After ACU won the United Athletic Conference championship, some fans are wondering if this is the university’s chance to break into the FBS.
Not just yet.
Instant gratification is non-existent in college athletics – unless you are Texas or Oklahoma. ACU will need to complete several tasks before joining an FBS conference. The first is to keep winning.
Head Coach Keith Patterson broke the pattern of mediocrity living in the football program after winning at their highest level. It is time to do it again and again. And again. Consistency will be the foundation for FBS consideration.
ACU’s next item on the agenda is increasing financial support. According to the NCAA website, the league requires a $5 million exit fee, a minimum of a 15,000 seating capacity stadium and a minimum of 210 athletic scholarships for an FCS team to be promoted. The university’s strong ability to court new donors and fundraise will not hinder these FBS financial aspirations.
Similar to the Higher Ground campaign overperforming expectations, timing will be the only unknown variable in ACU’s strategic FBS efforts.
With Forbes grading ACU’s financial stability as an A, the Wildcats can yet again tap into their strong fundraising strategies to complete this project. Once the Wildcats earn their stripes and are monetarily ready to make the football leap, the next task is to find a new home.
With conference realignment taking place every offseason, the opportunities for ACU to receive an invite to a highly competitive and travel-friendly conference is likely. In an interview with the Optimist in August, Dr. Phil Schubert, president of the university, expressed his interest in forming a conference that featured primarily only Texas schools. This would alleviate the millions of dollars of travel expenses and encourage local support amongst the Lone Star State.
Other options to consider include waiting for a bid to Conference-USA, the entry-level FBS conferences for a university like ACU. This is the route Sam Houston State University took after checking off the prerequisites and winning consistently. Consistency will be the reason why ACU goes to FBS.
The university’s successful track record of fundraising will certainly help position them to greater pastures, but winning will get them over the hump.
