A. INTRODUCTION 

As UTSA considers adding the sport of Division I-AA football, with the possible future transition to Division I-A football, it is important for the University to have an understanding of the many NCAA legislative requirements. These requirements are explained in this section along with a brief introduction into the history and current climate of college football.

B. CURRENT AND POTENTIAL NCAA ISSUES

1. The Creation and Evolution of Division I-AA: All NCAA sports are important but football is the primary sport that distinguishes one college or university from another. In 1973 the NCAA separated its membership into Divisions I, II and III. Five years later the membership created Division I-AA, a new "cost containment" level of football, and each member institution was given five years to determine the level of football in which it wished to compete.

From 1980 until 1990, Division I-AA numbered approximately 60 members. In 1990, the NCAA membership voted to eliminate multi-divisional membership, thus forcing all Division I institutions to place their football programs in Division I. Since NCAA Division I-A, the highest level of football, had minimum standards and I-AA did not, the Division I schools who had previously sponsored Division III (non-scholarship) football programs were required to place those programs into I-AA in 1999; this swelled I-AA membership to 120. In 2005, there were 116 institutions competing for the Division I-AA Football Championship.

The championship teams from eight conferences receive automatic qualification to the Division I-AA Football Championship: Atlantic-10, Big Sky, Gateway, MEAC, Ohio Valley, Patriot League, Southern and Southland Conferences. Eight at-large teams are selected from the other members of the same eight conferences as well as from the remaining 49 institutions that compete in Division I-AA football outside of these conferences.

2. Major Developments Affecting I-AA and I-A: The advantages of cost-containment football have not been enough to bring stability to Division I-AA. The defection of successful Division I-AA football programs (e.g., Marshall University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University) to I-A has been common. Although reasons may vary, generally the driving force has been the attraction of playing in a higher classification of football and the resulting real or perceived credibility for the university. Such initiatives in today’s complex environment are taken at extreme risk unless the university has been guaranteed membership in a substantial I-A conference and thus has access to scheduling certainties, television appearances and revenues, plus bowl game opportunities and revenues.

During its January 2005 meeting, the Division I Board of Directors directed the NCAA staff, in consultation with the Division I Management Council and the Conference Commissioners Association, to draft legislation that would lead to an enhancement of Division I-AA football. Among the items that came out of this legislation were rule changes allowing Division I-A programs the use of one win each year against a Division I-AA opponent for Division I-A bowl eligibility and use of one game each year against a Division I-AA opponent to satisfy the five home-game scheduling requirement for Division I-A membership. This working group considered, but did not put forth legislation on the much-discussed idea to eliminate the Division I-A and I-AA subdivisions and instead recognize the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) eligible teams and NCAA championship eligible teams in Division I football.

3. The Bowl Championship Series: A distinction in Division I-A more significant than conference membership (but tied to it for all schools except Notre Dame) is that drawn by membership in the BCS, a voluntary arrangement for post-season play started in 1998 among the major conferences. It is neither controlled nor managed by the NCAA and its purpose is to deliver a Division I-A National Championship game.

The Rose Bowl, Nokia Sugar Bowl, FedEx Orange Bowl and the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl comprised the BCS bowls in January 2006. In January 2007, for the first time, the BCS will host an additional "National Championship Game" matching the top two teams in the final BCS standings. Under the BCS arrangement, six of the ten slots in these bowls are reserved for the champions of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pacific-10 and Southeastern Conferences. If a Division I-A team in a conference other than one of these six finishes the season ranked in the top 14 in the BCS standings, that team is eligible for one of the remaining at-large slots. As this explanation illustrates, every Division I-A team theoretically has the opportunity to compete in a BCS bowl game and to compete for the National Championship. The practical realities are much different.

The BCS bowls paid each competing team or the team's conference between $13.5 and $14.1 million last year. The remaining 24 bowls paid their participating teams between $750,000 and $5.2 million last year. Under the current BCS arrangement, last season the six BCS leagues collected $89.2 million among them, while the five Division I-A conferences whose champions are not guaranteed slots in a BCS bowl received a total of approximately $5.16 million combined for making their teams available to play in a BCS bowl game. In addition, eight Division I-AA conferences share approximately $1.8 million of revenue annually from the BCS arrangement even though their teams are not eligible to play in the BCS bowl games.

Despite the fact that a modest portion of the BCS money is shared with the non-BCS schools, the line of demarcation between the "haves" and "have nots" of Division I-A has been widened by the BCS arrangement and the continued, selective distribution of enormous revenues is making it more difficult for non-BCS I-A programs to compete not only in football but in all sports.

C. NCAA DIVISION I-AA FOOTBALL REQUIREMENTS

There are minimum membership requirements that exist for all Division I institutions, regardless of football classification: 1. Sports sponsorship; 2. Contests and participation for each sport; and 3. Financial aid for the overall athletics program. An existing NCAA Division I institution adding Division I-AA football would need to ensure that it remained in compliance with these three requirements. With respect to these three requirements, there is no material difference between what is required of all Division I institutions and what is required of a Division I-AA institution, except that a Division I-AA institution must use football as one of its required 14 sport teams.

The process for a NCAA Division I-AAA institution to add the sport of Division I-AA football is quite simple. First, during the summer prior to the first year that the institution plays its first Division I-AA schedule the institution must indicate on its annual NCAA sports sponsorship form that it intends on sponsoring Division I-AA football. Then, the institution must comply with the scheduling requirements of Bylaws 20.9.3.3 and 20.9.7.2, which state that the institution must schedule and play a minimum of 9 football contests and that 50 percent of its total contests must be played against Division I-A or Division I-AA institutions. During the first year the institution satisfies this scheduling requirement, it is eligible to compete for the Division I-AA Football Championship. A Division I-AA football team is permitted to play a maximum of 11 regular season football contests most years and 12 games only when there are 14 regular-season Saturdays; this occurs in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2019.

With respect to athletically related financial aid for football, Division I-AA has no minimum number of grants-in-aid and some I-AA institutions compete with no football scholarships versus other schools with similar policies. Division I-AA has an annual limit of 30 on the number of initial counters, an annual limit of 63 on the value of financial aid awards (equivalencies) to counters, and an annual limit of 85 on the total number of counters (including initial counters). These numbers are important because Division I-AA institutions that award an average of 90 percent of the permissible maximum number of 63 grants-in-aid per year to their football team over a rolling two-year period are more attractive for scheduling away "guarantee games" versus Division I-A opponents. Division I-AA institutions that meet the above scholarship criteria count as a Division I-A team for both home scheduling requirements and bowl eligibility for their Division I-A opponents.

It is also worth noting that each institution may employ a maximum of 11 coaches in Division I-AA football. According to NCAA Bylaw 11.7.3, these coaches may include one head coach and any combination of assistant and graduate assistant coaches.

NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship:
The Division I-AA Football Championship includes a field of 16 teams. Eight conferences (including the Southland) were granted automatic qualification for the 2005 championship and the remaining eight teams were selected at-large by the Division I-AA Football Committee, which applies the following principles when selecting at- large teams:

• The committee shall select the best teams available on a national at-large basis to complete the bracket;

• There is no limit to the number of teams the committee may select from one conference;

• The won-lost record of a team will be scrutinized to determine a team’s strength of schedule; however, less than seven Division I wins may place a team in jeopardy of not being selected; and

• The committee may give more consideration to those teams that have played all Division I opponents.

• The playoff begins the fourth Saturday in November on the campus of the higher seeded team and continues each week until the championship game is played on the third weekend of December at a predetermined site.
  

D. NCAA DIVISION I-A FOOTBALL REQUIREMENTS

NCAA Division I-A football teams are committed to intercollegiate football competition at the highest amateur level possible. To maintain this high level of competition, Division I-A membership requirements are much greater than the general Division I requirements that apply to I-AAA and I-AA institutions. These differences can be found in three general categories: level of competition in football, resource allocation and required showing of public support.

1. Level of Competition in Football: Division I-A institutions are required to play 60 percent of their football games against Division I-A institutions and to play a minimum of 5 home games against Division I-A institutions. In June 2005, the Division I Board of Directors adopted a proposal that permits a Division I-A institution to count one contest against a Division I-AA opponent to satisfy the home scheduling requirement, provided the Division I-AA opponent has averaged 90 percent of the permissible maximum number of grants-in-aid per year in Division I-AA football over a rolling two-year period. This new rule has an August 1, 2006 effective date. The maximum number of contests that a Division I-A institution can compete in is 12 beginning with the 2006-07 academic year.

In addition to these scheduling requirements, Division I-A institutions must also provide an average of 90 percent of the permissible maximum grants-in-aid in football per year over a rolling two-year average. Currently, the maximum number of grants-in-aid in Division I-A football is 85 full scholarships. Thus, a Division I-A institution must award an average of 76.5 scholarships over a rolling two-year period. In contrast, Division I-AA institutions are not required to provide any scholarships to their football student-athletes to remain a Division I-AA institution. This stark contrast illustrates the emphasis Division I-A institutions place on the level of competition in football.

Each institution may employ a maximum of 12 coaches in Division I-A football. According to NCAA Bylaw 11.7.2, this limit includes one head coach, nine assistant coaches and 2 graduate assistant coaches.

2. Resource Allocation: Division I-A institutions must annually offer at least 200 grants-in-aid or spend at least $4 million in athletically related aid to counters. In contrast, Division I-AA and Division I-AAA institutions could provide as little as 77 full grants-in-aid and remain in compliance with the Division I financial aid requirements. In addition, Division I-A institutions must sponsor 16 sports compared to a minimum of 14 sports in Division I-AA and Division I-AAA. These requirements to sponsor additional sports and to fund these sports at a high level are designed to ensure that Division I-A institutions allocate meaningful resources to their entire athletics program.

3. Public Support: Public support, measured by attendance at home football games, is a requirement unique to Division I-A institutions. Prior to 2004, NCAA legislation required an institution that played their home games in a stadium that contained a minimum of 30,000 permanent seats to average more than 17,000 in paid attendance per home game for one year in the immediate past four year period. An institution that played its games in a stadium that contained less than 30,000 permanent seats was required to average 17,000 in paid attendance for every home game for each of the preceding four years.

Beginning August 1, 2004, institutions were required to show the necessary degree of public support by averaging 15,000 in actual attendance (as opposed to paid attendance) each year. There was philosophical disagreement among Division I-A institutions as to whether or not public support measured by attendance at home football games is an appropriate criteria for determining an institution’s Division I-A status. Another concern was that linking Division I-A membership status to actual attendance was linking an important institutional identity to something outside the control of the institution.

In response to these concerns, the Division I Board of Directors adopted Proposal 2005-20, with an August 1, 2005 effective date. This rule requires that Division I-A institutions annually average at least 15,000 in actual or paid attendance for all home football contests once every two years. This new rule reinforced the philosophy that public support is an important component of Division I-A membership: it also provided relief from the 2004 attendance requirements and continued to distinguish Division I-A institutions from the less rigorous membership requirements to field a Division I-AA football team.

4. Penalties for Failure to Comply with Requirements: It is important to note that there are no waivers to the Division I-A membership requirements discussed above. An institution that fails to satisfy any of these requirements will receive written notice of such non-compliance. Another failure to comply with these requirements within a 10-year period would result in the institution being placed in a one-year restrictive membership status, during which time its football team will not be eligible for post season competition. If the institution does not meet Division I-A requirements after this one-year period, it can still continue to be a Division I member in sports other than football as long as it satisfies the general Division I membership requirements. Once a Division I-A member loses its Division I-A status, it must work through the two-year multi-division classification process to regain its Division I-A status.

During the April 2006 NCAA Management Council meeting, the membership subcommittee discussed the possibility of providing relief from the Division I-A football attendance requirements for the University of Houston and Rice University. Both institutions failed to satisfy an average of 15,000 in actual or paid attendance for their 2005 home games, in part due to the effects of multiple hurricanes in their geographic region. The subcommittee noted that no waiver provisions exist from the Division I-A membership requirements, and that both institutions can remain in compliance with Division I-A membership requirements by satisfying the football attendance requirements during the 2006-07 Academic Year.

5. Eligibility for Post-Season Play: A Division I-A football team must win a minimum of six games against Division I-A competition. A team that is 6-6 is eligible to play in bowl games beginning with the 2006-07 Academic Year, provided the team is a member of a conference that has an existing contractual affiliation with the sponsoring bowl organization. In terms of number of wins for bowl eligibility, there is an exception that allows a Division I-A institution to count one victory against a Division I-AA opponent, provided the Division I-AA opponent has averaged 90 percent of the permissible maximum number of grants-in-aid per year in Division I-AA football over a rolling two-year period.

6. Summary of Division I-A Membership Requirements:

The following is a summary of the Division I-A membership requirements discussed above:

• Sponsor a minimum of 16 varsity sports, including football, based on the minimum sports sponsorship and scheduling requirements set forth in Bylaw 20. Sponsorship shall include a minimum of six sports involving all male teams or mixed teams and a minimum of eight sports involving all female teams.

• Schedule and play at least 60 percent of its football contests against members of Division I-A and play at least 5 home games against Division I-A opponents. One Division I-AA opponent can be used to satisfy the home game requirement provided certain criteria are met.

• Annually average at least 15,000 in actual or paid attendance for all home football contests once every two years.
  
• Provide an average of at least 90 percent of the permissible maximum number of overall football grants-in-aid per year over a rolling two-year period.

• Annually offer a minimum of 200 athletics grants-in-aid or expend at least four million dollars on grants-in-aid to student-athletes in the athletics program.

E. THE TRANSITION FROM DIVISION I-AA TO DIVISION I-A

An institution seeking to change its membership classification from Division I-AA to Division I-A must comply with the two-year Multi-division Classification process set forth in NCAA Bylaw 20.4. Accordingly, the institution must submit an application and $5,000 fee no later than June 1, proceeding the academic year in which the institution will begin complying with the applicable Division I-A membership criteria. In addition to this Multi-division Classification application, Bylaw 20.4.2.1.1 also requires that the chief executive officer from the Division I-AA institution submit in writing to the NCAA President, official notification of the institution's intent to seek Division I-A status. This notice must be received in the national office no later than June 30 two years prior to the September 1 when the institution intends on reaching Division I-A status.

During year one of the process of transitioning from Division I-AA to Division I-A, the institution must comply with all Division I-A membership requirements other than the football scheduling requirements. During year two of the process, the institution must comply with all Division I-A membership requirements. The institution becomes an active Division I-A member on September 1 following the second year in the multidivisional process.

As an example, below is the advancement timeline for Florida International University (FIU), an institution that recently added Division I-AA football and then quickly moved from Division I-AA to Division I-A. This expedited timeline was followed because of an opportunity for membership in the Sun Belt Conference.

F. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

As described herein, NCAA requirements for Division I-AA membership are not demanding; however, there are significant financial ramifications for adding I-AA scholarship football. UTSA will face extremely demanding NCAA requirements if the University advances to Division I-A. This change would come rapidly since UTSA would be required to comply with all Division I-A membership requirements during year two of the reclassification process. Therefore, CSA recommends as follows:

1. Given the stringent requirements necessary to compete in Division I-A football and the harsh penalties of non-compliance, it is prudent for UTSA to proceed cautiously and incrementally from Division I-AAA to Division I-AA and possibly to Division I-A. Alignment with an established Division I-A conference is a crucial step in this process.