The FCS Kickoff Lacks Direction Even After Leaving Montgomery

Eleven years ago, fans saw establishing shots of the rolling mountains of Missoula, Montana, as Brett Musberger belted his famous “You are looking live!” introduction at the start of the 2015 FCS Kickoff. Over the next three hours, fans witnessed one of the greatest FCS games of the millennium between North Dakota State and Montana. In just its second year, the FCS Kickoff looked like a landmark event on the college football calendar for years to come.

The move to Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl in 2017 killed the momentum of the event. Anchoring the event to a city, rather than making it a traveling showcase, limited the number of profitable matchups available to ESPN. This led to a steady decline in attendance, bottoming out at 4,358 fans in 2024. The suspension of the 2025 edition saved the FCS Kickoff from revealing a potential further decline in attendance.

Reprieve seemed to arrive when the city of Montgomery announced it would not host the FCS Kickoff in the foreseeable future. No longer chained to a mid-sized Southern city, the FCS Kickoff appeared to be returning to its roots.

To many FCS fans’ shock, this year’s FCS Kickoff is much of the same. Mercer plays for the third time in four years against an East Texas A&M squad that went 3-9 last year.

Despite leaving behind the geographic limitations of Montgomery, the FCS Kickoff still leaves much to be desired.

This would not be as disappointing if there were a lack of options. With a majority of the FCS starting on “Week Zero” for the first time ever, this is not the case. Multiple national contenders play on Week Zero. While South Dakota State and South Dakota both host FCS have-nots in Stetson and Central Connecticut State, both games would have been more appealing to casual fans than Mercer.

Lack of competitiveness seems to be the main drawback for these selections. However, competitiveness does not seem to be an issue, given the FCS Kickoff pitted a team that went 3-9 last year against the 9-3 reigning Southern Conference outright champions.

Beyond the “easy” choice of one of the remaining FCS Dakota schools, there were multiple intersectional games of importance in the subdivision. Division II power West Florida hosts Southern Illinois, who went 7-5 and finished #25 in the Redshirt Sports poll in their first FCS game ever. ESPN could have easily marketed this, especially with the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s reputation as the “king” of the FCS.

If ESPN wanted to diversify its portfolio, defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Tennessee Tech hosts a Monmouth team that went 9-3 and was in the FCS Playoff selection committee’s “first four out.” Since FloSports and CBS Sports Network own the CAA and CAA Football Conference’s rights, it would have been a nearly unprecedented opportunity for ESPN. Instead, they refuse to change.

These criticisms place none of the blame on Mercer. Who can blame them? They benefit financially from ESPN’s laziness. Nonetheless, they seem to be the only parties that benefit. ESPN’s lack of care for the FCS Kickoff has transformed the game from an anticipated showcase to an afterthought. The FCS Kickoff seems to have run its course, and sadly, the timing may be right. Not only is most of the FCS beginning their seasons in Week Zero, but most of the FBS will likely join next year.

ESPN had one last chance to make things right with the FCS Kickoff, and instead fumbled. If the Cramton Bowl did not kill the FCS Kickoff, the network that runs it may have.