The NEC wants an autobid....

[43hike52]

There are some interesting things being said on the anygivensaturday message boards about the NEC and mid-major football in general. Just wanted to give everybody here a chance to chime in, if they so wish.

[UAalum72]

The most pertinent comment being 'what are they smoking?'. As much as the NEC has improved in the last five years, they're still a long way from an autobid.

[DaneFan2k3]

43-52, maybe you can fill in some more of the details behind the rationale. I'm not sure what leverage they would be using for trying to get the autobid, maybe that was discussed. Otherwise, without leverage, sounds like whining.

[UAalum72]

Here's the article.

 

The only leverage would be if the NEC raises the number of counters to 45-50 and starts beating better teams. Even then I think they'd have to raise the number of teams in the playoffs to accomodate additional leagues.

 

Any of this will be long-term anyway. And somehow, I don't see Monmouth in the Patriot League either.

[DaneFan2k3]

Someone who is more familiar with the other leagues can answer.

 

How is the schedule, date wise, with the end of the NEC schedule and the beginning of the I-AA playoffs?

 

Since they have no leverage for an automatic bid, at least that's how it looks, maybe the committee and leagues with an automatic bid would consider something where:

 

the NEC champion plays another non-auto bid champion (MAAC, etc.) in a "play-in" game ... therefore, only one at-large (turned auto) bid would go to essentially two leagues ...

 

However I don't know if the schedules would permit something like that, i.e. is there a week in between the normal end of the NEC schedule and the start of the I-AA playoffs, in which this game could be played? The winner of the game would be dog-tired (no pun intended), but at least that might open some of the auto-bid conference's eyes to the idea.

 

Obviously the more auto bids that you have, the less at-large bids you have. Which no one in an auto bid league likes, because when upsets happen they like to have that fallback. Same thing for the basketball NCAA tournament, which is why you see the bottom two leagues playing in that play-in game. Football is a different beast, though, in terms of time and rest, etc.

[UAalum72]

NEC season ends Nov. 13, the first round of the playoffs is Nov. 27

 

This year, Duquesne has a game Nov. 20, also the date of the Pioneer FL championship game, so there's no room for a play-in.

[Dane Pound]

At least the NEC is trying to do something to preserve itself.

 

I agree with most of the people on the AGS board that the schools in the conference have to make more of a commitment to football and then try to get an autobid and not vice-versa. I realize alot of people here have A10 aspirations for Albany but I think the NEC moving up as a conference would be a good solution to the evaporating non-scholly 1AA football situation.

[Dane96]

The NEC moving up would be a terrible idea. All it would do is set minimum standards and make us like the MEAC; schools happy to just get in and get pasted in Round 1. We need to make the commitment.