[Careless Whisper]

Pessimism, Confusion Surrounds Bold Leap
Never has there been an institution jump from NCAA Division III to Division I competition, until now

by Bryan Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist

PITTSBURGH -- This past January, when Carnegie Mellon introduced its new athletic director Daniel Corrigan, excitement filled Skibo Gymnasium.

Corrigan’s resume spoke for itself, as he created power programs at previous stops as athletic director, Mary Hardin-Baylor in Texas and Pittsburg State in Kansas. The Tartan faithful expected a quick rise in results across the department – including national championships – while maintaining the rigorous academic standards that the university was known for.

But no one – and I mean no one – expected Corrigan to make an unprecedented leap in just his first six months in charge.

So when Carnegie Mellon takes the field on Thursday, August 31 at Youngstown State in its inaugural contest as a NCAA Division I – repeat, Division One – program, it is entering uncharted territory. Never once as a Division III school made the leap to Division I competition. In fact, it’s such a rarity that the NCAA had to sign off on a waiver to allow CMU to make such a jump.

Corrigan’s Tartans, under the direction of first-year head coach John Elliott, will spend two years as a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) independent before entering the Football Bowl Subdivision ranks. That’s if the program makes it that long before tucking its tail between its legs and backtracking to Division III competition.

Come on, not even kids playing the new EA Sports NCAA Football video game would attempt something like this! We as a city have clamored for an on-campus football stadium for the University of Pittsburgh, and instead we get another Division I program? You could make a weak argument for either local FCS program Duquesne or Robert Morris to move up to FBS ball – and it would be light – but Carnegie Mellon?

Before I’m accused of being too negative, let’s take at some positives.

The potential elite high school recruits that value an education and want to go pro in something other than sports? Potential Tartans, I suppose.

The publicity that CMU has received for this mind-blowing leap? All publicity is good publicity – at least that’s what they tell me.

The Tartans’ projection of being a fringe Top 25 team in Division III prior to this? Maybe they’ll only lose by 50 to Pitt in October.

Listen, I’m sure Corrigan has done his research and has some explanation for making this move. And I can’t argue with the man’s credentials at this point, considering the work he’s done at his previous two stops and all the Athletic Director of the Year awards.

But he might have bitten off more than he can chew with this one. I’m sure there are students on campus that have dreamt of hosting programs such as Notre Dame and Penn State at Gesling Stadium, but visions often distort reality.

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Game: NCAA Football 07 / NCAA Football 08*
Console: PS2 (played on the OG PS3)
Quarter Length: 8 minutes

House Rules:

Recruiting: I can only target recruits with A-/A/A+ awareness during in and off-season cycles; I can only recruit potential student-athletes of three-star quality or below until the program has reached three-star prestige; I can not recruit potential student-athletes of five-star quality until the program has reached five-star prestige; I can only accept transfers with acceptable awareness ratings; I can not target any junior college recruits
Scheduling: My first two schedules will feature all FCS programs with a split of 4-8 home-away in the first season and 6-6 home-away in the second season, as well as a yearly rivalry game with Pitt; The rivalry with Pitt will feature primarily on its home field until CMU has reached a two-star prestige level; Once fully into FBS competition, I will schedule based on the program’s level, like being a “buy” opponent for elite programs
Players Leaving: I can not stop a player from leaving early, whether it be to the NFL Draft or by transfer; I can not cut any players unless roster limits are forced upon me
In-Season Suspensions: Length of player suspensions will be based on the game-recommended option UNLESS it is an academic violation, which in that case, the ban will be doubled the recommendation with a minimum of two games (ex. two-quarter suspension becomes two games rather than one game)
Coaching Contracts: If/when a coach is fired from his job at CMU, I will create a new coach to take over; if a coach receives an offer from a program with a higher prestige rating, they are required to take it and then I will take over CMU with a new created coach
Roster Template: I used the Academic template but will nerf everyone’s rating to 48 or below besides two offensive players and two defensive players that can have a peak rating of 56

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* Author's Note (5/7/2020): Dynasty was moved to NCAA Football 08 after the 2007 season after I mistakenly deleted the original file.

Disclaimer: All material written in this dynasty report is completely fictional. All media from other sites are used for entertainment purposes only and I do not profit from its use.