FYI Friday: A potpourri, a gumbo of items you can win bets with, or just be happy to be smarter after reading
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Welcome to The Central Georgia Sports Report’s new feature: FYI Friday.
Every Friday (or a day or two later), during the visit you should make every day to The Sports Report to gain knowledge, come get specific information on specific topics, answers to questions you didn’t know you had, but answers you’re glad to get.
If you like being smarter. Welcome.
There are multiple college sports governing organizations.
And no, we’re not diving into the current-to-future re-organization.
The NCAA is only four-year schools, with specific parameters for divisions. It has three: 1-A, 1-AA, 1-AAA. I-A and I-AA contain football programs. I-AAA - which includes
I-A: must sponsor 16 sports
1-AA: must sponsor 14 sports
People – and most broadcast media – regularly incorrectly lump many non-power 4 schools as not Division I. Mercer is Division I, as is Georgia.
The range of Division I athletics programs ranges from Alabama, Notre Dame, Georgia, Duke, LSU, Clemson to High Point, Grand Canyon, St. Thomas, Houston Christian, Tarleton State, Lindenwood, among others.
Among the I-AAA programs: Belmont, Boston, Bradly, three Cal States, Charleston, Creighton, DePaul, Gonzaga, Jacksonville, Loyola Chicago, Marquette, North Florida, St. John’s, South Carolina Upstate, three North Carolina branch campuses, and Xavier.
The current NCAA basketball RPI ratings list 364 teams.
Georgia’s Division I programs:
Georgia. Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Mercer, and West Georgia (new).
All are I-A, except Mercer and West Georgia, both I-AA. Mercer was I-AAA until it restarted football.