NCAA Division I Football Championship

This article is about the NCAA Division I FCS (formerly I-AA) championship. For the NCAA Division I FBS (formerly I-A) championship, see College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS.
Logo for the 2009 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.

The NCAA Division I Football Championship[1] is an American college football tournament played each year to determine the champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Prior to 2006, the game was known as the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship. The FCS is the highest division in college football to hold a playoff tournament sanctioned by the NCAA to determine its champion. The four-team playoff system used by the Bowl Subdivision is not sanctioned by the NCAA.

The reigning national champions are the North Dakota State Bison, who have won five consecutive Championship games. They are the first team at any level of NCAA football to win five consecutive titles. The Bison are the only FCS team to have appeared in five straight championship games.

History

Appalachian State's National Championship trophies showing the differences between 2005 (I-AA), 2006 (FCS), and 2007 (FCS).

When Division I-AA was formed for football in 1978, the playoffs included just four teams, doubling to eight teams in its fourth season of 1981. In 1982 the I-AA playoffs were expanded to 12 teams, with each of the top four seeds receiving a first-round bye and a home game in the quarterfinals. In its ninth season of 1986, the I-AA playoffs were expanded again to a 16-team format, requiring four post-season victories to win the title. Eight conference champions received automatic bids, with the remaining eight bids available on an at-large basis. The field is traditionally set the Sunday before Thanksgiving and play begins that weekend. The top four teams are seeded; however, the matchups are not strictly set up by these seedings as geographic considerations are also taken into account to minimize travel. In April 2008 the NCAA announced that the playoff field would again expand to include 20 teams beginning in 2010. At the same time, it announced that the number of conferences receiving automatic bids would increase to 10. The structure then adopted included eight teams playing in four first round games. The four first round winners advance to the second Round of Sixteen where they play the top four seeds.

The playoffs expanded to 24 teams beginning with the 2013 season. The number of conferences whose champions receive automatic bids increased to 11 with the addition of a bid for the Pioneer Football League and the number of first-round games increased from four to eight.

The tournament has historically been played in November and December; with the 2010 expansion to a 20-team field, the championship game moved from December to January. From 1997 through 2009, the title game had been played in Chattanooga, Tennessee at Finley Stadium, the home football venue of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and at Marshall University Stadium (now Joan C. Edwards Stadium) on the Marshall University campus in the 5 years prior to that. The title game is now played in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas at Toyota Stadium (known as Pizza Hut Park until the day after the championship game of the 2011 season, and then as FC Dallas Stadium until September 2013), a multi-purpose stadium primarily used by FC Dallas of Major League Soccer. The original contract with Frisco began in the 2010 season and ran through the 2012 season.[2] The contract has since been extended twice, first through the 2015 season[3] and later through the 2019 season.[4]

Three Football Championship Subdivision conferences usually do not participate in the tournament. The Ivy League, which has been at the FCS level since 1982 and prohibits its members from awarding athletic scholarships in any sport, plays a strict ten-game regular season and does not participate in any post-season football, citing academic concerns.[5][6] The Southwestern Athletic Conference and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, two conferences consisting of historically black colleges and universities, opt to play the Celebration Bowl (which was established in 2015) instead of the FCS tournament; the MEAC gave up its spot in the tournament prior to the 2015 season, while the SWAC (whose regular season extends through the Turkey Day Classic and Bayou Classic at the end of November and holds its own championship game in December) has not sent a team to the tournament since 1997.[7] In addition, the Pioneer Football League (PFL), the only other Division I football conference that does not award scholarships, did not have an automatic bid into the tournament until 2013 and none of its teams ever received an at-large bid into the tournament before then.[8]

The teams that make the playoffs are determined by the FCS Playoff Selection Committee, which consists of one athletic director from each of the 10 conferences which have automatic bids. The current committee chairman is Mark Wilson (Tennessee Tech). The others who serve on the selection committee are Chuck Burch (Gardner-Webb), Troy Dannen (Northern Iowa), Brian Hutchinson (Morehead State), Richard Johnson (Wofford), Nathan Pine (Holy Cross), Marty Scarano (New Hampshire), Paul Schlickmann (Central Connecticut State), Dr. Brad Teague (Central Arkansas) and Jeff Tingey (Idaho State).

FCS conferences

+ The Ivy League abstains from the championship tournament and all postseason play.

++ The MEAC, since 2015, abstains from the championship tournament to allow for participation in the Celebration Bowl.

% The SWAC abstains from the championship tournament to allow for a longer regular season, an in-conference championship game, and (since 2015) participation in the Celebration Bowl.

Champions

YearChampion[9]Runner-upScoreVenueLocationAttendanceWinning Head Coach
1978 Florida A&M Massachusetts 35–28 Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, Texas 13,604 Hubbard, RudyRudy Hubbard
1979 Eastern Kentucky Lehigh 30–7 Orlando Stadium Orlando, Florida 5,500 Kidd, RoyRoy Kidd
1980 Boise State Eastern Kentucky 31–29 Hughes Stadium Sacramento, California 8,157 Criner, JimJim Criner
1981 Idaho State Eastern Kentucky 34–23 Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, Texas 11,003 Kragthorpe, DaveDave Kragthorpe
1982 Eastern Kentucky (2) Delaware 17–14 Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, Texas 11,257 Kidd, RoyRoy Kidd (2)
1983 Southern Illinois Western Carolina 43–7 Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, South Carolina 15,950 Dempsey, ReyRey Dempsey
1984 Montana State Louisiana Tech 19–6 Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, South Carolina 9,125 Dave Arnold
1985 Georgia Southern Furman 44–42 Tacoma Dome Tacoma, Washington 5,306 Russell, ErkErk Russell
1986 Georgia Southern (2) Arkansas State 48–21 Tacoma Dome Tacoma, Washington 4,419 Russell, ErkErk Russell (2)
1987 Northeast Louisiana† Marshall 43–42 Mini Dome Pocatello, Idaho 11,513 Collins, PatPat Collins
1988 Furman Georgia Southern 17–12 Holt Arena Pocatello, Idaho 11,500 Jimmy Satterfield
1989 Georgia Southern (3) Stephen F. Austin 37–34 Paulson Stadium Statesboro, Georgia 25,725 Russell, ErkErk Russell (3)
1990 Georgia Southern (4) Nevada 36–13 Paulson Stadium Statesboro, Georgia 23,204 Tim Stowers
1991 Youngstown State Marshall 25–17 Paulson Stadium Statesboro, Georgia 12,667 Tressel, JimJim Tressel
1992 Marshall Youngstown State 31–28 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, West Virginia 31,304 Donnan, JimJim Donnan
1993 Youngstown State (2) Marshall 17–5 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, West Virginia 29,218 Tressel, JimJim Tressel (2)
1994 Youngstown State (3) Boise State 28–14 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, West Virginia 27,674 Tressel, JimJim Tressel (3)
1995 Montana Marshall 22–20 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, West Virginia 32,106 Read, DonDon Read
1996 Marshall (2) Montana 49–29 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, West Virginia 30,052 Pruett, BobBob Pruett
1997 Youngstown State (4) McNeese State 10–9 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee 14,771 Tressel, JimJim Tressel (4)
1998 Massachusetts Georgia Southern 55–43 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee 17,501 Whipple, MarkMark Whipple
1999 Georgia Southern (5) Youngstown State 59–24 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee 20,052 Johnson, PaulPaul Johnson
2000 Georgia Southern (6) Montana 27–25 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee 17,156 Johnson, PaulPaul Johnson (2)
2001 Montana (2) Furman 13–6 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee 12,698 Glenn, JoeJoe Glenn
2002 Western Kentucky McNeese State 34–14 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee 12,360 Harbaugh, JackJack Harbaugh
2003 Delaware Colgate 40–0 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee 14,281 Keeler, K. C.K. C. Keeler
2004 James Madison Montana 31–21 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee 16,771 Mickey Matthews
2005 Appalachian State Northern Iowa 21–16 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee 20,236 Moore, JerryJerry Moore
2006 Appalachian State (2) Massachusetts 28–17 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee 22,808 Moore, JerryJerry Moore (2)
2007 Appalachian State (3) Delaware 49–21 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee 23,010 Moore, JerryJerry Moore (3)
2008 Richmond Montana 24–7 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee 17,823 London, MikeMike London
2009 Villanova Montana 23–21 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee 14,328 Talley, AndyAndy Talley
2010 Eastern Washington Delaware 20–19 Pizza Hut Park‡ Frisco, Texas 13,027 Baldwin, BeauBeau Baldwin
2011 North Dakota StateSam Houston State 17–6 Pizza Hut Park‡ Frisco, Texas 20,586 Bohl, CraigCraig Bohl
2012 North Dakota State (2) Sam Houston State 39–13 FC Dallas Stadium‡ Frisco, Texas 21,411 Bohl, CraigCraig Bohl (2)
2013 North Dakota State (3) Towson 35–7 Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas 19,802 Bohl, CraigCraig Bohl (3)
2014 North Dakota State (4) Illinois State 29–27 Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas 20,918 Klieman, ChrisChris Klieman
2015 North Dakota State (5) Jacksonville State 37–10 Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas 21,836 Klieman, ChrisChris Klieman (2)
2016 Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas
2017 Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas
2018 Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas
2019 Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas

† Known as University of Louisiana at Monroe since 1999.

‡ Now Toyota Stadium

Team titles

Team Titles Years Won
Georgia Southern^6 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999, 2000
North Dakota State 5 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Youngstown State 4 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997
Appalachian State^ 3 2005, 2006, 2007
Montana 2 1995, 2001
Marshall^ 2 1992, 1996
Eastern Kentucky 2 1979, 1982
Delaware 1 2003
Furman 1 1988
Massachusetts^ 1 1998
Boise State^ 1 1980
Eastern Washington 1 2010
Florida A&M 1 1978
Idaho State 1 1981
James Madison 1 2004
Northeast Louisiana^ 1 1987
Montana State 1 1984
Richmond 1 2008
Southern Illinois 1 1983
Villanova 1 2009
Western Kentucky^ 1 2002

^ Now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

See also

References

  1. ↑ NCAA Division I Football Championship - Official Web Site
  2. ↑ Caplan, Jeff (2010-02-26). "20 teams to compete for FCS crown". ESPNDallas.com. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  3. ↑ "NCAA inks three-year extension to keep FCS title game in Frisco, Texas" (Press release). NCAA. December 19, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  4. ↑ "NCAA keeping FCS title game in Frisco through at least 2020". USA Today. Associated Press. January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  5. ↑ Torre, Pablo (2007-11-29). "No playoffs for you!". SI. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  6. ↑ David Burrick (2003-09-18). "Ivy League not likely to see I-AA playoffs". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  7. ↑ Craig T. Greenlee (2000-01-06). "Not Exactly for THE SPORT OF IT". Black Issues in Higher Education. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  8. ↑ http://pflfan.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1144
  9. ↑ NCAA (2008). "FCS History".
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