With Division I-AA football providing very little financial gain, there is deep concern that too many schools are being allowed to jump ship to Division I-A. Since 1989, 12 schools, including some of what used to be Division I-AA's best in Marshall, Idaho and Nevada, made the leap and all have had better-than-expected success at the higher level.

Division I-AA schools are hurting so badly, there is speculation that the 65 scholarships currently being offered at the level (compared to 85 in Division I-A), could be lowered in interest of saving schools money.

Since the BCS came into being, the few Division I-AA schools that did make money by playing a Division I-A team, in a big payout game, has been reduced. This is as a result of the Division I-AA wins not counting towards the necessary six wins to make a bowl game, as well as the possibility that the matchup could hurt in different computer polls and BCS rankings.

"A border line school fighting for six I-A wins does not want to play I-AA," said Scott Farmer, assistant athletic director at Troy State, a school that will make the jump from I-AA to I-A next season. "They don't want to waste a game. So the opportunities really decreased for games between I-A and I-AA schools."

	“	A border line school fighting for six I-A wins does not want to play I-AA. They don't want to waste a game. So the opportunities really decreased for games between I-A and I-AA schools. ”
		— Scott Farmer, assistant athletic director at Troy State

Farmer, who used to work at perennial Division I-AA power Georgia Southern, said the payday against the big Division I-A opponent is about double for a lower Division I-A playing a national power. Division I-AA Troy State could be paid $200,000-$225,000 for playing on the road against a top-ranked opponent this year. But in the 2001 season, the Division I-A Troy State could get $500,000-$800,000.

And don't think the school hasn't jumped at the chance to cover over $2 million in operating expenses for next year. "We sat at the phone and answered it," said Farmer, who said that approximately 98 percent of D I-AA football programs lose money. "They called us and we could have added more, but we didn't want to get totally shredded." Who called? How about Nebraska, Miami, Mississippi State and Maryland.

Troy State is one of few schools that will not enter Division I-A by building a new stadium or renovating one in order to fulfill a 30,000-seat requirement. Instead, the school is in their third of four required years in which they have had over 17,000 in paid attendance at their home games. As a result of their efforts, 31 schools in Division I-A had lower ticket sales than Troy State did for the 1999 season.

The University of Buffalo, which entered the MAC last year, upgraded a stadium that was built in 1989 for the World University Games. The addition of 14,000 seats, plus all the amenities cost the university approximately $4 million.

In order to get into Division I-A, Buffalo also had to show an average of 17,000 tickets paid for in the 1998 season. "A lot of people looked at us real funny when we said we needed to average 17,000," said Paul Vecchio, Buffalo's director of communications for athletics. "For the nine months leading up to the season, we had a telethon mentality. We averaged 8,000 fans in 1997 and we were sitting here knowing that we could only give the tickets away at no less than half the face value."

Thanks to the permitted deduction in ticket price, corporations in the area were able to buy thousands of tickets in order to bring Division I-A to Buffalo. In 1998, the school averaged 19,835 tickets sold. Buffalo also made sure to make the number by having only four home games, all completed before the cold November came. But things are back to reality now as the school has the third lowest home attendance in the MAC this year, drawing 10,880 fans through two home games.

"When all is said and done, given our past history, we won't make 17,000 this year unless something unforeseen happens," Vecchio said.

That might be a problem since the NCAA is currently considering legislation that will demote Division I-A schools to Division I-AA if their attendance is less than 17,000. The loophole is if half the conference is over the required attendance mark, the rest of the conference stays Division I-A despite any attendance problems.

With seven of thirteen MAC schools below the required 17,000 in home attendance, Buffalo's investment in their stadium hangs in the balance. Vecchio said that he's not as worried about the conference as outsiders might think. He is comforted by the success of MAC schools like Marshall, Toledo, Miami (Ohio), and now Western Michigan -- teams that have all battled to gain national fame.

But Buffalo has arguably come the longest way, in terms of upgrading their program, in the history of college football over a 10-year span.

"I'm not sure a lot people understand that the University of Buffalo was Division III ten years ago," Vecchio said. "Ten years ago we were playing the likes of Ithaca, Brockport, Cortland and now we play Syracuse, Rutgers and Marshall."

Buffalo's move into Division I-A has not proved financially lucrative as of yet, as concerns have been focused on raising enough money for scholarships. This is the first year Buffalo had the ability to give out all 85 scholarships.