vote should be limited to either just DI-FBS or DI football schools (basketball-only schools are not allowed to vote on football issues). What will determine if the DI-FCS schools can vote on the issue or not will be whether DI-FBS schools want to play against DI-FCS schools on those earlier dates or not. If the games are limited to just FBS vs. FBS, then FCS schools should not have a need to vote on the issue. Technically FBS and FCS do have the flexibility and free to decide independently the beginning and end dates of their regular season. For example, the FCS regular season technically ends the weekend before Thanksgiving because the first round of the NCAA DI Playoffs begins Thanksgiving Weekend. The SWAC has been granted a waiver (officially or unofficially it may not matter) to end their regular season Thanksgiving Weekend because the conference decided again to not participate in the NCAA DI Playoffs (aka the conference doesn't receive an automatic bid anymore). History is a factor given the tradition associated with the Bayou Classic (aka Grambling St. vs. Southern) and other "rivalry games" played on that date prior the creation of the 2 subdivisions in 1978. If a FCS conference chooses to play a regular season game or conference championship game on Thanksgiving Weekend and/or Conference Championship Weekend, then NCAA bylaws state those teams are ineligible to participate in the NCAA DI Playoffs even as an at-large team. Hence why the MEAC and SWAC decided to bring back the Celebration Bowl (aka Heritage Bowl 2.0). Right now they are the only FCS conferences that do not participate in the NCAA DI Playoffs now that the Ivy League has changed its rules.