I agree with Wick250 about there really being no benefit to YSU moving up to FBS. The exception would be if YSU were able to join the MAC for all sports, but that is unlikely to happen. I now live in Las Vegas, so I was excited by UNLV going to their first bowl game since 2000 this season. They played North Texas at Noon Eastern time on ESPNU on New Year's Day. Had I not been a fan of UNLV, I wouldn't have watched the game. I do have a new found appreciation though for the lesser bowls, now that I am a fan of a team from a non BCS Conference. It was exciting to see UNLV not only have their first winning season since either 2000 or 2001, but also make the push to get into a bowl game.
UNLV lost about $200,000 according to early reports from playing in the bowl game. The loss came in failure to get anywhere close to selling the required number of tickets, at $75 per ticket. Guess the point is, making the bowl was great for the players, fun for fans, will help with recruiting, but it ended up costing UNLV money. And, I'm guessing not many people watched other than fans of UNLV, North Texas and people who bet on the game. At UNLV, it is the reveres of YSU. Basketball is king, and football has to find a way to scrape by. I'd love to see UNLV drop to FCS for football only, if they could stay in the MWC for all other sports. But, I do not think that is an option.
As for FCS, most people here think when UNLV plays their annual game against an FCS team, they are playing a D2 school. Then again, even though UNLV has been pathetic in football for many years, most people here saw the home game against CMU as a game UNLV should win, even though CMU went to a bowl game last season.
I do no think the mindset in the Ytown area and the limited budget YSU has makes bumping basketball to the #1 sport possible. The scholarship loges fund most of the athletic scholarships provided by the Athletic Department. There is nothing basketball could do on a CONSISTENT basis to bring in that kind of money. And, until such time as YSU is willing to move to the top 1-3 in the HL as far as coaching salaries, recruiting budget, paying for quality OOC home games, YSU is not going to be able to consistently make the NCAA Tournament, or even the NIT.
Also, as Wick noted, a crowd of 2,000 or more is seen as a very good crowd. I'm old enough to remember the Mike Rice era that Wick referred to, when weekday games drew about 3,000-3,500, and weekend games 4,000+. For CSU and Akron, it was a guaranteed 5,500 - 6,000, which was as much as the football team drew at the time for some of their games. I still think basketball can be elevated, but I do not see it ever getting the amount of commitment from the University, the community and even local media. Scalzo writes a weekly column about YSU football, but The Vindicator has no such thing for basketball(at least not on-line).
It's also a bit comical to see all the talk about moving to FBS, given that YSU has made the FCS playoffs 1 time in the last 13 years. Back when Tress was coach(and not until about 94 or 95 I might add), the talk was still a bit far-fetched, but had much more validity.