I haven't gotten to watch the Carthel interview so take this with a grain of salt.
G5 FBS isn't the promised land. Pretty much any bowl game before Christmas is going to average as many or fewer viewers than the quarterfinals & up in FCS. And you can get multiple shots at that exposure since FCS isn't a one off.
I feel like the WACSUN football league is our best bet for the next few years, at it allows both conferences to focus on the other sports. Right now, the football bid is a distraction for both, and the WAC is really building something special in basketball. I'd hate to run out and add a football school that's gonna bring down basketball and the other sports.
If we did jump to FBS, it'd have to be for a move that makes more sense for our golden tickets(men's & women's basketball). CUSA has decent basketball, but their tv deal is pretty trash. 800k a year is nothing to sneeze at, but all football games in October will be midweek, meaning no crowds essentially. Personally, if the Sunbelt is going to work on improving basketball, that'd be my vote but it's obviously a longer shot.
As far as SFA football though, we are historically not great. Carthel, in his years here is already 7 of 20 on the win list. I wouldn't be surprised if he hits top 5 in the next two years. He's the right man for the job. But it's going to take a while before we're safely in solid program territory.
My goal next year is playoffs and preferably a win. If that happens, I'll be ecstatic. If we can get to regular playoff attendee as the baseline, that would be a huge shift for SFA. Then we can focus on being a regular playoff contender.
G5 FBS isn't the promised land. Pretty much any bowl game before Christmas is going to average as many or fewer viewers than the quarterfinals & up in FCS. And you can get multiple shots at that exposure since FCS isn't a one off.
I feel like the WACSUN football league is our best bet for the next few years, at it allows both conferences to focus on the other sports. Right now, the football bid is a distraction for both, and the WAC is really building something special in basketball. I'd hate to run out and add a football school that's gonna bring down basketball and the other sports.
If we did jump to FBS, it'd have to be for a move that makes more sense for our golden tickets(men's & women's basketball). CUSA has decent basketball, but their tv deal is pretty trash. 800k a year is nothing to sneeze at, but all football games in October will be midweek, meaning no crowds essentially. Personally, if the Sunbelt is going to work on improving basketball, that'd be my vote but it's obviously a longer shot.
As far as SFA football though, we are historically not great. Carthel, in his years here is already 7 of 20 on the win list. I wouldn't be surprised if he hits top 5 in the next two years. He's the right man for the job. But it's going to take a while before we're safely in solid program territory.
My goal next year is playoffs and preferably a win. If that happens, I'll be ecstatic. If we can get to regular playoff attendee as the baseline, that would be a huge shift for SFA. Then we can focus on being a regular playoff contender.
