Lines between FCS, FBS blurring in wake of House settlement approval

BILLINGS — The approaching college football season will mark the end of something familiar and the beginning of something new for the Big Sky Conference.

For starters, this year will be Sacramento State's last as a member of the league. The Hornets jumped up from Division II in 1993 and have been a part of the Big Sky since 1996, but they've made no bones about their desire to take the leap to the Football Bowl Subdivision — grandiose visions of future Pac-12 membership notwithstanding.

None of it will be easy. Sac State recently had its waiver request to compete as an FBS independent next year denied by the NCAA; instead, the Hornets will play as a Football Championship Subdivision independent next season while the rest of their athletic programs join the Big West Conference for 2026-27.

In a wide-ranging interview last week with MTN Sports, Montana athletic director Kent Haslam said he doesn't disparage Sacramento State for its ambition.

"I'm not going to fault them for chasing what they want out of their athletic program and how it serves the mission of their university," Haslam said. "I say congratulations. To take a bold stand and do what you want to do changing conferences ... it's not like it's something that came out of nowhere.

"But I hate to see them leave. They've been a great partner in the Big Sky Conference. The athletic director, Mark Orr, is just a tremendous administrator. And so you hate to see them go. We liked competing in that area of California. We recruit heavily there."

This, of course, is all a backdrop to the larger matter of conference realignments and exorbitant media rights deals. Not to mention the lingering question of what ultimately may become of the FCS as the power conferences clamor for even more autonomy, and as the recently approved House settlement ushers in a revenue-sharing era that allows schools to pay student-athletes directly.

There's always been a noticeably vast difference between the FCS and FBS on the field and in terms of facilities and money — remember, only six times have ranked FBS teams lost to FCS opponents since 1978. But it might start to feel less disparate off the field, as all Division I athletic departments (the Power 4 leagues and those individual schools that have opted into the House settlement) will be using the same revenue sharing model to, for want of a better term, "buy" players.

FCS wins over ranked FBS teams

The opt-in schools will also eventually have the same roster limits, though the Big Sky is still capping its football scholarship totals at 63 for at least one more season.

"The line between FBS and FCS has really blurred with the House settlement, other than the governance that's in the NCAA right now, which means you pay $5 million to be an FBS school and you have to have a conference invite to move up," said Haslam, whose Grizzlies opted into the House settlement at the end of June.

"In reality, right now, FCS programs that opt in can offer more scholarships than they've ever been able to in the past."

Though it's decidedly top-heavy with the national dominance of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and to a lesser degree the Big Sky, the FCS remains robust with 129 teams and 13 conferences. Yet the "move up" question has lingered at both Montana and Montana State (which opted into House in the spring) for years ... though Haslam still doesn't see it as an expedient option.

FBS conference invitations to FCS schools don't grow on trees. Neither does $5 million.

Watch related coverage: Former Grizzly Jordan Tripp, experienced play-by-play broadcaster Trey Bender to call Big Sky football games

He's also quick to point out that it would take a tremendous commitment from the state of Montana to make any of it happen — and no one is sure to where all of this will eventually lead, especially with the uncertainty of what the richest and most powerful teams and leagues might do next.

"Right now I don't really know what it means to be an FBS school," Haslam said before wondering, "Does it mean that the championship's decided by the College Football Playoff and you go to bowl games? Or does some other championship mechanism click into place? Are there three levels in (Division I) where you've got the CFP, you've got a step below that and then you have what maybe is currently FCS at the third level? Who knows?

"I have no desire to move to the FBS just for the sake of moving to the FBS. But we want to be with institutions that are like-minded and similar to us in mission and focus, and similar in relevance to the states that they reside. No doubt. That's always been important to us."

Haslam added: "We're a very different state. We're a rural state. I really look towards the Dakotas as schools that are similar to us — flagships in rural states that have tremendous relevance among their constituents. And so is it best for us to chase something that financially is not viable? I don't think that it is at this moment.

"But being in a position where potentially you've got schools that filter down that look similar to us, and we can kind of push our way up to that, I think is the sweet spot."

Right now, the Grizzlies, the Bobcats and whoever else has opted into the House settlement must find ways to raise as much money as they can to compete in recruiting, improve infrastructure and remain as competitive as possible amid all this transformation.

With an 82% opt-in rate across the country, UM, MSU and the others will now be operating their athletic departments in a way that seemed unthinkable a decade ago. The lines, as Haslam said, have blurred.

"We are in a position of strength because we are so relevant in FCS football," Haslam said. "We have such great financial support from our fans. I think the uniqueness of what makes Montana so special, you have to preserve that and you have to cherish that and make sure that you're positioning yourself for relevance and make sure you're serving what the state wants you to be."