Since we are moving into the dog days of summer and don’t have our own team to talk about yet, why not look at an FCS preview for the upcoming season. Since I am a very casual FCS fan I bought this magazine last year to learn more about what we are getting into. It gave me a good feel about FCS football.
http://blog.philsteele.com/2011/07/19/fcs-magazine-and-top-40-countdown/
They will be previewing a new team in the Top 40 every day, starting yesterday with:
# 40 Bethune-Cookman
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/40Bethune.pdf
The things I like to look at are their conference, stadium size (rank), attendance numbers (rank) and previous schedules.
MEAC
Stadium size: 10,000 (78th largest)
2010 Attendance: 7093 (66th)
This seems the appropriate place to put this: LET’S GO TRIBE!!! (W&M)
#39- Stephen F Austin
Conference: Southland
Stadium Size: 14,575 (55th)
2010 Attendance: 9410 (40th)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/39SFA.pdf
Probably one of the best nicknames out there: The Lumberjacks.
#38- UC Davis
Conference: Great West
Stadium Size: 10,849 (75th)
2010 Attendance: 8115 (56th)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/38UCDavis.pdf
#37- Youngstown State
Conference: MVFC
Stadium Size: 20,630(28th)
2010 Attendance: 15,110 (16th)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/37YoungstownSt.pdf
Another cool nickname: The Penguins
I notice every team thus far has artificial turf.
Our A-10 nemesis and perhaps future CAA nemesis.
#36- Richmond
Conference: CAA
Stadium Size: 8,700(92nd)
2010 Attendance: 8,567 (49th)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/36Richmond.pdf
They play at Duke again this year. They beat the Blue Devils in 2006 and 2009 in Durham.
#35- McNeese State
Conference: Southland
Stadium Size: 17,410 (32nd)
2010 Attendance: 13,770 (21st)
http://philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/35McNeese.pdf
#34- Grambling
Conference: SWAC- West
Stadium Size: 19,600 (32nd)
2010 Attendance: 8719 (45th)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/34Grambling.pdf
#33- Jacksonville
Conference: Pioneer
Stadium Size: 5000 (110th)
2010 Attendance: 3761 (103rd)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/33Jacksonville.pdf
Davidson plays in the Pioneer League which is non-scholarship.
So far only 3 of these teams have larger stadiums than our proposed 15,000 Stadium. We almost have as many FSL owners as the ave attendance at Jacksonville.
#32- Florida A&M
Conference: MEAC
Stadium Size: 25,500 (15th)
2010 Attendance: 15,913 (15th)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/32FloridaA&M.pdf
#31- Liberty
Conference: Big South
Stadium Size: 19,200 (67th)
2010 Attendance: 16,216 (12th)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/31Liberty.pdf
#30- Indiana State
Conference: MVFC
Stadium Size: 12,464 (64th)
2010 Attendance: 5,478 (86th)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/30IndianaSt.pdf
#29- Harvard
Conference: Ivy
Stadium Size: 30,323 (8th)
2010 Attendance: 16,918 (8th)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/29Harvard.pdf
Did not realize that Harvard had that large of a stadium.
#28- UT Martin
Conference: Ohio Valley
Stadium Size: 7,500 (99th)
2010 Attendance: 4,301 (98th)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/28UTMartin.pdf
#27- Colgate
Conference: Patriot
Stadium Size: 10,221 (77th)
2010 Attendance: 6,258 (78th)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/27Colgate.pdf
[quote=“Mr. Bojangles, post:14, topic:25566”]#29- Harvard
Conference: Ivy
Stadium Size: 30,323 (8th)
2010 Attendance: 16,918 (8th)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/29Harvard.pdf
Did not realize that Harvard had that large of a stadium.[/quote]
It’s pretty sweet- a horseshoe look that mimics Roman architecture. The Yale bowl is also a really cool stadium. I believe that it has shrunk but is still the largest FCS stadium around 60-65,000.
Check out this thread on anygivensaturday for pictures of stadiums around the country: http://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?82995-Rebirth-of-the-FCS-Stadium-Thread
#26- Albany
Conference: Northeast
Stadium Size: 5,000 (110th)
2010 Attendance: 3,024 (111th)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/26Albany.pdf
[b]#25- Jackson State
[/b]Conference: SWAC East
Stadium Size: 60,492 (5th)
2010 Attendance: 24,140 (3rd)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/25JacksonSt.pdf
Also noticed that Walter Payton is a JSU alum:
http://jsutigers.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/072511aad.html
#24- Southern Utah
Conference: Great West
Stadium Size: 8,500 (94th)
2010 Attendance: 7,077 (67th)
http://www.philsteele.com/Pdf/2011FCSCountdown/24SUtah.pdf
