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Date Posted: 09:28:42 06/10/05 Fri
Author: J.J.
Subject: Re: NCAA football future?
In reply to: J.J. 's message, "NCAA football future?" on 15:18:54 04/28/05 Thu

Another article of possible IA/IAA football changes from a Richmond (VA) paper.

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Panel: Rename football categories
Some I-AA members believe subdivision reference is negative

BY JOHN O'CONNOR
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jun 10, 2005


Division I-AA could change its name, and cause a relabeling of Division I-A in the process.

Some members of the NCAA's I-AA football category, which includes seven Virginia schools, believe that the subdivision reference is a negative for their athletic programs. The highest level of college football competition is I-A, though all schools that play I-A and I-AA football are NCAA Division I members.

"There's a perception/branding/image issue that is real in some people's minds," said Dennis Poppe, the NCAA's managing director of baseball and football. "[I-AAs] are Division I schools, so why be given a different classification for football? I think there's certainly merit in their argument."

The NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee has recommended renaming I-A the "Division I Football Bowl Division," and I-AA the "Division I Football Championship Division." The committee contends that the changes would more accurately "reflect and celebrate" the differences between the groups.

I-A's scholarship ceiling is 85. That level includes mostly major colleges and plays bowl games rather than playoffs. I-AA, whose scholarship limit is 63, has a postseason tournament that concludes with a national-championship game, won in 2004 by James Madison.

JMU's coach, Mickey Matthews advocates renaming college football's top two divisions, and said "In golf, you had the Seniors Tour [being renamed] the Champions Tour, done with the same idea, that 'Seniors' has a bad connotation to it. 'I-AA' sometimes can have a bad connotation to it."

Jimmye Laycock, who has coached William and Mary for 25 years at both
the 1A and 1AA classifications and a leader in the reclassification effort, notes "our program today is actually at a more competitive level than when we were a 1A team. Our conference is tougher from top to bottom than some of the so-called Division I leagues."

Poppe said consideration of the divisional name changes by various NCAA committees would continue through the summer and fall. NCAA membership, the schools, will ultimately determine whether the football categories are renamed.

Virginia and Virginia Tech play I-A football. The state's I-AA schools are Richmond, William and Mary, James Madison, VMI, Hampton, Liberty and Norfolk State. Following the 2004 season, the league to which UR, W&M and JMU belong - the Atlantic 10 Football Conference - was ranked ninth among all Division I leagues, ahead of three I-A conferences (Conference USA, Sun Belt, Mid-American).

"The higher-tier I-AA programs, we'd be called 'mid-majors' in college basketball," Matthews said.

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