Quote Originally Posted by FUBeAR View Post
Continuing to enjoy this historical series. Thanks for doing it & posting.

Question: The phrase, roughly, “…it looked like the SoCon was going to be classified as D2” is used a couple of times in Part 2 and FUBeAR thinks he saw that similarly phrased at least once in Part 1. While FUBeAR was following the ACC (and HS Cheerleader skirts) more closely than the news of the SoCon in those days, he doesn’t recall any of that ‘conversation.’

Can you point, via link(s), to some of the articles / source material you used to develop that piece of the history. FUBeAR would like to learn more details about the ‘players’ in that conversation and the thinking around the process. As we know, the SoCon stayed D1 and stayed 1-A in the 1978 split into 1-A and 1-AA (until 1982). So, how the SoCon stayed 2 ‘levels’ above where it was thought the conference would be classified, during that time frame in history almost has to be an interesting tale.

THANKS! Looking forward to reading Part 3 … and the info at the requested links, if you got ‘em.
Thanks. I think I can explain it this way.

Based on the criteria for CFA membership (i.e. with the stadium size and average attendance requirements), none of the SoCon schools in 1978 fit that criteria. Of specific issue was the 60% rule (that 60% of your schedule had to be vs. Division I (pre-1978) or I-A (after 1978) competition). If schools were force-reclassified (which seemed plausible) then being a member of the SoCon would mean you couldn't be in 60% compliance. However with the Ivy amendment, everything changed. You could declare yourself I-A, have three years to add enough sports to get to 12, and then remain I-A. That's why in 1978, the SoCon chose as a conference to remain I-A.

https://www.newspapers.com/article/w...con/149903741/

Without the Ivy Amendment, they wouldn't have had any choice.