I hate to even bring this up, but maybe it would make sense for CSU to drop down a division in football?
They're not going to be in one of the big conferences and that was really their best hope for generating the fan interest and revenue stream they needed.
If they don't end up with a stronger conference that pulls in Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas State then it's going to get worse for them.
I don't know if going to FCS is the answer, but I also don't see how they're financially sustainable as a FBS program.
Might CSU (and Wyoming) be better off joining the Big Sky?
That would pair them with Eastern Washington, Idaho State, Montana, Montana State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Sacramento State and Weber State. They could even raid the Great West Conference for programs like South Dakota, North Dakota, UC-Davis, Cal-Poly and Southern Utah if they wanted to do a 16-team conference. (Or maybe San Jose State, NMSU, Utah State and others like them would be interested in dropping down too.)
CSU would have a legitimate chance to win championships.