The Division I Council introduced legislative proposals that would change membership requirements for Football Bowl Subdivision schools.
And make it tough for an HBCU at the FCS level to move to an FBS conference.
The proposals introduced into the legislative cycle will be voted on by the council at a future meeting after membership feedback is considered, NCAA.com reported Wednesday.
If adopted, all FBS schools would be required to provide 90% of the total number of allowable scholarships over a two-year rolling period across at least 16 sports, including football. Schools also would be required to offer at least 210 scholarships each year, amounting to no less than $6 million in athletics scholarships offered, the website reported.
These requirements would take effect Aug. 1, 2027, for existing FBS members and for schools already transitioning to FBS membership. Moving forward, for schools applying to transition to FBS beginning in 2024-25 and thereafter, the requirements would have to be met by the end of the two-year transition process.
If these requirements are adopted, previously existing requirements for football attendance at FBS schools would be removed, effective immediately.
“These requirements will directly benefit college athletes competing in Division I sports by requiring significant investment in scholarship opportunities,” said Jon Steinbrecher, commissioner of the Mid-American Conference and vice chair of the Division I Council. “Over the past several years, the NCAA’s collected data about spending at FBS schools indicate that these requirements are reasonable and attainable for the majority of impacted athletics programs.”
The council also introduced new legislation that would increase the fee to transition from FCS to FBS from $5,000 to $5 million. If adopted, the change would be effective immediately for schools initiating the transition process from that point forward. The fee would be reassessed regularly.
