[Rocketfan]

New info from N@A - i didn't see it posted anywhere else...

In 2010, the Big South will have had six full-fledged Division I teams playing together for two years, a requirement for a conference to earn a bid. Stony Brook, which played as an independent in 2007, will join the league in 2008 as an associate member in football only.
Until then, there is potential for the Big South champion to earn an automatic bid if it meets certain criteria. It’s similar to the system that allows a team from a non-BCS league (like Hawaii or Boise State) to earn a berth in one of the five BCS bowls.
To qualify for an automatic berth, a champion from a non-auto bid league must:
w Win at least eight games against Division I opponents.
w Win two non-conference games against teams from auto-bid leagues.
(The current auto-bid leagues: Gateway, Southern, Colonial, Patriot, Big Sky, Ohio Valley, MEAC, Southland.)
w Be ranked 16th or higher in an average of The Sports Network Top 25, the coaches poll and the Gridiron Power Index, a BCS-style ranking of FCS teams.
The new system places added emphasis on Liberty’s non-conference schedule, in particular games against Western Carolina (Southern), Youngstown State (Gateway), Lafayette (Patriot) and Elon (Southern).
To have any shot of earning an automatic bid, the Flames will have to win at least two of those games. In reality, they’ll probably have to win three, and win them impressively, to make a move in the requisite polls.

http://www.newsadvance.com/lna/sports/c ... ball/4714/

[LUconn]

w Be ranked 16th or higher in an average of The Sports Network Top 25, the coaches poll and the Gridiron Power Index, a BCS-style ranking of FCS teams.

BOOOOOOOOOO!

Everything else gets a thumbs up.

[Knucklehead]

I think thisa was said by rocco at the luncheon yesterday!

[ToTheLeft]

So basically, it is no longer a "selection process".

It is just taking the top 13 or so teams, plus the auto-bid champs that don't finish in the top 16.

[jcmanson]

Are you guys just finding out about this? It was posted on a thread here somewhere, I think in the Non-LU sports forum.

It could only affect us for the next 2 years.

[ToTheLeft]

Are you guys just finding out about this? It was posted on a thread here somewhere, I think in the Non-LU sports forum.

It could only affect us for the next 2 years.

But one of our goals this year is to "win in the postseason"

This rule makes that VERY difficult, and pretty much out of our hands if we lose even one game.

[LUconn]

ok supermanson. Why are they just writing a newspaper article about this if it's old news?

[SuperJon]

Are you guys just finding out about this? It was posted on a thread here somewhere, I think in the Non-LU sports forum.

It could only affect us for the next 2 years.

But one of our goals this year is to "win in the postseason"

This rule makes that VERY difficult, and pretty much out of our hands if we lose even one game.

No it doesn't. Our schedule is set up perfectly for this. We play four teams from auto-bid conferences. We can run the table in our conference. That's eight Division I wins right there, ten wins overall.

[fan00]

SJ, I think he was referring to the part of the criteria that requires us to be ranked in the top 16 as being the hard to do part.

I think I am confused! These are the criteria for auto-bids, right? But, won't there still be some "at large bids" for teams that fail to meet ALL of the criteria?

[jcmanson]

Sorry, didn't mean to come across rude, but this came out the same time they announced the playoffs were announced.

Jon is right, our schedule is set up perfect for this. If we go 10-2 or better, we SHOULD be ranked in the top 16.

[LUconn]

what if there are more than 16 teams who meet the autobid status? because I think that's theoretically possile

[Knucklehead]

Sorry, didn't mean to come across rude, but this came out the same time they announced the playoffs were announced.

Jon is right, our schedule is set up perfect for this. If we go 10-2 or better, we SHOULD be ranked in the top 16.

Funny Rocco acted like it was new news at the Luncheon yesterday according to friends there.

[JK37]

what if there are more than 16 teams who meet the autobid status? because I think that's theoretically possile

wouldn't it be more than twenty now?

[Knucklehead]

what if there are more than 16 teams who meet the autobid status? because I think that's theoretically possile

wouldn't it be more than twenty now?

Not tll 2010

[Rocketfan]

Sorry, didn't mean to come across rude, but this came out the same time they announced the playoffs were announced.

Jon is right, our schedule is set up perfect for this. If we go 10-2 or better, we SHOULD be ranked in the top 16.

I dont' recall all this criteria being in that article.

[jcmanson]

what if there are more than 16 teams who meet the autobid status? because I think that's theoretically possile

wouldn't it be more than twenty now?

Not until 2010.

I think if there’s more teams eligible than playoff spots available they would just revert to how they do it now.

[Knucklehead]

Rocco said that this was new info after a meeting with FCS officials!
It was not in the 20 team announcements

[LUconn]

what if there are more than 16 teams who meet the autobid status? because I think that's theoretically possile

wouldn't it be more than twenty now?

Not until 2010.

I think if there’s more teams eligible than playoff spots available they would just revert to how they do it now.

which would make this at-large eligibility requirements, not AUTObids.

[Knucklehead]

wouldn't it be more than twenty now?

Not until 2010.

I think if there’s more teams eligible than playoff spots available they would just revert to how they do it now.

which would make this at-large eligibility requirements, not AUTObids.

YES!

[jcmanson]

This is for at-large requirements, it has nothing to do with auto bids. Auto bids are for champions of conferences.

[jcmanson]

I guess Lang worded that wrong.

[LUconn]

do you think that maybe you're wrong? I don't think he could have meant something else.

[Sly Fox]

We discussed this new scenario as a likely proposal a month or so ago. But now it os formally in place.

I think we all agree the rankings will be the biggest challenge. But if non-scholie San Diego can pull it off then I think we have every reason to believe a 10-2 record would accomplish it as well.

[ToTheLeft]

Oh.... I think I mis-understood.

I am thinking this is like the "Notre Dame/Boise State" rule for FCS, not the method for picking at-larges. Basically it gives a non-autobid team an auto-bid if it does ridiculously well.

(If everyone else knew this beforehand, then I guess I am just slow.)

[Knucklehead]

I guess it must be a new form of auto bid as a reward for meeting the criteria. This is a stop gap until 2010