College Football: Why aren’t there more Catholic D-I FBS programs?
By John Scimeca
Out of 130 universities nationwide who compete at the Division I FBS level of college football, why are only two of them Catholic universities?
Boston College and Notre Dame are the only Catholic universities that sponsor football teams at the top level of college football, NCAA’s Division I FBS. Why is that an odd statistical peculiarity?
There are 255 Catholic colleges or universities in the United States, including seminaries, graduate-only institutions, and traditional universities. 21 of these schools have enrollments of more than 10,000 students.
Four of these schools rank in the nation’s Top 100 universities in terms of overall endowment — Notre Dame, Boston College, Georgetown, and Saint Louis. All four of these schools have endowments that exceed $1 billion.
11 Catholic schools compete in college football at the NCAA FCS level, 11 more compete at the Division II level, and 12 are Division III members.
Of the 130 universities which compete at the Division I FBS level, however, only two are Catholic: the University of Notre Dame and Boston College. Several Catholic universities used to compete as top-level college football programs but have since dropped down a level.
Other schools have since disbanded their programs, some of whom have played as recently as 2003 (like the St. Mary’s Gaels of California).
The dearth of top-level football Catholic schools is not present in other NCAA sports. Among the 350 NCAA Division I basketball programs, for instance, 41 represent Catholic institutions. Catholic basketball schools make up 11.7% of all D-I programs (nearly one out of every eight), while Catholic football schools only account for 1.5% of D-I competitors.
Why are there only two Catholic schools out of the nation’s 130 Division I FBS football members?