Automatic bids coming to D2 football in 2025, replacing Earned Access

[SW_Mustang]

Ding, ding, ding!

+1

Or any other way you have of saying a post is exactly right With very occasional exceptions, DII athletics is a money loser.

I'd go as far to say that the NCAA wants to actively mitigate losses by constricting small-division sports - which is why it's surprising that playoff games could be added. NCAA would prefer there be less of them.

I'm not sure what the cost breakdown is for participating schools vs. NCAA. nor do I know what the revenue distribution is for what little these games actually do produce, but the mothership is the one likely left holding the bag on a lot of the playoff expenses - and knowing the NCAA, they don't like that.

[SW_Mustang]

D2 schools definitely offer athletics to boost enrollment.

Absolutely, but IMO it's an apples-to-oranges comparison because the models aren't really scalable - they're just different. D2s have a higher cost to operate and will draw less tuition dollars per athlete (and less athletes overall), while getting roughly the same in ticket revenues in many cases.

I can't speak for every state but the Minnesota DIIIs also have a lot of big money donors that the D2 schools don't have since all but one of them is private.

[SW_Mustang]

Not as bad as DIII athletics.

Technically speaking yes - the revenues the football team gets from football activities is not enough to cover the cost of having the football team.

However with no roster limits and athletic scholarships, DIII schools can rake it in on tuition. They typically also have far less travel expense.

A lot of these schools are also private with big donor alumni. It's an apples-to-oranges comparison.

[GorillaTeacher]

Probably true. But D3 operates differently than DII. D3 run athletics as more or less a method of bumping enrollment in the same way a DII might bump enrollment by starting a matching band or building a new dorm with AC and private bathrooms as a way to entice potential students to enroll.

D2 schools definitely offer athletics to boost enrollment.

[boatcapt]

Not as bad as DIII athletics.

Probably true. But D3 operates differently than DII. D3 run athletics as more or less a method of bumping enrollment in the same way a DII might bump enrollment by starting a matching band or building a new dorm with AC and private bathrooms as a way to entice potential students to enroll.

[Purple Mav Man]

Not as bad as DIII athletics.

I guess it depends on how you measure it. They don’t have scholarship costs.

[Bballfan]

With very occasional exceptions, DII athletics is a money loser.

Not as bad as DIII athletics.

[boatcapt]

Are they really making that much on D2 playoff games? Sounds like more games = more lost money to me.

Ding, ding, ding!

+1

Or any other way you have of saying a post is exactly right With very occasional exceptions, DII athletics is a money loser.

[IUPNation]

Good. Conference Champions should be rewarded.

[BigCatcirca73]

I'm a bit confused by this reporting, as I was under the impression that the voting was done by schools, not conferences...

According to the story published by the NCAA, the proposal was passed by a vote of the conferences. It passed with a 60% majority. The conferences that sponsored/co-sponsored did not vote.

[Tech Boys]

Maybe I missed something. The way I understand it is that the bracket would not change and there still would be 28 teams for now, but they need to explore expanding the bracket.because of how many automatic qualifiers there are. Which I'm sure will happen. But I could be wrong.

You didn't miss something; just to re-word everything. The review is triggered because more than 50% of the bracket is AQ. It's not going to happen any time soon, or ever, but if a 17th conference begins sponsoring football the AQ would exceed 60% of the 28-team bracket. Expanding the bracket is a move the prevent exceeding the 60% AQ limit and as Inkblot noted will most likely happen for the 2027 season. We should be done with football bracket expansion after this as it would take 20 football-sponsoring conferences to exceed 60% AQ of a 32-team bracket and I can't imagine there is anyone who thinks that would happen.

[Woodbury]

Maybe I missed something. The way I understand it is that the bracket would not change and there still would be 28 teams for now, but they need to explore expanding the bracket.because of how many automatic qualifiers there are. Which I'm sure will happen. But I could be wrong.

[TheBigCat2192]

I'm a bit confused by this reporting, as I was under the impression that the voting was done by schools, not conferences...

I don’t know enough about the process to say. Perhaps the FootballScoop guy got it wrong.

[Inkblot]

I’m curious what the votes looked like. There are four obvious “yes” votes from the sponsor/co-sponsors. It wouldn’t surprise me if the GMAC was also a yes given the SR realignment and perhaps the SAC to avoid another 2022 Newberry scenario but I don’t know enough about the other leagues to guess how they’d vote.

I'm a bit confused by this reporting, as I was under the impression that the voting was done by schools, not conferences...

[TheBigCat2192]

https://footballscoop.com/news/ncaa-...ection-process

I’m curious what the votes looked like. There are four obvious “yes” votes from the sponsor/co-sponsors. It wouldn’t surprise me if the GMAC was also a yes given the SR realignment and perhaps the SAC to avoid another 2022 Newberry scenario but I don’t know enough about the other leagues to guess how they’d vote.