MOBILE, Ala. — The NCAA’s postseason ban on Central Florida has renewed discussion of a possible shortage of bowl-eligible teams in 2012, and a CBS Sports report says that scenario could open the door to a South Alabama bowl appearance, even though the Jaguars are in the final year of their move to the Football Bowl Subdivision.
CBS Sports writer Dennis Dodd, in an article published Tuesday under the headline “UCF bowl ban means, gulp, South Alabama could go bowling,” outlined how a lack of eligible teams could lead the NCAA to consider reclassifying programs such as the Jaguars.
Four Programs Barred From Postseason
UCF is one of four FBS programs under a bowl ban for the 2012 season, along with Ohio State, North Carolina and Penn State. Ohio State, North Carolina and Penn State are regular bowl participants, and UCF had been expected to contend for the Conference USA championship.
The bowl lineup expanded to 35 games in 2010, requiring 70 teams. Last season, only 72 teams were bowl eligible.
According to the report, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm had projected before the UCF sanctions were announced that there would not be enough eligible teams to fill all 35 bowls in 2012. Dodd also noted pending NCAA cases involving Miami and Oregon.
Wright Waters, the former Sun Belt Conference commissioner who now serves as executive director of the Football Bowl Association, told CBS Sports: “It’s an issue that we’re monitoring closely and working with NCAA to develop a backup plan.”
Contingency Options
The report listed options the NCAA Board of Directors could consider if there are not enough eligible teams:
- Allowing 6-6 teams whose wins include a victory over a Football Championship Subdivision opponent that does not meet scholarship requirements. Current rules let an FBS team count one win over an FCS team toward bowl eligibility only if that FCS school averages 90 percent of the 63 scholarships allowed at that level.
- Allowing 6-6 teams with two wins over FCS opponents. FBS teams currently may count only one such win.
- Allowing 6-7 teams whose seventh loss came in a conference championship game.
- Allowing 6-7 teams that played 13 regular-season games.
- Allowing 5-7 teams, ranked by Academic Progress Rate.
- Allowing a team that is reclassifying.
Where South Alabama Fits
The final option would apply to South Alabama, UTSA, Texas State and Massachusetts, each in the second year of the two-year transition from the FCS. None of the four is currently eligible for a bowl game or for its conference championship game.
Dodd noted that the reclassification option sits far down the list but wrote that it would be encouraging for a program that went 7-0 three years ago against a schedule that included Hargrave Military Academy. “The Jags, located in Mobile, drew 26,000 for the first-ever game in 2009,” he wrote.
South Alabama’s Record
South Alabama went 7-0 in its inaugural 2009 season and 10-0 in 2010, a season that included a win over UC Davis. The Jaguars finished 6-4 in 2011, with losses to NC State, Kent State, Georgia State and Cal Poly, the last of which was the program’s first home loss.
South Alabama, coached by Joey Jones, begins Sun Belt Conference play this fall and plays its home games at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
