Not sure if this was already posted, discussed but it looks like there are some new requirements coming for those schools looking to switch to the Bowl Subdivision.

Here is the take from the Montana AD on the thought of the Grizzlies moving to FBS.

Griz gameday AD report - Eastern Washington
by: Jim O'Day of the UM Athletic Department
Monday, 10/08/2007

The talk of moving to Division I-A (the Football Bowl Subdivision) in football is often asked by many Griz fans. In most instances, such a decision may be made for the wrong reasons.

Western Kentucky is the latest school to announce a move upward, starting with the 2008 football season. In their opener next year, the Hilltoppers face the Alabama Crimson Tide, a program that produces more than $44 million annually in football ticket sales alone (thus the reason why head coach Nick Saban commands a yearly salary of $4 million). By comparison, the entire Sun Belt Conference generated a total of $23 million in football ticket sales among its eight-member schools. Western Kentucky joins the Sun Belt in 2009.

A school moving up is often lured by the prospects of increased revenue projections from corporate marketing opportunities, ticket sales, publicity, donations and/or dreams of advancing to a bowl game. However, that is rarely the case.

With its inclusion, Western Kentucky will be the 120th school at the FBS level. That number will remain the same for a few more years because in August, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors put a four-year moratorium on any similar moves, citing a need to re-evaluate criteria for maintaining membership at the I-A membership level. However, the 20 schools that have already begun the lengthy process to become a FBS member will be allowed to proceed. Neither Montana nor Montana State is one of those 20 schools.

Boise State and Idaho are stark contrasts of schools that have made the leap to I-A football. The Broncos have won five Western Athletic Conference titles in a row and had a memorable 43-42 overtime victory over Oklahoma in last January's Fiesta Bowl. The Vandals, meanwhile, are 14-45 since 2002 and have gone through three head coaches over that time. Since moving up, Idaho has competed in the Big West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference and now the WAC. Currently, the Boise State athletic program produces three to four times as much revenue as its rival from Moscow.

Without a doubt, money is a key factor in making such a decision. Those that have it succeed, those who don't tend to struggle. Although Boise State may have made millions from its Fiesta Bowl win, the odds are against most schools who don't compete in the six major conferences whose teams regularly appear in the higher-paying BCS bowls.

To be competitive, significant amounts of money are required to update facilities, pay salaries, offer game guarantees and even find a conference willing to accept them as a member. Those funds would have to come from sources such as increased ticket pricing, additional luxury suite charges, higher student fees, more university/state dollars and private funding.

Since 1996, here are the records of the schools who have moved up to Division I heading into this season: University of Alabama at Birmingham (57-68, with a 0-1 bowl record), Boise State (99-37, with a 6-1 bowl record), University of Buffalo (12-79, with no bowl appearances), University of Central Florida (58-68, with a 0-1 bowl record), University of Connecticut (37-44, with a 0-1 bowl record), Florida Atlantic (7-16, with no bowl appearances), Florida International (5-18, with no bowl appearances), University of Idaho (47-79, with a 1-0 bowl record), Marshall University (88-37, with a 5-2 bowl record), Middle Tennessee University (41-51, with a 0-1 bowl record), University of South Florida (43-26, with a 1-1 bowl record) and Troy State (29-31, with a 1-1 bowl record). Boise State, Marshall University and Southern Florida are the schools which have made the easiest and most economically-feasible transitions, and all produce considerable dollars from ticket sales and donor contributions that have allowed them to succeed. Others have not been as fortunate.

Football revenues usually fuel the train. Based on figures for the reporting period 2002-06, football revenues accounted for an average of $60.7 million of Ohio State's yearly total $104.7 million brought into the athletics department coffers. Meanwhile at Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish football team accounted for $61.4 million of the school's $78.1 million, helped of course by a lucrative television package the school has with NBC.

Among FCS schools, the University of Montana was second in average generated football revenues over that same period ($5.1 million annually, compared to Delaware at $5.4 million). The entire UM Athletics budget is roughly $11.5 million. UM is the only FCS school in the western United States in the top 10 in average football revenue produced. Others in the Top 10 are Bethune Cookman ($4.2 million), Appalachian State ($4.07 million), Liberty ($4.02 million), Fordham ($3.994 million), Southern ($3.864 million), Furman ($3.756 million), Tennessee State ($3.709 million) and Colgate ($3.681 million).

The argument to consider moving to Division I-A status in football (UM participates at the I-A level in all sports but football) will continue to be discussed and debated by Griz fans everywhere. While these are healthy discussions and serve a useful purpose, it is apparent from our point of view that we're in a good place right now. Should a change be considered in the future for any reason, our goal is to be in position to make good, informed decisions. Stay tuned.