McNeese State’s hopes of moving up to college football’s top level could be much more expensive than expected.

If the NCAA’s Division I Council has its way, the cost of moving from the Football Championship Subdivision up to the Football Bowl Subdivision could cost as much as $11 million.

On Wednesday the council said it would propose the changes after a meeting in Indianapolis.

McNeese officials have been open in stating their goal to move to FBS sooner rather than later. Cowboys brass say it won’t matter if the NCAA adopts the changes.

“That will not stop us,” said McNeese Athletic Director Heath Schroyer. “It will not stop us from moving up if that is the right thing to do.”

McNeese has had its eyes on Conference USA, which seems to be the likely spot for the Cowboys if they were to make the move. However, C-USA has not publicly expressed interest in McNeese.

Of course, when it comes to college conference realignment everything is fluid.

“I talk to a lot of people about a lot of things,” Schroyer said. “We are trying to put our school in the best position possible for the future.

“What the NCAA is doing or trying to do will have no impact on us if we feel it is time to move.”

Under Schroyer ,McNeese has rebounded from COVID, hurricanes and the football program being placed on NCAA academic probation.

On Thursday, the school broke ground on a new $31 million press box for Cowboy Stadium. McNeese hopes the facility will be the final piece to the moving puzzle.

“We wanted to build a press box that will take us wherever we want to go,” said McNeese President Dr. Daryl Burckel.

It was the latest step taken by the athletic department in attempting to make McNeese as attractive as possible to FBS conferences.

“Everything we do is to put us in a position to be regionally dominant and nationally relevant,” Schroyer said. “That is what we have been working so hard for.”

The NCAA may not be so welcoming of McNeese and other teams moving up.

The council is expected to recommend a minimum of 16 sports must be offered by FBS schools with a total of 90 percent scholarships filled over a two-year rolling period. Schools would have to offer at least 210 scholarships each year. That would cost institutions at least $6 million.

This is in lieu of an average attendance requirement of 15,000 over a two-year period.

McNeese offers 14 sports and would have likely two years after transitioning up to add the other two.

The fee itself for the move would increase from $5,000 to $5 million and would likely start upon the NCAA’s approval of the recommendations.

The requirements would take effect on Aug. 1, 2027 for existing FBS members and for schools in the process of transitioning to FBS. “For universities applying to FBS beginning in 2024-25 and thereafter, the requirements would have to be met by the end of the two-year transition process,” according to an NCAA news release.

“These requirements will directly benefit college athletes competing in Division I sports by requiring significant investment in scholarship opportunities,” Jon Steinbrecher, vice chair of the Division I Council, said in the release. “Over the past several years, the NCAA’s collected data about spending at FBS schools indicate that these requirements are reasonable and attainable for the majority of impacted athletics programs.”

The council also approved two requirements regarding health and safety for student-athletes, as well as career counseling and life skills programming.

Twelve schools joined FBS from 2012-2022. Two schools will jump from FCS this year to FBS, both joining C-USA. Sam Houston State and Jacksonville State will begin competition on that level starting today.

Kennesaw State will move up in the summer of 2024. That will give the Division 134 teams, an all-time high.

McNeese’s commitment to a move includes putting in a bonus clause in Schroyer’s latest contract. The AD will get $50,000 if the Cowboys earn a spot on that level.