Post by Whup Em All on Apr 28, 2023 11:28:20 GMT -6
As you may know, JMU applied for an "expedited" waiver for bowl eligibility this year, since they got a special waiver last year to join an FBS conference as an actual FBS team without going through a painful "final year of FCS" for their first year of transition.
Long sentence, I know. Sue me.
Anyway, long story short: the waiver was denied. Why does this matter for us?
Well, it means JMU, SHSU, and yes, Jax State will all be treated equally by the legal eyes of the NCAA. And why does THAT matter?
Two words: bowl eligibility.
So... everyone knows we're "not bowl eligible" until next year, 2024. But there's a loophole. (I did mention "legal" and "NCAA" in the same sentence earlier, so you know there's gotta be a loophole in there somewhere.)
I'll stop rambling and just share this post from the CSNBB CUSA board by Sam Houston fan TexasTerror. It sums it up nicely:
As TexasTerror points out, this isn't just some theoretical, hypothetical nonsense. Last season, there were no teams meeting the criterion in rule #2, so they skipped to #3 for the final bowl team(s). This season, there will be three: JMU, SHSU, and Jax State.
Which means, if the Gamecocks can pull a few upsets -- and they WILL be upsets, believe me -- we can actually qualify for a bowl this season.
Will it happen? Heck if I know. We won't just have to be better than expected, but we'll have to be better than both JMU (who got a jump on things last year) and SHSU (who was holding their biggest weapons in reserve last year).
The point is, it CAN happen. And CAN is almost always better than CAN'T.
Long sentence, I know. Sue me.
Anyway, long story short: the waiver was denied. Why does this matter for us?
Well, it means JMU, SHSU, and yes, Jax State will all be treated equally by the legal eyes of the NCAA. And why does THAT matter?
Two words: bowl eligibility.
So... everyone knows we're "not bowl eligible" until next year, 2024. But there's a loophole. (I did mention "legal" and "NCAA" in the same sentence earlier, so you know there's gotta be a loophole in there somewhere.)
I'll stop rambling and just share this post from the CSNBB CUSA board by Sam Houston fan TexasTerror. It sums it up nicely:
NCAA postseason eligibility...
The bowl pecking order is...
1. Bowl eligible teams
2. NCAA transitional trio in second year of FCS-to-FBS transition
3. The best pick of the APR bunch
Last year, they had to dip into #3 as Rice went bowling at 5-7 (can't recall if others did), but it is possible and as the year goes by, we get a better picture of how many programs are truly bowl eligible and if the potential is there. We'll also know if any of the three - JMU, SH or Jax St - have a shot at being bowl eligible.
The bowl pecking order is...
1. Bowl eligible teams
2. NCAA transitional trio in second year of FCS-to-FBS transition
3. The best pick of the APR bunch
Last year, they had to dip into #3 as Rice went bowling at 5-7 (can't recall if others did), but it is possible and as the year goes by, we get a better picture of how many programs are truly bowl eligible and if the potential is there. We'll also know if any of the three - JMU, SH or Jax St - have a shot at being bowl eligible.
As TexasTerror points out, this isn't just some theoretical, hypothetical nonsense. Last season, there were no teams meeting the criterion in rule #2, so they skipped to #3 for the final bowl team(s). This season, there will be three: JMU, SHSU, and Jax State.
Which means, if the Gamecocks can pull a few upsets -- and they WILL be upsets, believe me -- we can actually qualify for a bowl this season.
Will it happen? Heck if I know. We won't just have to be better than expected, but we'll have to be better than both JMU (who got a jump on things last year) and SHSU (who was holding their biggest weapons in reserve last year).
The point is, it CAN happen. And CAN is almost always better than CAN'T.