All committee members attend a first-round game, and Wabler happily volunteered to see Stephen F. Austin host Villanova. But he was under the impression he was taking a trip to a trendy city — Austin, Texas.
Oops.
“About 10 minutes later, I realized Stephen F. Austin is in Nacogdoches,” Wabler said, laughing.
The second-year AD was quick to point out the East Texas town had plenty of charm, and the S.F. Austin staff was first class all the way. And Wabler is eager to be part of the selection process again next season.
The group met at the NCAA offices in Indianapolis on the last Saturday of the season and worked from 6 p.m. to midnight to fill the field. Coming back at 7 a.m. Sunday, they had a chance to make some revisions before the bracket was announced by ESPN at 10 a.m.
Dayton and Jacksonville, co-champs of the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League, were seriously considered for an at-large bid before being taken off the board, Wabler said. The PFL is the only FCS conference without an automatic bid, and Wabler wants that to change, although he said there currently doesn’t seem to be any movement to expand the playoffs or change the format.
“It’s our only sport where our student-athletes don’t have an opportunity, if they win their conference, to go on to postseason play,” he said.
Overall, working with other ADs on the committee was a positive experience.
“What I really liked about it was that it’s very well-defined. We really stayed on task. There was open communication and dialogue. And I saw it was important for us in the Pioneer Football League to better communicate the attributes of the conference,” he said.
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