Eight NCAA Division I-A conference commissioners are considering a plan that could slice the top division of college football schools by a fourth.
Represented at the meeting Friday were the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Eight, Big Ten, Pac-10, Southeastern, Southwest and Western Athletic confernces, according to The Dallas Morning News."It was a really good meeting, but I am reluctant to say anything more at this time," SWC commissioner Steve Hatchell said.
The newspaper said a proposal was discussed that could reduce the number of top football schools from 106 to about 80.
Paring the I-A membership could pave the way for a super football division, known as Division IV, with similar programs competing against each other and legislating their own NCAA rules.
Any possible restructuring would not occur until at least the January 1995 NCAA convention, unless a special NCAA convention on restructuring were called.
The 10-team Mid-American Conference and the 10-team Big West Conference were not at the meeting and apparently were not invited. Their champions, Utah State and Ball State, met Friday night in the Las Vegas Bowl.
In the 1992 season, the latest for which national comparisons are available, the Mid-American and Big West were the lowest ranking I-A conferences in attendance with about 14,300 fans per game each. The SEC was highest at 63,737.
A source close to the discussions said the big-time schools want to control their own destiny in voting matters except for basketball.
A move to eliminate schools at the major football level would give the remaining schools greater control of passing rules and wrestling with the financial problems that gender equity will present.