UTSA AD Accepts Bowl Ineligibility
David Flores of KENS5, San Antonio:
“Everybody needs to know that this rule was not put into place to be harmful to us,” [University of Texas at San Antonio athletic director Lynn] Hickey said. “I don’t think this is anything unusual when you’re joining a new group, when you’re moving to the next level. Every organization kind of has a probationary time where you need to meet some standards.
The counterargument, likely pushed by UTSA fans who want the Roadrunners to challenge that rule, is that UTSA has clearly demonstrated it can compete at the FBS level, going 7–5 with no FCS teams on the schedule and narrowly missing out on a trip to the Conference USA championship game. UTSA was conditionally eligible had FBS not produced enough teams for all the bowl games but there are now 77 teams eligible for 70 spots.
The rule is partly about a probationary period to make sure a transitioning FCS team can compete at the FBS level. But more importantly, the two-year transition period is designed to make a move to FBS a long-term decision. Even if a school can compete from day one, it does not reap the benefits right away. That means the investment and commitment should not be based on some immediate pay off.