Beginning in 2006, many things will change in the way NCAA D-IA football teams plan their season. The changes, however, will not have any bearing on the NCAA post-season.
The NCAA has decided to move to a 12-game lineup, as opposed to the standard 11 played by most teams, by eliminating bye weeks from the NCAA game plan.
For the time being, the Big Ten, and other conferences that do not play a conference championshp game, will still be lacking a game in the overall record, but NCAA officials have not altered the actual length of the season by virtue of eliminating the bye week.
Two more amendments were also made to NCAA football law. The NCAA will count one game played against a D-IAA opponent (one class lower than D-IA) in the national rankings.
The basic reasoning for all the changes can be rooted in finance.
Struggling athletic departments will benefit from an extra game's revenue while D-IAA teams who play D-IA teams at home (however unlikely) would benefit from a surge of fans yearning to see the big time program.
The final change will be the lessening of standards for D-IAA schools to move up into D-IA and enter the elite ranks of college football.
The pros and cons of these changes can be debated for hours, but this short list should be enough to start the debate.
Pros
D-IAA schools who play big-time schools with be given more exposure to the national spotlight. Outstanding athletes on these second-tier teams will have a chance to make their mark on NFL scouts.
The added game will help bolster the funds of struggling schools throughout the NCAA.
This change could be a precursor to a change of the way the NCAA schedules the post-season.
Cons
Powerhouse teams like Florida State and Oklahoma will run up the score to earn computer points in the BCS rankings.
If the 12th game should be added, it should be added to the end of the season during the winter break to avoid taking student athletes out of the real reason they are in school-school.
Non-conference schedules are already watered down football (see the Badgers' '04 opponents UCF, UNLV and Arizona). This will only prolong the feeling that the real season does not start until conference play.
