When the Idaho football program joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2014 as part of a four-year contract, it was seen as a short-term solution to solve the struggles of the Vandals as an independent program.
“The student-athlete experience is very important … We want the fans to be excited about things. Winning actually is a lot better than losing,” said UI president Chuck Staben in an interview with Idaho Statesman reporters Thursday.
Among the topics discussed in the interview was the upcoming vote by Sun Belt officials as to Idaho’s future in the conference.
“We certainly don’t have a guarantee of renewal,” Staben said. “We’ve had some pretty tough years in Idaho football. We had a better year this year.”
Idaho is currently a member of the Sun Belt Conference as part of a contract that is scheduled to end at the conclusion of the 2017 season. Sun Belt officials are expected to vote on a potential contract extension for Idaho during the conference’s annual spring meeting on March 10.
A major factor in the vote of Sun Belt officials will be the NCAA’s decision regarding conference championship game deregulation.
The current rule states that a conference must have 12 football-playing members in order to hold a conference championship game. The Sun Belt is one of only two Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conferences that possess less than twelve members.
Last fall, Sun Belt officials voted to add Coastal Carolina to the league starting in the 2017 season, which would bring the conference up to its required membership, according to current NCAA guidelines.
However, if the NCAA were to vote in favor of deregulating conference championships, then conferences of any size will be allowed to hold championship games.
If this were to come to fruition, then the Sun Belt likely would not need New Mexico State or Idaho in order to host a conference championship game, despite the league containing only 10 members.
In this scenario, Staben said Idaho could consider two options. The first would be to remain in the FBS by going independent, but Staben said the idea was not very attractive.
Idaho was previously FBS Independent during the 2013 season, but a future move toward independence would be difficult due to location and a loss of league revenue.
Staben said that the second option for Idaho would be to accept an invitation from the Big Sky Conference and drop down to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
“Some of our natural rivals are in the Big Sky … There’s some interesting things about that, but that change is a challenge,” Staben said.
A move for Idaho from the Sun Belt to the Big Sky would mark the first instance of a NCAA program changing from the FBS to the FCS since 1982, when the two subdivisions were first created.
“It’s never happened before, so there’s not yet a set plan,” Big Sky Commissioner Doug Fullerton, according to the Idaho Statesman.
The Big Sky renewed its football-only invitation to Idaho in October, and Staben said the university has been in recent contact with the conference.
While a move to the Big Sky would result in a loss of revenue and a reduction of football scholarships from 85 to 63, it would provide a much better regional fit for Idaho, Staben said.
If Idaho were to make the decision to transition to the Big Sky, the team would likely play a schedule consisting of both FBS and FCS programs during the 2018-2019 seasons, making them ineligible for the FCS playoffs.
“We wouldn’t want them (Idaho) to skip a recruiting class or anything like that,” Fullerton said. “We’re being patient, but we think they’d be a great fit.”
The uncertainty of Idaho’s future might potentially impact its recruiting season, which resumes next week and ends on Feb. 3 with signing day.
“Our recruits are not asking that kind of question, as far as I know,” Staben said. “We’ve informed the coaches to be honest about what we’re doing. We haven’t made a decision and we’re considering our options.”
The NCAA is currently scheduled to vote on FBS conference championship deregulation as part of the NCAA Convention in San Antonio Jan. 13-16.
Meanwhile, the Sun Belt is expected to vote on a contract extension for Idaho and New Mexico State on March 10.
Josh Grissom can be at [email protected] or on Twitter @GoshJrissom