I'm at a C+ prestige school and would like to move up to a B or B-, but i am never considered, as I don't make the NT often enough - i make it about half the time, but seldom 2 years in a row

anyone know how often u need to make it? 2 in a row? 3 in a row? 3 of 5?

There is no set number, there are a lot of factors at play.

When looking at a school to move up to, don't just look at what the current prestige is, look at where you think you can take them and your opportunity to be successful there.

For instance, I would absolutely leave C+ Georgia Southern to take a job at a BCS school that currently has C prestige. Your ceiling is much higher, it's much easier to move your prestige up, and you'll likely get a lot more recruiting money from postseason appearances.

On the flip side, I really wouldn't consider leaving a C+ Georgia Southern that you've built up over a dozen seasons just to take a B- job in a comparable conference. I see little-to-no real upside in that.

So if you're asking what it takes to get to a BCS conference, it depends heavily on the school itself and what that school's current prestige is. My guess is that you'd be eligible for some BCS teams that currently have lower prestige in your world (SCarolina, K-State, etc.) after this season, although obviously what you do in the postseason matters alot.

Side question for me (VMI) - since I have never previously started at a D+ prestige, woudl any postseason appearance be enough to get knocked up to a c-, or only an NT appearance? Or would one NT appearance be enough to do it?

interesting, thx, daalter - i was thinking the opposite, but that might be a worse move - i was thinking of moving to a C prestige in a crummy conference, with the hope of winning it a couple of times and getting that "backdoor route" to the NT and THEN moving to a B team - would that be a worse idea?

PS: which conferences would you take a C at? what does BCS conference mean

A_B: Yes, you'll almost certainly move up to a C- with a NIT appearance.

smorse: BCS are the main power conferences (Big Ten, Big East, ACC, SEC, Big 12 and PAC-10). I would definitely not move to a C prestige in a crummy conference, for several reasons:

1. Your loyalty will take a hit and you'll be stuck there at least four seasons.

2. Your only way into the NT would be winning the CT. If you get upset in a CT game, your season is over and pretty much worthless.

3. It'll take you a good three seasons (at least) to assemble the talent you've already got at GA Southern.

In short, it's a bad idea. You're close, and you may even be a week or so away.

On a semi-related note, I think you are scheduling a little too easy. When you're in a lower-end conference and have a talented team, you need to schedule better in non-con to give yourself a real shot at an at-large NT bid. In reality, that's probably the single biggest reason you haven't been able to move up.

You had a stretch of 6 seasons out of 7 with 18-22 wins and didn't have an rpi good enough for an at-large bid. If you win 20+ games and don't have a NT-caliber rpi, you really have to blame yourself and rethink your scheduling.

thx daalter - ill hold out for a better conf - should have a good next season or two and i'll try to schedule hardr for a couple of yrs