It was reported, on Friday, that Liberty has indicated that it is not interested. Nothing has emerged concerning the other independents.

Should FCS schools be interested/invited they will be subjected to a 2-year transition to the FBS rank. At the end of the transition period, the schools must

1. Sponsor a minimum of 16 varsity sports, comprised of a minimum of 6 men or mixed sports and a minimum of 8 women sports.

2. Play at least 60% of its football games against FBS schools, and must include at least 5 home games.

3. Have a stadium whose minimum capacity is 15,000. Over a rolling 2-year period average a paid or actual attendance of at least 15,000.

4. Provide a minimum of 90% of the allowable football scholarships, over a 2-year rolling period.

5. Offer a minimum of 200 scholarships, across all sports, or spend a minimum of $4M in scholarships,

It’s an expensive proposition for a school to move up into the FBS level. Before the defections, C-USA’s TV contract provided the smallest per/team payout. With the departure of 9 teams, it’s doubtful the conference will be able to sustain even that limited payout.

Exit fees will provide C-USA with $27M. An undetermined portion will go to the remaining schools, over several years, with the rest portioned out yo the incoming schools.

It may not be enough to entice a school to increase its athletics budget by 30% and its football expenses to almost triple.