Clemson football could benefit by adding a FCS opponent in the spring, if the NCAA would allow it
It’s been easily understood by Clemson football fans and the rest of the nation that Athletic Departments have taken big hits over the course of this last year.
Many departments- including Clemson– have had to get rid of sports as cost-saving measures and we have yet to see the end of it.
The division of football below FBS is the FCS and that group is controlled by the NCAA. When the NCAA canceled all fall championships, the organization canceled FCS football and the plan has been for the programs to play in the spring, along with many other fall sports.
Though FCS programs were given the opportunity to play up to four games in the fall, they are expected to play a schedule of some sort that will include a postseason this coming spring.
One thing the NCAA could do to benefit both FBS and FCS programs is allow them to play a live spring scrimmage over the course of the FCS’s spring season.
Clemson football could have limited fan attendance and help a local state school in the process
Stadium capacity won’t be at 100 percent this spring, but there is certainly reason to believe that the Tigers- and many other Power-5 teams across the nation- could welcome in a limited-capacity crowd during the spring.
Clemson hosted 19,000 fans at each of its home games this fall. If that number stayed, you could charge a small general admission price and the two teams- Clemson and the FCS opponent that the Tigers play- could split the gate.
Though it wouldn’t generate near enough money to help an Athletic Department thrive, it could be the paycheck needed to just keep everyone afloat, especially those small schools with FCS programs.
‘Live’ spring games against an FCS opponent would be something fans across the nation would welcome with open arms and it would give us a chance to see this new-look Clemson football team in action against someone other than themselves during the spring.
Seems like a win-win for every party involved.