Division I Sports Conferences

By Matt Shetler ©2008

 

As of 2008, Division I athletics has 342 members and an additional five universities that will soon become Division I programs.  Division I programs are generally larger schools, with larger budgets and facilities.  These programs can offer more athletic scholarships and therefore, are the major athletic powers in the nation.
   
Once called the University Division, separating the bigger athletic schools form the College Division, Division I was formed in 1973.  It was at this time that schools were separated into divisions I, II and III that we still use today.  In 1978, Division I was divided into Division I-A and I-AA in football only.  In all other sports, all Division I conferences are considered equal.
    
The Division I-A are considered bowl eligible and all other divisions are championship eligible.  This led to the NCAA reclassifying the two divisions.  The division I-AA programs now compete in the Division I Championship Subdivision.  While the BCS and other bowl games are used as the postseason in Division I-A, a playoff system is used to determine a champion in all other subdivisions.
   

 

The criteria the NCAA originally used to determine whether a program was I-A or I-AA was attendance for football games.  They also considered scholarships offered as a determining factor.  The average number the NCAA was looking for was 15,000 fans for a two year period.  Starting in 2008, if a program does not average this number, they can be moved down in division.  Consequently, eight schools have moved up to the Bowl Division since 2005, due to high attendance figures.
   
The NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision is the only NCAA sport without a playoff or tournament to determine its champion.  This has created much controversy and has resulted in co-champions numerous times.  The winners of all six BCS conferences ( Big East, SEC, Big Ten, Pac-10, ACC and Big 12) receive automatic bids to BCS games.  The BCS also selects two at-large teams to play in the major bowls.
   
The selection process has become controversial in its own right, leaving many teams in “mid-major” conferences on the outside looking in.  The BCS tries to match the number one and two teams in the nation to compete for the BCS title, but it hasn’t been as easy as it sounds.  Several computer rankings are tallied, plus the results of all the polls, to determine who the number one and two teams are.
   
While the process has been scrutinized, in the end, it does crown a national champion. While many fans wish for a playoff, it won’t happen anytime soon, due to many factors.  The NCAA and BCS have a binding agreement through 2012.  While a playoff would make sense, it simply wouldn’t generate the revenue that the bowl games do.  The NCAA and its institutions make millions from the 36 bowl games it plays every post season.