Report: Idaho could become first FBS team to drop to FCS

In 2001, the Idaho Vandals made the jump from Division I-AA to the Sun Belt, where the stayed for four seasons before jumping to the now-defunct Western Athletic Conference. Since then, the team hasn’t had much success as they have had one winning season, in 2009 when they went 8-5 and won the Humanitarian Bowl.

It looks like the Vandals could be making history in the next few weeks as it is being reported that they could be moving down from the FBS to FCS as opposed to staying in the Sun Belt as a football-only team.

“We certainly don’t have a guarantee of renewal,” university president Chuck Staben told the Idaho Statesman. “We’ve had some pretty tough years in Idaho football. We had a better year this year. The Sun Belt wants to have members that can contribute to the prominence of the conference.”

The Vandals have not made any decision, but one will be made in the coming weeks. Right now, the school has the chance to stay in the Sun Belt, in which they have a guaranteed spot until 2017, or jump back down to the Big Sky, in which they play all other sports and spent 30 years in playing football.

The Sun Belt will add Coastal Carolina in 2018 and hope to keep Idaho and New Mexico State, who is on the same four-year deal as the Vandals, around to be able to field a conference championship game.

Maybe it would be best for the Vandals to go back to the FCS since they haven’t had more than four wins since 2011.

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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports

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