Vandals To Drop To FCS; May Cancel Florida, Penn State, LSU Games
The Sun Belt Conference is parting ways with the University of Idaho after the 2017 season giving the Vandals two difficult options for the future of their football team.
The school could either remain in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as an independent member like Notre Dame or could drop to the Football Championships Subdivision (FCS) to join rest of their athletic teams in the Big Sky Conference.
According to the Idaho Statesman, no other FBS program has dropped a division without a NCAA mandate. Pacific was the last team to leave the bigger division but that was because they eliminated their football program.
The Vandals have games scheduled against Florida ('18,) Penn State ('19) and LSU ('20.) If the Vandals announce that they are dropping a division during their conference at 11 AM on Thursday. Each of those games could've paid over $1 million but those games might be canceled or the terms of the contracts changed. The university will also lose 22 scholarships if this is the route they take.