(STATS) – An FCS-member committee of the NCAA Division I Council has rejected the legislation to increase the regular season in the subdivision from 11 permanent games to 12.
While concluding two-day meetings in Indianapolis on Friday, the NCAA announced the defeat of the proposal that was co-sponsored by the Southland and Ohio Valley conferences. Voting totals were not released.
One athletics administrator from each of the 13 FCS conferences voted on the legislation. To pass, it required a majority.
Patty Viverito, commissioner of two of the FCS conferences – the Missouri Valley and the Pioneer – said neither supported the legislation.
“The season, coupled with the 24-team playoff, is long enough as is,” she said.
The proposal called for FCS programs to be given the opportunity to schedule another non-conference matchup as the 12th regular-season game, which is allowed on the FBS level. While FCS programs are restricted to 11 regular-season games in most seasons, they are permitted a 12th game in years when there are 13 weekends between Labor Day Weekend and the weekend prior to Thanksgiving, most recently in 2014 and again in 2019.
OVC commissioner Beth DeBauche and Southland commissioner Tom Burnett said last June in a joint statement announcing the proposal that advantages include FCS programs seeking an additional game against an FBS opponent and to have a better chance to reach at least six home games. They also felt it would aid conferences with an expanded league schedule.
The proposal wasn’t expected to be favored by conferences that play smaller league schedules and whose members might feel burdened by increasing scheduling.
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