The NCAA is an organization that has come under much scrutiny in the past, and finally, with the implementation of NIL, they have started to be in a better light to some fans. While they have begun to make some more intelligent, more favorable decisions, they have one rule that is the dumbest rule in all of sports.
There is a rule preventing teams in the transition period from DII to DI (and FCS to FBS) from competing in the postseason in their first four years in the higher division. The reasoning behind this is a competitive balance. The NCAA does not want teams to make the jump irrationally, so they should understand that they can't make the postseason regardless. This way teams do not make the leap for a big payday that many schools see once they make the postseason. It makes sense in football to a degree, where in the first year the teams are expected to play a half-and-half schedule, six games against FCS opponents and six against FBS opponents.
This rule is generally overlooked as many of the teams who come up to the DI level are not competitive enough for this rule to apply. In the past two years, however, it has come up twice. James Madison made the jump this past year from the FCS level, joining the Sun Belt Conference. Because of covid loopholes, they were extremely close to the 85 scholarships required by D1 schools (compared to 63 at the FCS level), and they played a full Sun Belt schedule, with 10/11 games against FBS opponents. They finished the year with an 8-3 record, winning the Sun Belt East and qualifying for the Sun Belt Championship. The problem was, with this being their first year at the FBS level, they were ineligible for the championship game and any bowl game they would normally get a chance to play in.
This past March, the Bellarmine Knights entered with a first-round bye after finishing second in the west division. They would go on to beat Florida Gulf Coast and then Liberty to clinch a spot in the ASUN championship game. After Jacksonville defeated the regular-season champion Jacksonville State, it set up the championship match, which Bellarmine would go on to win. In the smaller conferences in Division 1 basketball, only one team tends to go to the NCAA tournament, the winner of the conference tournament. So on top of winning your conference, you get a chance to play more on the biggest stage of the sport. Unless you are Bellarmine, and you are in your first year at the Division 1 level so you are ineligible to play any further. Not in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT. On top of all that, Jacksonville, the team that beat the regular-season champs to get to the conference final was pushed aside, and Jacksonville State was awarded the sole bid to the Big Dance.
When teams make the transition to the higher level, the majority of them are at a disadvantage. The NCAA has the right intentions in mind, but they need to fix it for the times they are wrong. These student-athletes at JMU and Bellarmine are being robbed because they are too good. They have beaten teams eligible for the postseason continuously, and enough times where they would be able to play themselves. Instead, because last year they were at a lower-level that isn't allowed? It is stupid and a rule change needs to be implemented yesterday.
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