This has “bad idea” written all over it.
Which is better: Being a relatively big fish in a medium-sized pond or a guppy in the ocean?
UNI gave Wisconsin a game. It will likely give Iowa a game. But moving up means much, much more time doing that in higher-risk body-bag games. Western Kentucky, for example, played at Nebraska last year and at Alabama this year.
Iowa is already the third-smallest state with two BCS conference teams. Iowa State’s support on that level is precarious even now, especially outside of TV revenue. It was an open question as to whether this state would continue supporting two programs in the top level of football.
UNI barely meets some requirements for being considered eligible for an upgrade. The NCAA requires an average home attendance of 15,000 two years in a row; the UNI-Dome holds 16,324. In other words, UNI needs near-sellouts just to reach the bare minimum. What happens when losses grow in the next level?
UNI wouldn’t be able to get away with repeatedly having Iowa and Iowa State on the schedule. (Three of those wins of that 9-22 record of the past quarter-century are against ISU, by the way.) We’re talking the potential for fan-base-demoralizing losses.
I think UNI needs to concentrate on doing what it does best: Competing in I-AA and preparing for the occasional giant-killing. Given the Board of Regents’ disdain for state support, I don’t fault UNI for looking. I just don’t see it as being a positive change down the road.