Pelini: Wagner game will count toward bowl eligibility
By Marcus Nelson
Florida Atlantic coach Carl Pelini said Monday the Owls' 7-3 victory over Wagner will count toward the Owls' bowl eligibility.
Owl Access previously reported the victory would not count in terms of bowl eligibiliy due to an NCAA rule requiring Football Championship Subdivision teams to award 90 percent of the maximum number of scholarship of the 63 allowed at that level.
Wagner only has awarded around 40 athletic scholarships the last last few years, but Pelini said other financial aid pushes that number past the 56.7 Wagner would have to average in a rolling two-year period.
“They have a foundation set up to pay scholarships, so they are a 'Bowl-eligible' win,” Pelini said. “They have 69.26 kids on scholarships. Just 40 are funded by athletics and 20 essentially funded by the university.”
Here is the text of the NCAA rule...
18.7.2.2.1 Exception—Football Championship Subdivision Opponent.
[FBS] Each year, a Football Bowl Subdivision institution may count one victory against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent toward meeting the definition of a “deserving team,” provided the opponent has averaged 90 percent of the permissible maximum number of grants-in-aid per year in football during a rolling two-year period. (Adopted: 10/28/97 effective 8/1/98, Revised: 4/28/05, 12/15/06, 4/29/10 effective 8/1/10, 7/30/10)