Kansas University was unable to secure a Division I-A football opponent for its final nonconference opening in 2005, but for bowl considerations it might not matter.

That’s because the NCAA Division One Football Issues Committee proposed legislation in January that would, among other things, allow I-A schools — like Kansas — to count one victory per year against qualified I-AA teams for bowl consideration.

The proposal has made it through votes from different committees with overwhelming approval and now only needs the go-ahead from the NCAA Board of Directors to go into effect for the 2005 season.

“It’s had a lot of support,” said Bruce Van De Velde, athletic director at Iowa State and member of the Football Issues Committee. “It’s a series of I-AA enhancements that will help I-A football. We’re assuming that the board would go ahead and grant the legislation to go into effect immediately.”

Currently, the rule states that I-A teams can use one victory against I-AA schools every four years toward bowl-eligibility. Since KU counted a victory over Jacksonville State in 2003 toward its Tangerine Bowl berth, the recently scheduled Sept. 10 game with Appalachian State would not count toward the six-victory requirement for a 2005 berth.

That means KU would have to win six of its other 10 games on the 2005 schedule to qualify for bowl invitation — a tough task with Big 12 Conference road games at Texas, Texas Tech, Kansas State and Colorado, as well as a matchup with powerhouse Oklahoma at neutral Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.

To make up for the OU game being moved to Arrowhead, KU officials promised season-ticket holders and local merchants that all three 2005 non-conference games would be played at Memorial Stadium. KU senior associate athletic director Larry Keating was able to secure two of the games with I-A schools Florida Atlantic (Sept. 3) and Louisiana Tech (Sept. 17), but the well dried up before a third I-A program could be found at a reasonable price.

Kansas now is hoping that the NCAA Board of Directors approves the latest proposal, which Van De Velde said would happen by the end of April. If it passes — and Van De Velde is confident it will — all three of KU’s non-conference games would count toward bowl eligibility, making the road toward a bowl berth immensely easier.

“We think it’s good legislation,” Van De Velde said. “It’s going to save schools like Kansas and Iowa State a lot of money. It’s been real challenging to find I-A teams to get your six home games. Some of the guarantees have reached the point where we hardly make any money at all.”

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Kansas reportedly paid Florida Atlantic $400,000 to sign a one-game contract. In all, KU likely paid roughly $1 million to bring the three non-conference opponents to Lawrence without being obligated to finish the contract with a road game in the future.

Some bids for guaranteed games against lower-level I-A schools such as members of the Sun Belt Conference, including FAU, were approaching $800,000 — an unfeasible figure for KU, which is trying to build its budget.

The proposal awaiting approval by the Board of Directors also touches on other issues, such as I-AA games counting toward the five-home-game minimum I-A schools are required to go by.

“There’s a number of I-AA enhancements,” Van De Velde said. “I don’t think they’re going to pick them out individually and say yes or no. They’ll go as a total package.”