Far-flung but not so far-fetched, Delaware move to Conference USA actually makes sense
From a geographic standpoint, Delaware and Conference USA are misfits.
Competitively and financially, however, Delaware could step into that league and, immediately, be among its best.
That’s why, if Delaware officials do decide to lift the Blue Hens into the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, which appears imminently possible, going into Conference USA actually seems quite sensible and logical.
Certainly, Delaware is an outlier on the C-USA map.
The league’s present nine members are Sam Houston State and UTEP in Texas, New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech, Jacksonville State in Alabama, Florida International, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky and Liberty in Virginia. Next year, Georgia’s Kennesaw State makes the move up from the Football Championship Subdivision.
Liberty, located in Lynchburg, is about a 5-hour drive from Newark. The next nearest are Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee, each about an 11-hour haul.
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The dollars make sense
Those distances may be a drawback for UD fans. Truth is, C-USA would actually benefit by adding Delaware as an 11th member beginning next year and extending its geographic footprint. If it has additional northeastern or Mid-Atlantic targets in mind, capable of giving it a dozen or more schools, that’d be even better.
As recent college conference shuffling clearly demonstrates, proximity is no longer the main consideration in determining where to go and with whom to align.
Money, especially as it pertains to media rights, is the main factor.
Delaware already spends more money on athletics than each of the other C-USA schools except Liberty, according to USA Today’s annual NCAA finances report, which is reflected in the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, and U.S. Department of Education Equity in Athletics Data Analysis charts.
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Delaware did not actually submit data for the USA Today study this year, saying public funds do not support its athletic operating budget. That’s despite the fact Blue Hen teams play in some facilities built or improved with state money and people travel on roads paid for by the state to reach them. But that’s another story.
For the 2021-22 school year, Delaware had $41.6 million each in athletics revenue and expenses, according to the DOE data. Liberty was at $57.4 million in each category. The next biggest spender on sports among C-USA schools was FIU with $39.2 million in revenue and $35.6 million in expenses.
New Mexico State and Middle Tennessee were the only others with more than $30 million in revenue and expenses, according to the DOE charts.
In the latest Knight-Newhouse study, Western Kentucky, UTEP and Kennesaw State also exceeded $30 million in athletic spending. But Delaware was already spending nearly $48 million on its sports the last time UD dollar figures appeared in the Knight-Newhouse data base from 2019.
Liberty biggest C-USA spender
Only Liberty, a collegiate cash cow because of its religious ties and vast on-line student body, invests more in athletics than Delaware among C-USA members. Delaware would have to increase that investment significantly for the additional 22 football scholarships, staffing, travel and potential cost of adding a women’s team to meet Title IX gender-equity requirements.
Delaware's determination to raise money to build a new indoor practice/office facility and re-do the north end zone of Delaware Stadium is what ignited a more serious look at moving to FBS.
C-USA is also in the first year of a 5-year media rights deal with CBS and ESPN. Part of that includes nationally televised mid-week football games, which is why former Delaware coach K.C. Keeler and his Sam Houston squad have frequently popped up on our TV screens.
That media deal, according to reports, earns each C-USA school more than $750,000 annually. That would certainly help with the increased costs Delaware would incur with C-USA membership and is probably at least triple what it earns from Coastal Athletic Association media rights.
Delaware would have to find a home for its men’s soccer, men’s lacrosse and women’s rowing teams, as those are sports C-USA does not sponsor. But there is another aspect of such a move that could make it particularly appealing for Delaware.
Hens good enough for C-USA
The Blue Hens would already possibly be one of the better football teams in C-USA. Unbeaten Liberty sits atop that league right now. But second-place Jacksonville State is a school Delaware beat in the FCS playoffs just 2 1/2 years ago in the spring season quarterfinals.
Of course, that 2021 spring FCS tourney was won by Sam Houston, with present Delaware coach Ryan Carty as its offensive coordinator. But Keeler’s 2023 Bearkats are not faring well in their climb to C-USA and are actually ranked last among all 133 FBS football programs nationally this week by The Athletic.
They have company, as league rivals FIU (115th), Middle Tennessee (116th), Louisiana Tech (117th) and UTEP (118th) are also near the bottom.
Delaware, which is 7-1 and ranked No. 5 nationally in FCS going into Saturday’s 1 p.m. home game against Elon, has benefitted greatly from transfer-portal additions, especially in its rebuilt defense. Going to FBS would likely make Delaware even more attractive to football portal occupants and speed up the Blue Hens’ ability to have the necessary personnel to compete.
Financial benefits abound
Quickly qualifying for a bowl bid would also be a major financial benefit. And though Group of Five schools have been mostly shut out from the FBS playoff set-up, all leagues -- and thus their members -- benefit financially from it.
The College Football Playoff's future expansion will likely increase those payouts, which already exceed what schools draw from FCS playoff participation.
In summation, C-USA is presently on the bottom rung of the FBS’ Group of Five ladder. It is still rebuilding from the mass exodus of last year. But Delaware’s addition could actually make it better.
And if the Blue Hens do succeed quickly, it might give them the opportunity to move up into a more lucrative league, making Delaware’s leap into FBS an actual steppingstone to something better.
That’s another reason why a potential Delaware move to FBS football in C-USA, which has long seemed rather far-fetched, actually holds a slew of potential benefits for the Blue Hens.
Have an idea for a compelling local sports story or is there an issue that needs public scrutiny? Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware Blue Hens move to far-flung Conference USA not so far-fetched
