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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/bakonydraco on 2023-10-19 20:53:28.

Proposal Tweet with Graphic

TL;DR:

  • JMU and Jax State both have 6 wins but are not bowl eligible because they recently transitioned from FCS, a bad NCAA rule.
  • They can play each other in Hawai’i the day after Army-Navy without requiring any NCAA approval under current NCAA Bylaws.
  • This would be really fun and they should do it.

I put this tweet up yesterday, and it seemed well received, so I thought it might be worth sharing on the sub for discussion. JMU is 6-0, and Jax State is 6-2, among 22 teams that have hit the 6-win mark. Both teams are in their 2nd year of FCS -> FBS transition, and so under NCAA regulations, are banned from participation in the postseason. JMU actually played a full FBS schedule in their first year of transition last year, and so submitted a waiver to be eligible for a bowl this year (as they did last year), but the waiver was denied. The Virginia Attorney General wrote on their behalf and was once again denied by NCAA President Charlie Baker, just yesterday.

The reason the NCAA has this rule is fairly misguided. It makes some sense for teams transitioning down a level, like Idaho did from FBS to FCS, to not be eligible until they’re playing under the same rules as the other teams in their subdivision. But for teams transitioning up a level, there’s really no justifiable competitive reason to put this rule in place. Some would argue that this might incentivize moving up when a team gets good and then going right back down afterwards (Florida A&M attempted a move to FBS in the early 2000s and moved back), which isn’t stable, but this seems a rare circumstance. Others would argue that it gives transitioning team time to focus on academics, but this too seems an unnecessary rule from the NCAA that schools can self-manage. James Madison is currently in the top half of FBS teams at 970, while Jax State has a respectable 949, and it doesn’t seem like they’re held back here. With JMU in particular at 6-0 as one of 3 undefeated G5 teams remaining, it seems remarkably backwards to deny them a potential NY6 bid if they win out (and were allowed to play in the Sun Belt Championship, which they are not, but probably would be if bowl eligible).

Getting a waiver and qualifying for a bowl through the normal process would probably be the top preference for both teams. Unfortunately it seems like they’ve exhausted all avenues on this path and the NCAA won’t budge. Publicly shaming the NCAA did seem to change their opinion on the Tez Walker eligibility situation, but with several denied waivers I don’t see the NCAA budging.

Their next option is that both teams are eligible for a bowl if there are not enough 6-6 teams to fill the bowl spots. In this case, by NCAA Bylaw 18.7.2.1.3©, both JMU and Jax State would be eligible before any 5-7 teams with high Academic Progress Rate. Charlie Baker pointed to this pathway in his denial yesterday. But there’s no guarantee there aren’t enough teams, and it seems like it would be a shame if a 6-6 team made it in while 12-0 JMU stayed home. Over the past decade, it feels like it’s about 50-50 whether there’s too many bowl eligible teams and 1 or 2 get left out, or whether there’s not enough and 1 or 2 5-7 teams get to bowl, so this is far from a sure thing.

Which brings me to my proposal in the graphic above: JMU and Jax State can play each other on Sunday, Dec 10 (the day after Army-Navy), at Hawai’i, without requiring any waivers from the NCAA. If they and Hawai’i agree, this is something they could schedule now and no one could stand in their way. Here’s why:

NCAA Bylaw 17.11.5 - End of Playing Season. [FBS/FCS]

A member institution’s last contest (game or scrimmage) with outside competition in football shall not be played after the second Saturday or the following Sunday in December

Legally this proposal is for what the NCAA would consider a regular season game, the final day this could happen.

NCAA Bylaw 17.11.6.2.1(g) - Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico

In bowl subdivision football, the maximum number of football contests shall exclude the following: any football games played in Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico, respectively, either against or under the sponsorship of an active member institution located in Hawaii, Alaska or Puerto Rico, by a Division I member institution located outside the areas in question

JMU and Jax State both have the maximum 12 regular season games on their schedule, but would be allowed to play a 13th regular season game without a waiver in any of these 3 locations. This would also be possible for any games held internationally, but foreign tours cannot be held in December. I don’t believe there are NCAA member institutions in Alaska or Puerto Rico that could host a football game, but Hawai’i could!

So legally this would be considered a regular season game, but since it would happen after Army-Navy at a very cool location, I think fans would broadly consider this as functionally similar to a bowl. There’s precedent for this Alabama basically did exactly this in 2002 and 2003 when they had a bowl ban. They played a 13th “regular season” game at the end of November at Hawai’i both years (and went 1-1), with the idea that it would feel like a bowl for their players and fans.

I have not suggested this to any of the 3 teams involved, and all 3 would need to agree to do it. There would be costs involved of scheduling this game, but it seems like it could be a very attractive opportunity for a bowl sponsor to cover the costs. It seems like an unqualified win for both Jax State and JMU if there aren’t any other postseason options due to NCAA limitations. I could see it being attractive to Hawai’i as well, and a potential source of extra revenue. I don’t know if any of this will happen, but it could, and importantly the roadblock of onerous NCAA regulations are not an obstacle if they choose this path.