The list of current Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) schools that have participated in the playoffs leading to the NCAA Division I Football Championship stands at 92. Known as Division I-AA from 1978 through 2005, it was renamed FCS prior to the 2006 season.[1][2]
Field
The playoffs began with four teams in 1978, then expanded to eight in 1981, twelve in 1982, and sixteen in 1986. The bracket went to five rounds with a field of twenty teams in 2010,[3] and to 24 teams in 2013.[4]
- Since the 2010 season, the championship game has been played in January, three weeks after the semifinals.
- An exception was the 2020 season, delayed until spring 2021 due to COVID-19; it had a reduced field of sixteen teams in the bracket, with the championship game in mid-May, eight days after the semifinals.
Current FCS members
No appearances[a]
Conference alignments are current for the upcoming 2024 season.
- Big Sky Conference (1) – Northern Colorado
- Big South–OVC Football Association (1) – Lindenwood (eligible in 2026)
- CAA Football (2) – Bryant, Campbell
- Independents (1) – Merrimack
- Northeast Conference (3) – LIU, Mercyhurst, Stonehill (Mercyhurst eligible in 2028; Stonehill in 2026)
- Patriot League (2) – Bucknell, Georgetown
- Pioneer Football League (6) – Marist, Morehead State, Presbyterian, St. Thomas (MN), Stetson, Valparaiso (St. Thomas eligible in 2026)
- Southland Conference (2) – Houston Christian, Texas A&M–Commerce (eligible in 2026)
- Southwestern Athletic Conference (6) – Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Arkansas–Pine Bluff, Prairie View A&M, Southern, Texas Southern
- United Athletic Conference (5) – Abilene Christian, North Alabama, Tarleton, Utah Tech, West Georgia (eligible in 2028)
† Ivy League teams do not participate in any postseason in football, citing academic concerns.[5][6]
Former FCS members
Twenty-eight former FCS schools have participated in the playoffs. Of these, 25 have moved up to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), while the other three no longer sponsor football.
Notes
- ^ According to conferences in football, not necessarily a team's primary conference.
- ^ The program was officially branded as "Sam Houston State" for almost all of its FCS tenure. The word "State" was dropped from the athletic branding, but not the university name, in 2020.
- ^ The program was officially branded as "Connecticut" before 2013 (well after its move to FBS), though "UConn" was widely used informally before that time.
- a Montana's competition in the 2011 Division I FCS Championship was vacated by action of the NCAA Committee on Infractions (record was 2–1).
- b Northern Arizona's competition in the 1999 Division I-AA Championship was vacated by action of the NCAA Committee on Infractions (record was 0–1).
- c Stephen F. Austin's competition in the 1989 Division I-AA Championship was vacated by action of the NCAA Committee on Infractions (record was 3–1).
- d Tennessee State's competition in the 1981 and 1982 Division I-AA Championships was vacated by action of the NCAA Committee on Infractions (record was 1–2).
- e Now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
- f During Arkansas State's entire tenure in Division I-AA (1982–1991), the school nickname was Indians. The Red Wolves nickname was adopted in 2008.
- g School no longer sponsors football.
- h During Troy's entire tenure in Division I-AA (1993–2001), its name was Troy State University. The school adopted its current name in 2005.
- i The team was the Northeast Louisiana Indians during its entire tenure in Division I-AA (1982–1993). The school changed its name to the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 1999, and its nickname to Warhawks in 2006.
See also
References
- General
- Jim Wright, ed. (August 1, 2009). "Championships". 2009 Division I Football Records Book (PDF). NCAA. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 20, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
- Specific
- ^ "NCAA Q&A on Postseason Football". NCAA. December 4, 2006. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
- ^ David Worlock (December 17, 2007). "Postseason Football Q&A". NCAA. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
- ^ "NCAA approves playoff expansion to 20 teams for 2010". The Sports Network. April 25, 2008. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
- ^ "Three Division I championships to expand". NCAA. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ^ Torre, Pablo (November 29, 2007). "No playoffs for you!". CNN/Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
- ^ David Burrick (September 18, 2003). ""Ivy League not likely to see I-AA playoffs"". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
External links
