Actually as early as 1983ish. Got a Masters in Sport Admin at UMass. Profs there said FB schools were going to take their ball and go home in 20 years. It has taken much longer, but we are almost there.A lot of people have been saying that "football drives the bus" and that the non-major conference football schools will be eliminated. They have been saying this since 2002, so I guess it is possible they will be right eventually.