INDIANAPOLIS--Division I-A members of the Division I
Board of Directors have agreed that beginning with the
2006 season, Division I-A teams will be allowed to
schedule a 12th regular-season game every year. The
12-game proposal, however, was defeated by the
Division I-AA members of the Board, which means
Division I-AA teams will continue to operate under the
11-game schedule.

The 12-game measure is permissive legislation, which
means Division I-A teams may schedule a 12th game if
they choose to do so.

Eight of the 11 Division I-A presidents on the Board
supported the proposal. Two voted against the measure
and one abstained. All three Division I-AA members
present voted against the proposal.

Eleven-game regular seasons have been the norm in
Division I since 1970, but three years ago the Board
approved a measure that allowed for a 12th game in
years when there are 14 Saturdays from the first
permissible playing date through the last playing date
in November. The 2002 and 2003 campaigns were the
first 12-game seasons under that rule; the next would
have been in 2008 (and now will be for Division I-AA).

The Board also discussed, but did not reach a decision
on how the 12-game season affects bowl eligibility.
Board members did indicate their support for
preserving the current legislation that defines bowl
eligibility as a team with a winning record. During
the 12-game seasons in 2002 and 2003, temporary
legislation was passed to allow teams with a 6-6
record to be bowl-eligible, but that legislation has
sunset.

The Board also acted on Division I-A membership
criteria, adopting emergency legislation that
alleviates pressure on institutions to meet attendance
criteria to maintain I-A status. The legislation
allows institutions to demonstrate over a rolling
two-year period either an average minimum actual
attendance of 15,000 for all home football games, or
at least one season in which the institution averages
a minimum of 15,000 in paid attendance for home games.

The measure provides breathing room for some
long-standing Division I-A institutions some people
thought were disadvantaged by an attendance criterion
that went into effect last year that required
institutions to average at least 15,000 in actual
attendance per year. Board members believe the new
recommendation maintains a measure of public support,
which presidents feel is a worthwhile criterion, but
it helps those who consider actual attendance to be
outside the control of an institution by providing the
opportunity to comply through paid attendance once
every two years.

Board members also took other actions regarding
Division I-AA proposals they agreed to consider
earlier in conjunction with revising the attendance
criterion. One was to adopt emergency legislation
allowing Division I-A teams to count one win each year
against a Division I-AA opponent for bowl eligibility
beginning with the 2005 season. This not only provides
more incentive for competition between the two
subdivisions, but it probably will increase the number
of bowl-eligible I-A teams as well.

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