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2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season

From Wikipedia - Reading time: 11 min
For the 2024 FBS season, see 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

2024 NCAA Division I FCS season
Regular season
Number of teams129
DurationAugust 24 – December 7
Playoff
DurationNovember 30 – December 21
Championship dateJanuary 6, 2025
Championship siteToyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
NCAA Division I FCS football seasons
 

The 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, is organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The regular season began on August 24 and ends in November. The postseason begins in November and, aside from any all-star games that are scheduled, will end on January 6, 2025, with the 2025 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.[1]

Due to the structure of the calendar in 2024, FCS teams will be allowed to play 12 regular-season games instead of the normal 11.[2]

Notable headlines

[edit]
  • April 25 – The NCAA approved an increase in the number of seeded teams in the FCS playoff bracket from 8 to 16, effective for the 2024 season. The number of qualifying teams and the bracket format will remain otherwise unchanged.[3]
  • May 29 – Stephen F. Austin announced it would leave the United Athletic Conference (UAC) on July 1 to rejoin the Southland Conference (SLC) after a three-year absence.[4]
  • October 9:[5]
    • The Division I Council approved the recommended reduction of the FBS and FCS transfer portal to 30 days, though with a different schedule than recommended. The fall window, which opens on the Monday after the FBS conference championship games, will be open only for 20 days. A 10-day spring portal will open in mid-April.
    • The Council also abolished the National Letter of Intent program effective immediately. Written offers of athletics aid will replace the NLI.
    • The Council introduced a proposal that would shorten the transition periods for schools wishing to reclassify from Division II or Division III to Division I. If approved at the Council's January 2025 meeting, the transition periods for D-II and D-III schools would drop by a year, respectively to three and four years.

Conference changes and new programs

[edit]
School 2023 conference 2024 conference Ref
Bryant Bulldogs Big South–OVC CAA [6]
Kennesaw State Owls FCS Independent CUSA (FBS) [7]
Mercyhurst Lakers PSAC (D-II) NEC [8]
Merrimack Warriors NEC FCS Independent [9]
Robert Morris Colonials Big South–OVC NEC [10]
Sacred Heart Pioneers NEC FCS Independent [11]
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks UAC Southland [12]
West Georgia Wolves Gulf South (D-II) UAC [13][14][15][16]
Western Illinois Leathernecks MVFC Big South–OVC [17]

Conference standings

[edit]
2024 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 Montana State   5 – 0     9 – 0  
No. 4 UC Davis   5 – 0     8 – 1  
No. 7 Montana   4 – 1     7 – 2  
No. 9 Idaho   3 – 2     6 – 3  
Northern Arizona   3 – 2     5 – 4  
Weber State   2 – 3     3 – 6  
Idaho State   2 – 3     4 – 5  
Portland State   2 – 3     2 – 6  
Sacramento State   1 – 4     3 – 6  
Cal Poly   1 – 4     2 – 6  
Eastern Washington   1 – 4     2 – 7  
Northern Colorado   1 – 4     1 – 8  
As of November 7, 2024
Rankings from STATS Poll
2024 Big South–OVC football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 6 Southeast Missouri State   5 – 0     8 – 1  
No. 19 UT Martin   4 – 1     6 – 3  
Tennessee Tech   4 – 2     4 – 5  
Tennessee State   3 – 2     6 – 3  
Lindenwood*   3 – 3     4 – 6  
Western Illinois   2 – 3     3 – 6  
Gardner–Webb   2 – 3     3 – 6  
Eastern Illinois   1 – 4     2 – 7  
Charleston Southern   0 – 6     1 – 8  
  • Note: Lindenwood ineligible for Big South–OVC title and FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II.
As of November 7, 2024
Rankings from STATS Poll
2024 Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 11 Rhode Island   5 – 0     8 – 1  
No. 13 Richmond   5 – 0     7 – 2  
Delaware*   4 – 1     7 – 1  
No. 17 Stony Brook   4 – 1     7 – 2  
No. 12 Villanova   4 – 1     7 – 2  
No. 20 William & Mary   3 – 2     6 – 3  
New Hampshire   3 – 2     5 – 4  
Hampton   2 – 3     5 – 4  
Maine   2 – 3     4 – 5  
Monmouth   2 – 3     4 – 5  
Towson   2 – 3     4 – 5  
Elon   2 – 3     3 – 6  
Albany   1 – 4     3 – 6  
Campbell   1 – 4     3 – 6  
Bryant   0 – 5     2 – 7  
North Carolina A&T   0 – 5     1 – 8  
* Delaware ineligible for rankings and 2024 FCS playoffs due to transition to the FBS
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
As of November 7, 2024
Rankings from STATS Poll
2024 Ivy League football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 24 Harvard   3 – 1     6 – 1  
Dartmouth   3 – 1     6 – 1  
Columbia   3 – 1     5 – 2  
Brown   2 – 2     3 – 4  
Cornell   2 – 2     3 – 4  
Yale   1 – 3     4 – 3  
Penn   1 – 3     3 – 4  
Princeton   1 – 3     2 – 5  
As of November 7, 2024
Rankings from STATS Poll
2024 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
South Carolina State   2 – 0     6 – 2  
North Carolina Central   2 – 1     6 – 3  
Howard   1 – 1     4 – 5  
Morgan State   1 – 1     4 – 5  
Norfolk State   1 – 2     3 – 7  
Delaware State   0 – 2     1 – 8  
As of November 7, 2024
Rankings from STATS Poll
2024 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 1 North Dakota State   6 – 0     9 – 1  
Missouri State*   5 – 0     7 – 2  
No. 3 South Dakota State   4 – 1     7 – 2  
No. 5 South Dakota   4 – 1     6 – 2  
No. 18 Illinois State   3 – 2     6 – 3  
Indiana State   3 – 2     4 – 5  
No. 21 North Dakota   2 – 3     5 – 4  
Youngstown State   2 – 4     3 – 7  
Northern Iowa   0 – 5     2 – 7  
Southern Illinois   0 – 5     2 – 7  
Murray State   0 – 6     1 – 8  
* Missouri State ineligible for 2024 FCS playoffs due to transition to the FBS
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
As of November 7, 2024
Rankings from STATS Poll
2024 Northeast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 25 Duquesne   4 – 0     6 – 2  
Robert Morris   4 – 0     6 – 3  
Central Connecticut   3 – 1     4 – 5  
Wagner   2 – 2     4 – 6  
LIU   2 – 2     2 – 7  
Saint Francis (PA)   1 – 4     3 – 6  
Mercyhurst*   0 – 3     2 – 7  
Stonehill*   0 – 3     1 – 7  
  • * – Stonehill and Mercyhurst are ineligible for NEC title and FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II.
As of November 7, 2024
Rankings from STATS Poll
2024 Patriot League football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Holy Cross   3 – 0     4 – 5  
Bucknell   2 – 1     4 – 5  
Lehigh   2 – 1     5 – 3  
Georgetown   2 – 2     5 – 4  
Colgate   1 – 2     2 – 7  
Lafayette   1 – 3     4 – 5  
Fordham   1 – 3     1 – 8  
As of November 7, 2024
Rankings from STATS Poll
2024 Pioneer Football League standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Drake   5 – 0     6 – 1  
Morehead State   4 – 1     6 – 3  
St. Thomas (MN)*   4 – 1     5 – 4  
Butler   3 – 2     7 – 2  
Dayton   3 – 2     5 – 3  
San Diego   3 – 2     5 – 3  
Davidson   3 – 3     5 – 4  
Presbyterian   2 – 4     4 – 6  
Valparaiso   1 – 3     3 – 5  
Stetson   0 – 4     2 – 6  
Marist   0 – 6     0 – 9  
  • * – St. Thomas (MN) ineligible for FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division III
As of November 7, 2024
Rankings from STATS Poll
2024 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 10 Mercer   5 – 1     8 – 1  
No. 22 Western Carolina   4 – 1     5 – 4  
No. 23 Chattanooga   4 – 2     5 – 4  
East Tennessee State   3 – 2     5 – 4  
Samford   2 – 3     3 – 5  
The Citadel   2 – 4     4 – 5  
Wofford   2 – 4     4 – 5  
Furman   1 – 3     2 – 6  
VMI   1 – 4     1 – 8  
As of November 7, 2024
Rankings from STATS Poll
2024 Southland Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 8 Incarnate Word   4 – 0     7 – 2  
Southeastern Louisiana   4 – 1     5 – 5  
Stephen F. Austin   4 – 2     6 – 3  
Lamar   2 – 2     5 – 4  
Nicholls   2 – 2     4 – 5  
McNeese   2 – 3     5 – 5  
Houston Christian   1 – 3     3 – 6  
Texas A&M–Commerce*   1 – 3     1 – 8  
Northwestern State   0 – 4     0 – 9  
  • * – Texas A&M–Commerce is ineligible for FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II.
As of November 7, 2024
Rankings from STATS Poll
2024 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Jackson State   5 – 0     7 – 2  
Alabama State   4 – 1     5 – 3  
Florida A&M   3 – 1     5 – 3  
Bethune–Cookman   2 – 3     2 – 7  
Alabama A&M   1 – 3     3 – 5  
Mississippi Valley State   0 – 5     0 – 9  
West Division
Southern   4 – 1     5 – 4  
Alcorn State   3 – 2     4 – 5  
Prairie View A&M   2 – 3     4 – 5  
Texas Southern   2 – 3     3 – 5  
Arkansas–Pine Bluff   2 – 3     3 – 6  
Grambling State   1 – 4     4 – 5  
As of November 7, 2024
Rankings from STATS Poll
2024 United Athletic Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 15 Abilene Christian   5 – 1     6 – 3  
No. 14 Tarleton State   4 – 1     7 – 2  
No. 16 Central Arkansas   3 – 2     6 – 3  
Eastern Kentucky   3 – 2     5 – 4  
Southern Utah   3 – 2     4 – 5  
Austin Peay   3 – 3     4 – 5  
North Alabama   3 – 3     3 – 7  
Utah Tech   1 – 5     1 – 9  
West Georgia*   0 – 6     3 – 6  
  • Note: West Georgia is ineligible for the UAC title and FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II.
As of November 7, 2024
Rankings from STATS Poll
2024 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Merrimack   –     4 – 5  
Sacred Heart   –     4 – 5  
As of November 7, 2024

Postseason

[edit]

The FCS will again feature a 24-team postseason bracket: 10 teams decided via automatic bids issued to conference champions, and 14 at-large bids (see above). Where previously the top eight teams were seeded, the top sixteen teams will be seeded this year, a new change from the 2023 season.[3]

Bowl game

[edit]
Date Time (EST) Game Site Television Teams Affiliations Results
Dec. 14 12:00 p.m. Celebration Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Atlanta, Georgia 		USA: ABC
Canada: TSN 		TBD
TBD 		SWAC
MEAC

Rankings

[edit]
Main article: 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings

The top 25 from the Stats Perform and AFCA Coaches Polls.

Pre-season polls

[edit]
Stats Perform
Ranking Team
1 South Dakota State (52)
2 North Dakota State (3)
3 Montana
4 Montana State (1)
5 South Dakota
6 Villanova
7 Idaho
8 Sacramento State
9 Chattanooga
10 Southern Illinois
11 Central Arkansas
12 Furman
13 Richmond
14 Incarnate Word
15 William & Mary
16 Albany
17 Lafayette
18 UC Davis
19 Illinois State
20 Western Carolina
21 Tarleton State
22 Weber State
23 Nicholls
24 North Dakota
25 Youngstown State
USA Today Coaches
Ranking Team
1 South Dakota State (25)
2 North Dakota State
3 Montana
4 Montana State
5 South Dakota
6 Villanova
7 Idaho
8 Chattanooga
9 Furman
10 Sacramento State
11 Southern Illinois
12 Richmond
13 Central Arkansas
14 Albany
15 Incarnate Word
16 William & Mary
17 UC Davis
18 Lafayette
19 Western Carolina
20 Illinois State
21 Tarleton State
22 North Dakota
23 Youngstown State
24 Nicholls
25 Florida A&M (1)

STATS source:[18]
AFCA source:[19]


Kickoff games

[edit]

The regular season began on Saturday, August 24 with four games in Week 0:

Regular season top 10 matchups

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Rankings reflect the Stats Perform Poll.

Upsets

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This section lists instances of unranked teams defeating ranked teams during the season.

Regular season

[edit]

During the regular season, thirty-two unranked teams defeated ranked teams.

FCS team wins over FBS teams

[edit]

Coaching changes

[edit]

Preseason and in-season

[edit]

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2024, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled games but before its playoff games. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2024, see 2023 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.

School Outgoing coach Date Reason Replacement

End of season

[edit]

This list includes coaching changes announced during the season that did not take effect until the end of the season.

School Outgoing coach Date Reason Replacement

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "FCS Championship: Future dates and sites". NCAA.com. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  2. ^ "Bylaw 17.11.6.1: Number of Contests (FBS/FCS): Maximum Limitations – Institutional" (PDF). 2023–24 NCAA Division I Manual. NCAA. August 5, 2023. p. 263. Retrieved August 2, 2024. In championship subdivision football . . . Twelve football contests shall be permissible during those years in which there are 14 Saturdays from the first permissible playing date through the last playing date in November (e.g., 2024, 2025).
  3. ^ a b Herder, Sam (April 25, 2024). "Seeded Teams In 24-Team FCS Playoff Bracket Increases From 8 To 16". HeroSports.com. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  4. ^ "SFA Athletics Accepts Invitation to Join Southland Conference in 2024-25" (Press release). Southland Conference. May 29, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
  5. ^ "DI Council approves changes to notification-of-transfer windows in basketball, football" (Press release). NCAA. October 9, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  6. ^ "Coastal Athletic Association adding Bryant University in '24". ESPN.com. August 10, 2023.
  7. ^ "Kennesaw State to join Conference USA in July 2024". ESPN.com. October 14, 2022.
  8. ^ "Mercyhurst University marks new era in athletics with move to Division I". hurstathletics.com. Mercyhurst University. April 4, 2024.
  9. ^ "Merrimack College Accepts Invitation to Join Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference". merrimack.edu. Merrimack College. October 23, 2023.
  10. ^ "RMU Football to Rejoin Northeast Conference for 2024 Season". rmucolonials.com. Robert Morris University. November 28, 2023.
  11. ^ "Sacred Heart University Joining the MAAC". sacredheartpioneers.com. Sacred Heart University. March 14, 2024.
  12. ^ "SFA Accepts Bid to Southland Conference for 2024-25 Season". sfajacks.com. Stephen F. Austin State University. May 29, 2024.
  13. ^ "UWG, United Athletic Conference Reveal 2024 Conference Football Slate". uwgathletics.com. University of West Georgia. November 14, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  14. ^ "UWG Athletics to Transition to NCAA Division I". westga.edu. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  15. ^ "UAC Welcomes West Georgia as its 11th Member". uacfootball.com. United Athletic Conference. August 8, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  16. ^ "University of West Georgia Announces Move to NCAA Division I". SI.com. September 8, 2023.
  17. ^ "Western Illinois University to Join the OVC in 2023-24". ovcsports.com. December 5, 2023.
  18. ^ "The Champ's Still No. 1: South Dakota State Sits on Top of FCS Preseason Top 25 Poll". theanalyst.com. STATS Perform. August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  19. ^ "Two-time defending champs South Dakota State lead 2024 preseason FCS Coaches' Poll". ncaa.com. NCAA. August 12, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 | Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_NCAA_Division_I_FCS_football_season
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