Northern FCS vs Southern FCS

[BobcatBuiltTexan]

As I am new to following the fcs schools I have an honest question.

Why is there such a gap between the strength of the northern fcs schools and the southern fcs schools?


I hope I don't offend anyone here but the most talent rich football places are in the south but the southern schools aren't nearly as strong yearly as the northern schools why do you feel that is the case? My thought is that a lot of the southern schools have to go to cold climates and play during the playoffs and they just aren't ready for that as a whole. Their style of play doesn't translate very well. Again I'm new to watching fcs so I'm just wondering went the large disparity? It isn't like the northern schools are getting the best talent in their area, just like the south the best talent is going p5/g5. How are they developing their players better or recruiting better for the fcs?

[MSU01]

It's not just northern teams in general that are dominating the FCS right now, it's the three states of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. I think a big part of it is that when you look back 10 or 15 or 20 years, the southern programs that were winning championships and making deep playoff runs (App State, Georgia Southern, Sam Houston, James Madison, etc.) are all now FBS schools while the MT/Dakota schools are geographically "stuck" at the FCS level. I think that lack of competition from FBS schools in these states also plays a role, it helps to be the biggest draw in your state instead of being an FCS Texas school that has to compete for resources and attention with multiple Power 5 teams.

[Cataholic]

Quite frankly, the northern schools - specifically MSU, UM, SDSU and NDSU all have better facilities. And in many of these cases in the north, the universities are also the premier higher education institution(s) in the state. That is not the case with Sam Houston State or Houston Baptist. All of this results in greater followings, higher attendance and more local interest. Playing in front of 20,000 fans is a real attraction to southern recruits instead of playing with 6,000 fans in attendance in Abilene.

[coloradocat]

I've never thought about this before but the northern schools may be better academically, which is partially a function of better administration. This would logically lead to a better functioning athletic department (general culture of high expectations/performance). The northern schools are also generally state schools from less populated states which means less competition for resources and fans. In Montana and the Dakotas most college students in those states attend one of the two FCS schools and they are the only D1 teams in the state. This results in a state-wide fan base and more direct influence on state funding.

The southern schools are competing with multiple FBS schools for students and funding and are generally not the top option for education. This leads to fewer students, less funding and lower quality administration. Southern FCS schools get the FBS leftover for everything. All of these things funnel down to athletics.

As far as getting the best talent in the area, the northern schools generally do achieve this (less so in the NIL era) and have been better at finding hidden talent due to geographic limitations on scouting. Every kid in Texas is seen in person by dozens of scouts. Most kids in Montana aren't seen in person by anyone out of state.

[gtapp]

Southern schools have to compete for money and interest with successful FBS programs and Professional teams. We don't. Sam Houston State is just out of Houston with a huge population but Texas has many high quality FBS programs and 2 Pro Teams. When we played them 2 years ago they were undefeated and defending champs and they drew 8000 fans (2000 of which were MSU fans) against us in the Quarterfinals.

[BleedingBLue]

The biggest thing in my opinion is the fact we have no FBS teams in MT, SD and ND. Not many Northern schools from the Midwest and Northeast are great. The "fans" of those programs all have someone bigger and better to root for and attend the games of.