Good morning, and thanks for spending part of your day with Extra Points.
It’s been an awfully busy week here at Extra Points HQ, with me filing multiple stories on my Utah trip, plus our women’s college basketball operating budget analysis. I’ve got a bunch of other stories I’m working on, but I need another day or so to make phone calls (and make updates to the Extra Points Library) before they’re ready.
Which makes today a perfect time to pass the mic over to KC Smurthwaite, who has an interesting story about FCS scheduling to share:
On a recent phone call, a deputy athletic director at an FCS school got my attention. “We’ve got the power leagues by the balls right now,” he said. “How long will it last? Who knows, but we’ll take the money.”
I suspect I have your attention now, too.
For decades, the early-season college football schedule has featured games that look, both on paper and on the scoreboard, about as appealing as a trip to the DMV. Look no further than UCF’s 73-6 dismantling of Bethune-Cookman or Minnesota’s 59-7 win over Eastern Illinois earlier this year. These so-called “buy games” between FBS and FCS programs are an accepted financial reality, and scheduling them has largely followed a familiar arrangement.
A power conference school writes a check, a smaller program collects, and then they face off in a stadium that seats considerably more people than the population of the visiting school’s hometown. The school paying the guarantee has traditionally held most of the negotiating power.
But a relatively small change to the college football calendar has created an interesting wrinkle. For once, some FCS administrators have a little home-field advantage over Power 4 foes, thanks to two rule changes the NCAA has approved in the past 18 months.
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The first came in June 2025, when the NCAA approved legislation allowing every FCS program to begin its season during Week 0. That change went into effect this fall, and it also lets FCS programs play 12 regular-season games annually, rather than 11.
But the implications go considerably beyond playing football a week earlier, and those lucrative guarantee games — once an early-season opportunity reserved for a limited number of programs — have become a potentially valuable scheduling tool for the entire subdivision. The additional week creates opportunities to play 11 FCS games alongside a matchup with an FBS opponent that could provide a big payday.
According to data collected through the Extra Points Library, public records requests and other athletics data platforms, FBS-versus-FBS guarantee games for 2026 averaged a payout of about $650,000. Now, for FBS-versus-FCS games in 2026, those guarantees drop to an average of about $450,000. On the high end, LSU paid McNeese $750,000, while Miami cut a check to Florida A&M for $740,000 and Iowa's agreement with Northern Iowa called for $700,000. Historically, those guarantees have fallen around $400,000 — though geography, opponent availability and negotiating circumstances can create substantial differences.
“Overall, Week 0’s been outstanding for FCS,” North Alabama athletic director Josh Looney said. Allowing FCS teams to kick off early has changed how administrators negotiate contracts, position bye weeks, construct home schedules and, perhaps most importantly, generate revenue.
“When they opened up that opportunity, there was a scramble of schools looking for home-and-home agreements, neutral-site agreements and really moving other games to Week 0, which opened up better bye week scenarios and the ability to play 12 games,” Looney added.
North Alabama built a 2026 schedule with six games at its brand-new Bank Independent Stadium and a seventh in nearby Huntsville: a Week 0 neutral-site game. The Lions had never before played seven games in their home market in a single season.
Then, over the summer, the ground shifted again for FCS athletic departments when the NCAA approved an earlier, standardized start for the FBS season. Beginning in 2027, Week 0 will effectively become Week 1, and FBS programs will have 14 weeks to play 12 games, creating two potential byes.
And those Power 4 administrators? They’re picking up the phone, requesting to move Week 1 FCS games to Week 0, according to Looney. And because moving a game isn’t quite as easy as changing a calendar invitation and emailing it, the FCS programs hold some sway. Is it worth it to adjust a date and trigger a chain reaction involving conference schedules, other nonconference opponents, stadium availability, and contractual obligations?
“We’ve signed three amendments so far,” Looney said. “The convenience fee really determines if we have a domino effect moving multiple opponents.”
When an FBS school requests scheduling flexibility, it can come at a price beyond the original game guarantee — the “convenience fee” Looney referenced. For FCS programs, it's a chance to negotiate, but for their FBS counterparts, it might just be the cost of doing business. One FCS deputy athletic director said they held their power conference opponent “hostage” for a six-figure check.
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On the other hand, there was no hostage-taking necessary for Looney’s North Alabama Lions. Just this week, FBSchedules reported that North Alabama’s 2027 game at North Carolina, originally scheduled for September 25 under a contract signed in 2020, had been moved up to August 28. Yes, you guessed it: Week 0. And the price of that calendar adjustment? An additional $100,000.
Looking ahead to 2027, the FBS-versus-FCS guarantee market appears relatively stable, with the observed average still hovering around $400,000 — though those numbers don’t include any of the new fees. Ohio State's scheduled game against New Hampshire carries a $1 million guarantee, while LSU's agreement with Northwestern State is worth $750,000. Seven-figure payouts remain rare, but Ohio State paid Grambling State $1 million in 2025, while Notre Dame paid Tennessee State the same amount in 2023.
Long Island University athletic director Elliott Charles said the changes have created opportunities, but they also exposed the complexity of an already difficult scheduling process.
“The No. 1 misconception about football scheduling is that fans don’t know that schedules are solidified three to five years in advance,” Charles said. “As a bonus, our broadcast partners rule the roost, so years of scheduling can also be altered or undone from the year before the game all the way up to three months before the season.”
For LIU, which traveled to Kansas and FIU this year, the expanded calendar has strengthened its department philosophy of scheduling two early-season guarantee games while opening the door to additional revenue or scheduling opportunities.
Charles said LIU has also accommodated FBS requests to adjust game dates or years. And he emphasized something that doesn’t necessarily show up in the contract documents.
“Scheduling is still also a relationship-based part of our business,” Charles said. “And transparency and trust are critical to successful scheduling.”
The movement isn’t limited to the FCS level, either.
Northern Illinois athletic director Sean Frazier said his department has been involved in both inbound and outbound conversations about moving future games.
Those discussions have included Nebraska, South Florida and other FBS and FCS programs. The USF game was originally scheduled for September 25, 2027, but has been moved up to Week 0 in 2027.
For Frazier, the additional flexibility is about more than securing a particular opponent. It’s about “building a schedule that positions Northern Illinois for conference success and a potential College Football Playoff opportunity.”
But that added flexibility also comes with operational costs, affecting not just FBS programs but FCS schools, too. Frazier pointed to the expenses associated with bringing student-athletes back to campus earlier, opening dormitories, providing meals and managing additional logistical challenges. Looney, on the other hand, said North Alabama hasn't incurred additional costs from an earlier return because the university had already committed to opening its season in Week 0, but he said he understood that “not all schools operate that way.”
The financial and calendar equations look different for every institution, and the benefits of an expanded calendar won't necessarily outweigh the costs for everyone. But beyond those immediate expenses, there's a much larger question hanging over these scheduling negotiations.
How long will Power 4 institutions continue scheduling FCS opponents at all?
The concern isn’t really even hypothetical. The SEC moved to nine conference games in 2026, while the ACC is transitioning to a similar model. With fewer nonconference dates available and College Football Playoff conversations increasingly focused on strength of schedule, the long-term future of FCS guarantee games becomes a legitimate concern.
For FCS programs, losing just one FBS guarantee could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Replacing that money with another home game isn't always realistic, given attendance, operating expenses and limited stadium capacity.
Just as FCS schools have finally gained some scheduling leverage, the Power 4 may be running out the clock.
For now, administrators are working the phones and renegotiating contracts finalized years ago. Week 0 has undoubtedly changed the scheduling business, but the bigger question is how long this newfound leverage will last.
And until then? The FCS schools will take the money.
