Independent (football)
E87453
Independent (football) refers to college football programs that are not affiliated with any athletic conference for the sport, scheduling games independently rather than following a conference slate.
Aliases (2)
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
NCAA football classification
→
college football designation → |
| abbreviation |
FBS independent
→
FCS independent → |
| appliesTo |
NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
→
NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision → lower NCAA divisions in some eras → |
| bowlEligibility |
College Football Playoff access determined by rankings not conference title
→
independent teams are eligible for at-large bowl bids → |
| category |
NCAA Division I football structures
→
college football terminology → |
| competitionLevel |
college football
→
|
| contrastWith |
conference-affiliated college football programs
→
|
| doesNotImply |
independence in other collegiate sports
→
|
| eligibilityRequirement |
must meet NCAA membership and scheduling rules
→
|
| exampleOf |
non-conference alignment in collegiate athletics
→
|
| geographicScope |
primarily United States
→
|
| governingBody |
National Collegiate Athletic Association
→
|
| historicalContext |
has existed since early years of college football
→
|
| keyFeature |
no automatic conference-based bowl tie-ins
→
no conference affiliation for football scheduling → no conference championship game participation in football → schools schedule games independently → |
| mediaRights |
some independents negotiate individual national TV contracts
→
|
| notableProgramExample |
Army Black Knights football
→
BYU Cougars football → Liberty Flames football → Navy Midshipmen football → New Mexico State Aggies football → Notre Dame Fighting Irish football → Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program historically independent in football while joining conferences in other sports → UConn Huskies football → UMass Minutemen football → |
| reasonForIndependence |
desire for national scheduling flexibility
→
historical rivalries across multiple regions → institutional preference to avoid conference obligations in football → television and media rights considerations → |
| refersTo |
college football programs not affiliated with a conference for football
→
|
| relatedConcept |
College Football Playoff selection
→
NCAA football conference realignment → college football bowl system → |
| schedulingCharacteristic |
independent schools must fill full regular-season schedule without conference games
→
independent schools negotiate their own television contracts → often schedule opponents from multiple conferences → |
| schedulingRequirement |
FBS independents must play at least 60 percent of games against FBS opponents
→
|
| sport |
American football
→
|
| temporalVariation |
number of independent programs changes over time
→
|
Referenced by (3)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Army Mule
→
|
affiliation |
|
Cadets
("Independent (FBS football classification, historically)")
→
|
associatedWith |
|
Boston College Eagles football
("Eastern Independent")
→
|
formerConference |