IS SOUTHERN A-I READY – Cons

According to Southern University athletic director Floyd Kerr, in order to become a Division I-A school, Southern would have to implement some changes. The additional exposure as an I-A institution may bring about a few conflicts.
“The number one downside would be the fact that SU would have to increase its budget and improve its facilities to succeed at that level,” Kerr stated. I-A schools are required to play five games on campus against other I-A institutions. This would bring about conflict in the schools ability to schedule the games.
Kerr said that SU would have to become independent, a job he feels might be very difficult to do. He discussed the case of Alabama State University ‘s attempt to go I-A as an example.
“They had to go independent, and to my knowledge, no other league would take them,” said Kerr. “That takes a lot of money to do, somewhere around a 10 or 11-million dollar budget.”
He also added that since there is no on-campus stadium to play games at ASU, the schools hosts sporting events in a city-owned stadium in Montgomery.
From a cultural standpoint, there is also the worry that by becoming a Division 1 institution, SU games will loose that “black-college appeal” by playing schools that aren’t HBCUs. Specifically referring to Tennessee State University in the Ohio Valley Conference, Kerr said, “they are the only black college in that league, but they play other HBCUs.”