With the football season just around the corner, some of you may be looking ahead to the opening weekend game between two in-state rivals, the Northern Iowa Panthers and the Iowa Hawkeyes. You may also be wondering why a team like the Panthers would consider playing a team like the Hawkeyes.
UNI is consistently contending for the Missouri Valley Football Conference championship and a shot at making the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. So why would a team like the Panthers risk a shot at getting one of the top four seeds in the FCS playoffs by playing a heavily-favored Football Bowl Subdivision team like the Hawkeyes?
One big reason is money. The Panthers will receive a $400,000 payout for making the trip to Iowa City on Sept. 5. Last season the school received a $325,000 payout for making a similar trip to Provo, Utah, where UNI suffered a 41-17 loss to Brigham Young.
"There is a big financial incentive for the FCS schools to play the FBS schools," said athletics director Troy Dannen.
Another reason is national exposure for recruiting. The game with the Hawkeyes will be broadcast across the country on the Big Ten Network and will hopefully help the Panthers gain some national attention for future recruits. FBS teams are allowed to offer 22 more scholarships for football than teams from the FCS, which makes playing games on national television even more important for teams like UNI.
The Panthers also get to use these games against FBS opponents as an opportunity to see how they stack up against teams that are usually considered to be of higher caliber than FCS teams. "When you get to the level that our program is at year in and year out, you can actually measure your team by the outcome of those games. It doesn't define our team or our program, but it does give us a barometer as to where we're at." said Dannen.
"We can build off of [games versus FBS opponents]. It puts you ahead by like three games of where you're at and still want to get done, so it helps you at the end of the season," said head football coach Mark Farley.
Other than the financial incentive for FCS schools, the biggest incentive to play an FBS team may be the chance to upset them and bring more national attention to the program. The most notable FCS upset to this point occurred a couple years ago when Appalachian State upset the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor.
The Panthers also have a history of beating FBS teams. Their last such victory happened in 2007 when UNI traveled to Ames and knocked off Iowa State, 24-13. With some recent success by the top teams in the FCS, people are beginning to wonder what the talent differential is between the FBS and the FCS.
"At the top end of the FCS, with the starters and maybe some of the two deeps on the depth chart, there's not a lot of difference from the FBS schools talent wise. The biggest difference between the two is usually the size of the players," said Dannen.
"We know we can (compete against FBS opponents). Whatever game we go into, we know we can win. We know that we have the athletes. We know we have the coaches to do so. It's just a matter of going out there and doing it," said senior left tackle Austin Howard.
