With Western Illinois Next, Why Does Indiana Football Play FCS schools?

A quick guide to why Indiana, and many Power Four schools, play one game per year against teams from FCS.

Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Cam Camper (6) is tackled by multiple Idaho Vandals players during the second half at Memorial Stadium. The Hoosiers won 35-22 in one of its games against a FCS opponent. / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – College football scheduling is a function of its times.

In the early days of college football? Teams played nearby schools – because of the limits of transportation, but also because the hierarchy of college football hadn’t coalesced yet. It’s why in-state opponents like Butler, DePauw, Franklin and Wabash dot early Indiana schedules, even after the Hoosiers joined what became the Big Ten.

When college football haves and have-nots became clear after World War II, most “major” schools exclusively played each other. In the 1970s? Indiana played only one nonconference opponent that isn’t in one of today’s Power Four conferences.

By the 1980s, after the Division I-A (today’s Football Bowl Subdivision or FBS) and I-AA (today’s Football Championship Subdivision or FCS) split occurred, it became commonplace for major schools to play fellow major schools in lesser conferences. Indiana’s schedule began to be populated with Mid-American Conference schools consistently in the 1990s. The Hoosiers were not alone. Most Big Ten teams did the same.

By the 2000s, with the 12-game season in-place, many programs went one step further and began adding FCS schools to their schedules. Indiana began the practice in 2002 when it played William & Mary, and with only brief interruptions, the Hoosiers have played FCS schools regularly ever since.

Western Illinois is the latest FCS foe to visit Memorial Stadium. The Hoosiers and Leathernecks will face each other at 7 p.m. on Friday.

The question that many Indiana fans ask is … why do the Hoosiers play FCS foes?

For Indiana fans, and those of other Big Ten schools, it’s not a very enticing game. Anything short of an easy win is treated as a disappointment.

While the opponents are usually regional in-nature, Big Ten fans have little knowledge of them and don’t have any reason to care about them once they come-and-go.

However, there are reasons Indiana and other Big Ten schools schedule these games. Whether fans like the games or not, the schools have their reasons for scheduling them.

They’re not going away, either. While the conference briefly banned FCS contests in the mid-2010s, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, UCLA and USC are the only Big Ten schools that don’t play FCS opponents in 2024.

Here are a few of the reasons why teams like Indiana do play FCS foes:

Easier bowl eligibility

Rules state that FBS schools can play one FCS opponent per year that fills their scholarship allotment and count it toward bowl eligibility.

It’s one very easy way to get a team to the six wins required to qualify for an automatic bowl bid.

Most schools make the rather obvious decision to take the low-risk route of playing a FCS school rather than scheduling a Group Of Five school that has the higher degree of difficulty.

In addition, the strength of schedule hit for playoff eligibility is negligible given that the majority of teams in the Power Four conferences schedule FCS foes.

During the College Football Playoff era, 2014 Ohio State, 2020 Georgia (pandemic-influenced) and 2023 Michigan are the only schools to win the title that didn’t have a FCS opponent on their schedule.

It's more cost effective

Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. (3) is tackled by Indiana State Sycamores defensive back Micah Hauser (31) in the second half at Memorial Stadium. For FCS teams like Indiana State and for host, the trip to Bloomington is economical. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

In nearly every nonconference game that doesn't have a return game in the contract, the home team pays a guarantee to the visiting team. They occasionally subsidize travel if a team is traveling from afar, a cost sometimes built into the guarantee.

So why FCS? Put simply, it’s cheaper to play FCS schools. FCS teams don’t get paid as much as Group Of Five schools do. Indiana will pay Western Illinois $450,000 for Friday’s visit, according to the game contract obtained by Hoosiers On SI.

That checks out with the nationwide trend. The going rate for a FBS school to host a FCS school is in the $500,000-per-game region.

Playing against Group Of Five schools carries a bigger price tag. Indiana hosts Charlotte on Sept. 21 and will pay the 49ers around $1,000,000, according to FBschedules.com.

Big Ten schools can avoid travel cost discussions when playing nearby foes, too. When Indiana State travels to Indiana (as it will in 2025 and 2027) or Purdue (as it will in 2026), it’s a simple bus trip for the Sycamores, a big consideration considering FCS teams want to squeeze every penny from the guarantees they get. Nearby schools will likely bring a group of fans into the stadium, too.

Competitive control

Most of the time? The FBS host dominates the FCS visitors. Since 2002, Indiana is 16-1 against FCS opponents; the only loss was a 35-28 defeat at the hands of Southern Illinois in 2006.

There have been a few close calls for the Hoosiers – Nicholls State in 2005 (35-31), Eastern Kentucky in 2009 (19-13), Indiana State in 2012 (24-17), Southern Illinois again in 2015 (48-47), Idaho in 2022 (35-22, the Hoosiers trailed by 10 at halftime) – but most of these games are competitively over by halftime.

These games give the Big Ten team a chance to give players confidence and play some guys who wouldn't play otherwise without much risk attached to the outcome.

FBS coaches and athletic directors would defend these games as necessary given the greater commitment it takes to play conference games. The Big Ten plays nine conference games, and all of the Power Four conferences have greater travel than they once had.

With conference schedules so demanding, teams want a chance to tune-up with some guarantee of success.

Indiana’s FCS games to come

2027 – Indiana State

2025 – Indiana State

Friday – Western Illinois

Indiana FCS games since 2002

2023 – Indiana State. 41-7

2022 – Idaho. 35-22

2021 – Idaho. 56-14

2019 – Eastern Illinois, 52-0

2017 – Charleston Southern, 27-0

2015 – Southern Illinois, 48-47

2014 – Indiana State, 28-10

2013 – Indiana State, 73-35

2012 – Indiana State, 24-17

2011 – South Carolina State, 38-21

2010 – Towson, 51-17

2009 – Eastern Kentucky, 19-13

2008 – Murray State, 45-3

2007 – Indiana State 55-7

2006 – Southern Illinois, 35-28 won by SIU, Indiana's only FCS loss since 2002.

2005 – Nicholls State, 35-31

2003 – Indiana State, 33-3

2002 – William & Mary, 25-17

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