 million of which came from university sources and student fees.

Last fiscal year, the football budget was projected to be $6.5 million, with $4.2 million from the university and students. Instead, football expenses came in at $7.2 million, with at least $4.5 million from the university and students.

Taking a wider view, UMass Amherst’s first year at the FBS level cost the university $8.2 million, according to the report the ad hoc committee presented to the faculty senate last December. Here’s a breakdown directly from the report:

7,160,339 FY13 football program budget
2,070,000 First year of McGuirk Stadium improvements debt service payments
700,000 One-year marketing budget
260,105 Gender Equity Scholarships
10,190,444 – the total expenses related to the FBS football program

We must, however, subtract the non-institutional revenues (from ticket sales, guarantees, contributions
and NCAA sponsorship) generated by the program in FY13. They total $1,969,983.

Therefore, the grand total that was spent by the university and state in support of the FBS football 
program in FY 13 was $8,220,461.

Ticket sales at UMass have been far lower than predicted, which accounts for a large portion of the budget issues at UMass. Average attendance last year was just 10,901, and now the program finds itself at risk of not meeting the base requirement for membership at the FBS level, which requires average attendance of 15,000. Should UMass not meet the attendance threshold, it would be put on probation for the next 10 years and have its membership rights restricted.

You can listen here to an NPR interview I did recently about UMass.

Of course, every school is different. For example, Boise State has put its university on the map by reclassifying to FBS and being successful on the field over the past decade and a half, which I detail in my new book, Saturday Millionaires. As I stated above, however, just six of the 19 schools who have reclassified from 1978-2010 have seen their wins per year increase (and Boise State and UConn are the only ones to have reached a BCS bowl game). That’s why every school must make this decision for itself based on all the available information. In the end, it’s a calculated risk, not a guaranteed pay day.

What say you JMU fans – do you want to see the Dukes move to FBS?

 

Kristi A. Dosh is an attorney and founder of BusinessofCollegeSports.com. Her latest book on the business of college football, Saturday Millionaires, is available now. Visit SaturdayMillionaires.com for retailers and a sneak peak at the first chapter! Follow her on Twitter: @SportsBizMiss.

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