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View Full Version : Can the FCS Championship ever reach the level of MARCH MADDNESS???



DHill
June 4th, 2007, 08:26 PM
I was just wondering....is it possible for the FCS Championship to reach the level of histeria that March Maddness brings? What if FCS Conferences indulge in some sort of profit sharing venture and use the proceeds to launch a massive marketing campaign every year......secure better TV exposer and highlight the history of the event. Just a thought. xrulesx

slycat
June 4th, 2007, 08:28 PM
it would never reach the level of march madness but i think that better exposure would create a higher interest level in the event.

NDSUFREAK
June 4th, 2007, 08:30 PM
as much as i would like it to it won't ever reach the histeria of march madness.

appsfan
June 4th, 2007, 08:31 PM
In a word: No. We don't have CBS pumping millions of dollars and hours of promos supporting FCS playoffs like they do for that round ball sport.

Seawolf97
June 4th, 2007, 08:35 PM
March Madness and the Super Bowl are probably the largest two sporting events in the country. That would be hard to equal.

GannonFan
June 4th, 2007, 09:34 PM
No - no chance in Hades. Nothing wrong with that, just an impossible goal.

Eyes of Old Main
June 4th, 2007, 09:37 PM
No way.

March Madness' draw are the marquee teams and the Cinderellas playing each other early and they heavyweights squaring off late. You can't have that in FCS because as far as the average sports fan is concerned, there are no heavyweights with any name recognition other than on the bad end of a lopsided score on the ESPN crawl.

I realize that's not reality, but it is perception and perception equals reality in the media.

BigApp
June 4th, 2007, 09:52 PM
no

UNH_Alum_In_CT
June 4th, 2007, 09:53 PM
No.

To me, a more realistic goal is to become as popular and successful as the ice hockey Frozen Four and the Lacrosse Weekend. I'd hope that our championship could grow into an event that falls in between the two as far as attendance goes with significant numbers of advance sales. As long as our championship is played so close to the holidays, I don't think it is feasible to reach the Lacrosse numbers.

DHill
June 4th, 2007, 10:32 PM
Ok..Ok....maybe March Madness is a little lofty...... but, everyone didn't go to a Glamour School ..... yet the pride level ifor ones alma mata is no less deminished whether you went to a FBC or a FCS school. WE ARE STILL DIVISION 1 and I think it is about time the league let the Country know. I am very proad to be a UTC alum and I'm sure that sentiment is shared throughout. I know....I know....we changed the name...... but, people still refer to us as Divison II.... or some Jr High league. Well, I for one am tire of explaining that WE POSSES THE ONLY "TRUE" DIVISION I NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.....there has got to be a way to pull from this premise. When HIGH SCHOOL football gets more respect than the FCS.. there is a problem.....a problem that can be solved if we pull together. Yeah....MARCH MADNESS might be a pipe dream....but.....DAYUM!!!!!

CopperCat
June 4th, 2007, 11:17 PM
Ok..Ok....maybe March Madness is a little lofty...... but, everyone didn't go to a Glamour School ..... yet the pride level ifor ones alma mata is no less deminished whether you went to a FBC or a FCS school. WE ARE STILL DIVISION 1 and I think it is about time the league let the Country know. I am very proad to be a UTC alum and I'm sure that sentiment is shared throughout. I know....I know....we changed the name...... but, people still refer to us as Divison II.... or some Jr High league. Well, I for one am tire of explaining that WE POSSES THE ONLY "TRUE" DIVISION I NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.....there has got to be a way to pull from this premise. When HIGH SCHOOL football gets more respect than the FCS.. there is a problem.....a problem that can be solved if we pull together. Yeah....MARCH MADNESS might be a pipe dream....but.....DAYUM!!!!!

It does piss me off when there is high school football games on TV when I know there is something much better that isn't being covered (damn you ESPN!!!).

andy7171
June 5th, 2007, 07:16 AM
Only on AGS could the NC reach March Madness status. And even then it's debatable.

UAalum72
June 5th, 2007, 07:20 AM
Not enough teams for a good bracket for the office pools. No games on during Thursday and Friday lunch hours.

DetroitFlyer
June 5th, 2007, 07:34 AM
typical of the general public's view about FCS. First of all, no one in my office of 30 folks has any idea what FCS means unless I explain it.... A few know what I-AA was, ( Grove City grad and a Furman fan ). I fight tooth and nails every year in our regular season football pool to get a Dayton game included. That has really helped the cause as it gives me a platform to expound on FCS football.... ( Most folks in any given season have no idea who should win a Dayton / USD game, so they look to me for some insight.... What all of this tells me is that the public perception of FCS, especially in FBS rich areas, is that we are about the same as Division II, Division III or NAIA. If you are not FBS, you are "nothing". Frustrating but true. A few more wins against FBS teams would help, but those are quickly forgotton. ASU playing Michigan is helping a bit in this area. I just really do not know how to "build the brand". Division II, Division III and NAIA have playoffs, so that does not help. Maybe the playoff games should all be called a bowl game. Casual football fans seem to watch bowl games, but playoffs, maybe not so much.... I always thought that the Stagg Bowl for Division III helped to build a bit more interest. It sure would be good to have a marketing guru(s), think about this and develop a plan....

PSUVikings
June 5th, 2007, 09:14 AM
I was just wondering....is it possible for the FCS Championship to reach the level of histeria that March Maddness brings? What if FCS Conferences indulge in some sort of profit sharing venture and use the proceeds to launch a massive marketing campaign every year......secure better TV exposer and highlight the history of the event. Just a thought. xrulesx

Never.xrotatehx

Ivytalk
June 5th, 2007, 09:32 AM
No.

To me, a more realistic goal is to become as popular and successful as the ice hockey Frozen Four and the Lacrosse Weekend. I'd hope that our championship could grow into an event that falls in between the two as far as attendance goes with significant numbers of advance sales. As long as our championship is played so close to the holidays, I don't think it is feasible to reach the Lacrosse numbers.

Good post! That also means pumping up publicity and audiences for the semis.

bandl
June 5th, 2007, 09:40 AM
Good post! That also means pumping up publicity and audiences for the semis.

And perhaps it would help to find some intelligent and well-informedr TV commentators?? Bunch of effing maroons these past two years who couldn't even tell you what state the University of Montana is in. :(

patssle
June 5th, 2007, 09:42 AM
No.

aswedc
June 5th, 2007, 10:00 AM
No amount of marketing will help. No amount of improved media coverage will help.

It's unbelievable (and insulting to DII athletics) how people on this board constantly trumpet, "But we're still DI! We have the only real DI championship!". Reality check - they're just names. No one cares what it's called. This is what they care about: "less talented teams playing for the less talented college national championship, crowning a national champion that would get blown out by FBS BCS bowl teams".

A league with second tier talent will never attract the attention of a first tier league, period! Just enjoy what you have and drop the inferiority complex.

HIU 93
June 5th, 2007, 10:19 AM
Ok..Ok....maybe March Madness is a little lofty...... but, everyone didn't go to a Glamour School

Correct, but that is not why March Madness sells. March Madness sells because of the underdog factor, gambling, and the recognizability of the "Glamour Schools". State flagship schools and large private universities fan bases are the general public. That is why you can find Virginia Tech gear in sports stores in California and USC gear in stores in the Commonwealth. The general public may have never even gone to college, but they watch college sports on TV, and they watch pro leagues where players come primarily from "Glamour Schools". That is as entrenched in American society as fireworks on the 4th. So to answer your question, no.

bluehenbillk
June 5th, 2007, 10:58 AM
My nomination for a top 10 dumbest thread ever.

DFW HOYA
June 5th, 2007, 12:11 PM
Here's another reason why this won't happen: I-AA/FCS is not well represented in many regions and media markets of the country:

--California, the nation's largest state, has only four teams.
--There are more I-AA/FCS teams in South Carolina than in Texas.
--A third of the membership is in the Northeast alone, but no teams in many of the Great Lakes and Plains states.
--13 of the top 20 media markets have no I-AA/FCS team at all.

BearsCountry
June 5th, 2007, 12:26 PM
Nope. Now if the FBS boys got a playoff then we might be talking about knocking March Madness off their top spot.

gvilleapp
June 5th, 2007, 04:55 PM
Ways to make the playoffs better and grow the event:

1. Move the start of the playoffs back one week. The Thanksgiving week is brutal in terms of attendence and an extra week would allow interest to grow and prevent us from competing against family time two days after Thanksgiving.

2. Play the championship game the Saturday night before New Years Day. This year, that would be December 29th. That would give everyone two weeks to make travel plans after the semi-final round, and it would give the general public more of a impression that the championship is a big time event. Closer to the BCS championship and seperated from the Division II and III championship game. In terms of competing with the NFL and the other lower tier bowl games, who really cares? Hard line NFL only guys won't watch us anyway and I think we could fare well on TV against a bowl featuring the second place Sun Belt team vs. a third place Conference USA team.

3. Possibly placing a "bowl name" on the chapionship game could be a good idea. Only problem is our biggest names like Eddie Robinson or Walter Payton are tied to schools that presently don't participate in playoffs. The Eddie Robinson Bowl or the Walter Payton Bowl would be pretty cool and attract some extra media exposure and interest, but the HBCUs would have to buy into the idea and participate in the playoffs.

4. The Ivy League starts to participate in the playoffs. Along with the HBCU, the most recognizable schools in FCS. Nothing anybody can do about that unless you are one of those Ivy college presidents.

Bottom line is someone at the NCAA will have to go to bat for FCS to make the first two things happens or to make other improvements happen. The second two items are out of the hands of the NCAA and depend on the HBCUs and the Ivys. Not sure anyone at the NCAA wants to really take up the challenge to make our championship tournament bigger than it is now and the HBCUs and Ivys have their own agendas.

Discuss?

Appstate29
June 5th, 2007, 07:40 PM
Ways to make the playoffs better and grow the event:

1. Move the start of the playoffs back one week. The Thanksgiving week is brutal in terms of attendence and an extra week would allow interest to grow and prevent us from competing against family time two days after Thanksgiving.

2. Play the championship game the Saturday night before New Years Day. This year, that would be December 29th. That would give everyone two weeks to make travel plans after the semi-final round, and it would give the general public more of a impression that the championship is a big time event. Closer to the BCS championship and seperated from the Division II and III championship game. In terms of competing with the NFL and the other lower tier bowl games, who really cares? Hard line NFL only guys won't watch us anyway and I think we could fare well on TV against a bowl featuring the second place Sun Belt team vs. a third place Conference USA team.

3. Possibly placing a "bowl name" on the chapionship game could be a good idea. Only problem is our biggest names like Eddie Robinson or Walter Payton are tied to schools that presently don't participate in playoffs. The Eddie Robinson Bowl or the Walter Payton Bowl would be pretty cool and attract some extra media exposure and interest, but the HBCUs would have to buy into the idea and participate in the playoffs.

4. The Ivy League starts to participate in the playoffs. Along with the HBCU, the most recognizable schools in FCS. Nothing anybody can do about that unless you are one of those Ivy college presidents.

Bottom line is someone at the NCAA will have to go to bat for FCS to make the first two things happens or to make other improvements happen. The second two items are out of the hands of the NCAA and depend on the HBCUs and the Ivys. Not sure anyone at the NCAA wants to really take up the challenge to make our championship tournament bigger than it is now and the HBCUs and Ivys have their own agendas.

Discuss?

IT would be a good start, but I think we also need to start implementing some minimum requirements to be in FCS, and get more scholarships.

DFW HOYA
June 5th, 2007, 07:41 PM
IT would be a good start, but I think we also need to start implementing some minimum requirements to be in FCS, and get more scholarships.

OK...what about going to 85 scholarships?

Mountaineer
June 5th, 2007, 07:46 PM
OK...what about going to 85 scholarships?

xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx

xthumbsupx

DHill
June 5th, 2007, 07:49 PM
Correct, but that is not why March Madness sells. March Madness sells because of the underdog factor, gambling, and the recognizability of the "Glamour Schools". State flagship schools and large private universities fan bases are the general public. That is why you can find Virginia Tech gear in sports stores in California and USC gear in stores in the Commonwealth. The general public may have never even gone to college, but they watch college sports on TV, and they watch pro leagues where players come primarily from "Glamour Schools". That is as entrenched in American society as fireworks on the 4th. So to answer your question, no.

Yeah........but I don't have to like it xmadx xmadx xmadx

DHill
June 5th, 2007, 07:51 PM
My nomination for a top 10 dumbest thread ever.

xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx

DaveK
June 5th, 2007, 08:17 PM
as much as i would like it to it won't ever reach the histeria of march madness.

Yeah, I feel the same way. I personally wouldn't miss it if March Madness just went away altogether, but it's a big deal for a lot of people. Now, if they ever did away with the BCS bowl system and went to a playoff in big-time Division I football... that would be every bit as big as March Madness. But at this level I just don't see the national media giving us the hype neccessary to make it that big of an event.

DaveK
June 5th, 2007, 08:23 PM
No.

To me, a more realistic goal is to become as popular and successful as the ice hockey Frozen Four and the Lacrosse Weekend. I'd hope that our championship could grow into an event that falls in between the two as far as attendance goes with significant numbers of advance sales. As long as our championship is played so close to the holidays, I don't think it is feasible to reach the Lacrosse numbers.

If you were to ask the NDSU fans, I'm sure they would tell you it is already more popular than the Frozen Four.

PantherRob82
June 6th, 2007, 05:48 PM
unfortunately, no.

GreatAppSt
June 6th, 2007, 08:54 PM
NOPE!xlolx xlolx xlolx xlolx