A Full Season Without NCAACF D1A (FBS) Teams Playing D1AA (FCS) Teams

[rock55choc]

I love the sport of college football with a insatiable passion, but there is one part of it I just wish would cease to exist. I have always resented the concept of 1A (FBS) teams playing against 1AA (FCS) teams. Although I understand the reasons why these matchups occur, I still dream of a season in which 1A teams exclusively only play one another. But that ideal got me to thinking ... considering bye weeks and a full 12 game schedule for each team, would it be logistically or mathematically possible for 120 teams to play only one another without having a matchup against a IAA team?

I hope I stated this question and scenario in a way in which you can understand what I mean. Thanks in advance for your responses.

[OMMF]

I love the sport of college football with a insatiable passion, but there is one part of it I just wish would cease to exist. I have always resented the concept of 1A (FBS) teams playing against 1AA (FCS) teams. Although I understand the reasons why these matchups occur, I still dream of a season in which 1A teams exclusively only play one another. But that ideal got me to thinking ... considering bye weeks and a full 12 game schedule for each team, would it be logistically or mathematically possible for 120 teams to play only one another without having a matchup against a IAA team?

I hope I stated this question and scenario in a way in which you can understand what I mean. Thanks in advance for your responses.

Yes.

[footballfiji]

Well let's see. You have to break it down by conferences, games, and how many "at-large" games a team is looking for.

Assume everyone plays ONLY 12 games.

ACC: 12 teams x 4 non-conference games= 48

Big East: 8 teams x 5 nc games= 40

Big 10: 11 teams x 4 nc games= 44

Big XII: 12 teams x 4 nc games= 48

CUSA: 12 teams x 4 nc games= 48

MAC: 13 teams x 4 nc games= 52

Mtn West: 9 teams x 4 nc games= 36

Pac 10: 10 teams x 3 nc games= 30

SEC: 12 teams x 4 nc games= 48

Sun Belt: 9 teams x 4 nc games= 36

WAC: 9 teams x 4 nc games= 36

Independents: 3 teams x 12 nc games= 36

Let's cancel some of the league's out and just assume since they both need the same number of non-conference games that they will play each other.

So the ACC plays the SEC; The CUSA plays the Big XII; The Mtn West Plays the Sun Belt; The WAC plays only the Independent Schools.

ACC: 12 teams x 4 non-conference games= 48

Big East: 8 teams x 5 nc games= 40

Big 10: 11 teams x 4 nc games= 44

Big XII: 12 teams x 4 nc games= 48

CUSA: 12 teams x 4 nc games= 48

MAC: 13 teams x 4 nc games= 52

Mtn West: 9 teams x 4 nc games= 36

Pac 10: 10 teams x 3 nc games= 30

SEC: 12 teams x 4 nc games= 48

Sun Belt: 9 teams x 4 nc games= 36

WAC: 9 teams x 4 nc games= 36

Independents: 3 teams x 12 nc games= 36

So that leaves the Big East, the Big 10, The MAC, and the Pac-10 left to be paired. Let's say the Big East plays only the Big 10. That Leaves 4 non-conference games left for the Big 10.:

Big East: 8 teams x 5 nc games= 40

Big 10: 11 teams x 4 nc games= 44

MAC: 13 teams x 4 nc games= 52

Pac 10: 10 teams x 3 nc games= 30

That leaves 4 nc games plus the 52 from the MAC and the 30 from the Pac 10. The MAC can't play itself and only has 34 nc games among the Pac 10 and Big 10 to finish.

52-34= 18 non conference games left for the MAC to play.

So every year we should have about 18 D-1AA schools playing D-1 matchup. This still doesn't take into account the Hawaii rule. That says if a team plays Hawaii, in Hawaii they can pick up an extra home game. Last Year Hawaii had 5 home games against D-1 schools. If 7 teams (the normal Hawaii home schedule) used the Hawaii rule, you'd still have 11 non-conference games left without a home.

The math doesn't really add up.

[rock55choc]

Thanks footballfiji !! Your reply was thoroughly in-depth and went above and beyond my expectations for an answer. Good job of explaining it to me. Kudos.

[OMMF]

Well let's see. You have to break it down by conferences, games, and how many "at-large" games a team is looking for.

Assume everyone plays ONLY 12 games.

ACC: 12 teams x 4 non-conference games= 48

Big East: 8 teams x 5 nc games= 40

Big 10: 11 teams x 4 nc games= 44

Big XII: 12 teams x 4 nc games= 48

CUSA: 12 teams x 4 nc games= 48

MAC: 13 teams x 4 nc games= 52

Mtn West: 9 teams x 4 nc games= 36

Pac 10: 10 teams x 3 nc games= 30

SEC: 12 teams x 4 nc games= 48

Sun Belt: 9 teams x 4 nc games= 36

WAC: 9 teams x 4 nc games= 36

Independents: 3 teams x 12 nc games= 36

Let's cancel some of the league's out and just assume since they both need the same number of non-conference games that they will play each other.

So the ACC plays the SEC; The CUSA plays the Big XII; The Mtn West Plays the Sun Belt; The WAC plays only the Independent Schools.

ACC: 12 teams x 4 non-conference games= 48

Big East: 8 teams x 5 nc games= 40

Big 10: 11 teams x 4 nc games= 44

Big XII: 12 teams x 4 nc games= 48

CUSA: 12 teams x 4 nc games= 48

MAC: 13 teams x 4 nc games= 52

Mtn West: 9 teams x 4 nc games= 36

Pac 10: 10 teams x 3 nc games= 30

SEC: 12 teams x 4 nc games= 48

Sun Belt: 9 teams x 4 nc games= 36

WAC: 9 teams x 4 nc games= 36

Independents: 3 teams x 12 nc games= 36

So that leaves the Big East, the Big 10, The MAC, and the Pac-10 left to be paired. Let's say the Big East plays only the Big 10. That Leaves 4 non-conference games left for the Big 10.:

Big East: 8 teams x 5 nc games= 40

Big 10: 11 teams x 4 nc games= 44

MAC: 13 teams x 4 nc games= 52

Pac 10: 10 teams x 3 nc games= 30

That leaves 4 nc games plus the 52 from the MAC and the 30 from the Pac 10. The MAC can't play itself and only has 34 nc games among the Pac 10 and Big 10 to finish.

52-34= 18 non conference games left for the MAC to play.

So every year we should have about 18 D-1AA schools playing D-1 matchup. This still doesn't take into account the Hawaii rule. That says if a team plays Hawaii, in Hawaii they can pick up an extra home game. Last Year Hawaii had 5 home games against D-1 schools. If 7 teams (the normal Hawaii home schedule) used the Hawaii rule, you'd still have 11 non-conference games left without a home.

The math doesn't really add up.

He asked if it was logistically possible. So that would mean that any team could play any team. Therefore, the Big 10 teams would only need to play 2 non-conference games, the Big 12, CUSA, SEC and ACC would only need to play 1. MAC could play themselves since this is a hypothetical question. It is possible but not with the given constraints the conferences place upon themselves.