NCAA Division I-AA independent schools are four-year institutions whose football programs are not part of a football conference. This does not mean that I-AA independents schedule each other for competition like conference schools do. There are considerably less independent schools than in years past; many independent schools later join (or attempt to join) established conferences.
... slowed considerably in 2001 - to less than 2% - because of a slowdown in major markets and the hiking of interest rates by the Central Bank to combat inflationary ...