At a high level, can someone explain the reasoning behind not allowing transitioning teams from FCS to compete? I've read several places that its an obsolete NCAA rule and it is essential "dumb", but what purpose does it serve as I generally don't get it. TIA.
It's the "Marshall Rule" and it has everything to do with them and a certain receiver named Randy Moss.
Picture this:
You're an FCS team. You find an opening into an FBS conference, so you go after the highest profile FBS transfers you can. They'll all have immediate eligibility since they're transferring "down" to FCS.
For that first season, you're now loaded to the gills with FBS talent and easily beat all (or most) of your FCS opposition, possibly even winning a Natty. You parlay this into continued success recruiting high-profile FBS transfers, who continue to be fully eligible, so long as they sign before your official "Hey, we're FBS now!" date.
Then that date arrives, and you're fully FBS.
And as a result of the high-end transfers you were able to land (all with immediate eligibility) you're now a conference championship (and bowl) contender at the FBS level.
So the NCAA, being the brilliant minds they are, said, "OK, we'll address this on both ends. There'll be a two-year transition period. First year, you're still counted as FCS, so while you can sign those transfers, you can't use them to your advantage in the postseason. Transitional teams will be banned from the playoffs. Then, in the second year, you'll be an FBS program, so your new FBS conference mates can count you as an FBS win. But you're going to be ineligible for bowl games." (The exception for running out of enough 6-win teams wasn't added til later.)
The FBS conferences then got together in their respective league offices and said, "Gee, ya know... if this transitioning team plays in our CCG and wins it, our champion will be bowl ineligible. That's both embarrassing and costly, due to tie-ins which require our champion as the representative. Let's add a bylaw that says if you're bowl ineligible for any reason (transitioning, APR penalties, NCAA infractions) you cannot play in our CCG."
Flash forward a decade or two, and we have the Portal and somewhat relaxed transfer rules, and all sorts of other intangibles making it easier for FCS teams to amass talent.
JMU, a Top 3 FCS program (only rivaled by NDSU and SDSU), gets invited to the Sun Belt, and, due to the scheduling needs of the conference, is granted a waiver to spend their first year of transition at the FBS level. They come in and instantly beat up on most of their fellow SBC schools. They apply for a waiver in 2022 to become bowl eligible, but are denied, and as a first-year transitional team, are not even able to take advantage of the "not enough 6-win teams" exception.
JSU and SHSU remain at the FCS level for year one, and both are ineligible for postseason play. The WAC tells the Bearkats on Day One that they'll be ineligible for the conference championship, since they'll have a scholarship advantage. The ASUN tells JSU, who was not very good the season before, that they WILL be eligible for all conference awards. So SHSU approaches the 2022 season by throwing wins and losses out the window and focusing on amassing talent and depth via creative redshirting. Jax State, on the other hand, proceeds to whup the everlovin' snot out of Top 10 SFA in Game 1.
Purely coincidentally, the following Monday, the ASUN issues a statement "clarifying" that Jax State will be ineligible for the conference championship. The Gamecocks go on to whup the everlovin' snot out of every ASUN team on their schedule and make their own trophy, declaring themselves ASUN Regular Season Champions. Because they can.
Year two finds JSU and SHSU in CUSA as second year transitional teams. Bowl- and CCG-ineligible, but otherwise fully FBS.
JMU files a waiver to the NCAA asking for their first year of transition to count as their second year, since they played in an FBS conference. The NCAA denies them.
Sammy struggles to find his footing, but the Gamecocks roll to 6+ wins, and JMU dominates everyone they play en route to a (so far) undefeated season. Both JSU and JMU are now bowl eligible, as long as there are not enough 6-win teams to fill all available slots. However, we are both BEHIND all other 6-win teams, so there's no guarantee either of us will see the postseason.
For this reason, both CUSA and the Sun Belt keep their CCG bans in place.
JMU begins noisily protesting, insisting that they should not only be fully bowl eligible, and not only CCG eligible, but that they should be in line to represent G5 in the NY6, going so far as to have attorneys threatening lawsuits and Congressmen threatening legislative action.
JSU takes their CCG ban in stride, looking ahead to the Magic Number of bowl-ineligible teams which will allow the Gamecocks to play in a bowl game. As soon as NMSU eliminates WKU from contention, CUSA announces the CCG will feature NMSU at Liberty.
JMU (and Tarleton, down in FCS) both file for waivers from the NCAA to declare themselves fully postseason eligible. JSU opts to file one as well, just in case JMU actually wins theirs.
JMU had the support of the Sun Belt in their filing. Had it gone the Dukes way, JMU would've played in their CCG.
Since the waiver process started so late and the CCG participants had already been announced, CUSA told JSU they still wouldn't be in the CCG. But that's OK. If JSU won their waiver, they'd be immediately bowl eligible instead of having to watch Magic Numbers.
The NCAA, though, said "no" to all three waivers.
So JSU is exactly where we all thought we'd be. Watching Magic Numbers, and feeling pretty good about our prospects for making it to a bowl.
JMU is apoplectic, feeling as though they've been unfairly targeted by the NCAA.
Next season, this will all mercifully be over, as JSU, JMU, and Sammy will all three be fully postseason eligible. And we won't have to worry with this waiver nonsense ever again.
Unless, of course, Kenny decides to pull a Jimmy rather than a Sammy, and dominates all of us in CUSA in 2024.