Before 2026, New FBS Schools Sat Out Two Bowl Seasons. Not Anymore

Step one is an invitation

A school cannot simply declare itself FBS. It needs a conference in the top tier willing to give it a seat, and conferences charge for seats. CBS Sports reported that North Dakota State's move into the Mountain West came to about $17.5 million in total, $5 million to the NCAA and $12.5 million to the league. Sacramento State's price was $23 million over five years, including $18 million to the MAC. Both schools became FBS members on July 1, 2026, bringing the subdivision to 138.

The waiting room that just closed

For years, the next part was patience. A program moving up served a transition period with a two-year ban on bowl games and the College Football Playoff, so a newcomer could win plenty and still spend December at home.

On June 24, 2026, the NCAA's DI Cabinet eliminated that penalty, effective immediately. Transitioning teams can now play in the postseason in their first year if they reach 6-6 and their conference can place them in one of its bowl slots, and they are eligible for the playoff as well. NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen, as CBS Sports reported, called the change huge, and not only for his school but for any program making the same climb. The timing was not subtle. The vote landed a week before the two newest members arrived.

The scholarship clock

The 2023 rule changes left one long-term test in place for newcomers. Schools that began a transition in 2024-25 or later must meet the FBS scholarship standard, 210 scholarships worth at least $6 million a year plus 90 percent of allowable scholarships across 16 sports, by the end of their transition. I could not confirm how that deadline is counted now that the postseason restriction is gone. The CBS report on the June vote describes the postseason change only, so check the NCAA's own legislative notes before treating the scholarship timeline as settled.

The long road, as UMass walked it

It helps to see what the old path looked like from the inside. UMass began its move up in 2011 with the MAC's backing and played there as a football-only member from 2012 through 2015. It never won more than three games in a season in that stretch. It turned down full membership, spent nine seasons as an independent, rejoined the MAC in 2025 and went 0-12. On September 3, 2026, it beat Rutgers 37-21 as a 29.5-point underdog, its first win over a power-conference opponent since joining FBS. Fourteen years is a long time to wait for a night like that.

The short road, as it looks now

NDSU's first FBS September went differently. The Bison beat Jacksonville State 33-7 in the Fargodome on August 29, won 38-32 at Air Force on September 12 in front of a Falcon Stadium crowd of 25,970, and then went to Sacramento to face the only other school that moved up with them. They beat Sacramento State 31-10 on September 19 to reach 4-0. Two newcomers, one field, three weeks into their new lives. I like that coincidence more than the score.

My view is that the Cabinet got this one right. A two-year ban punished players who had nothing to do with an athletic director's decision to move up, and the entry fees already make the move expensive enough to be serious. The bill is still enormous. At least now the reward can arrive in the same season as the invoice.