NCAA Division I Football Championship

In the inaugural season of Division I-AA, the 1978 postseason included just four teams; three regional champions (East, West, and South) plus an at-large selection.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26942893/television_debut_may_ignite_famu/ |title=Television Debut May Ignite FAMU |agency=AP |newspaper=The Palm Beach Post |page=49 |date=November 18, 1978 |access-date=January 6, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} The field doubled to eight teams in 1981, with champions of five conferences—Big Sky, Mid-Eastern, Ohio Valley, Southwestern, and Yankee—receiving automatic bids.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26941653/recommends_expansion_for_iaa_playoffs/ |title=Recommends expansion for I-AA playoffs |agency=AP |newspaper=The Des Moines Register |page=8 |date=April 10, 1982 |access-date=January 6, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} The top four teams were seeded, and then matched against the four remaining teams based on geographical proximity.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28120161/delaware_will_be_easterns_playoff_foe/ |title=Delaware will be Eastern's playoff foe |first=Stan |last=Sutton |newspaper=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |page=C9 |date=November 29, 1981 |access-date=February 6, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} The tournament was expanded to 12 teams in 1982, with each of the top four seeds receiving a first-round bye and a home game in the quarterfinals.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28120691/blue_hens_get_berth_earn_opening_bye/ |title=Blue Hens Get Berth; Earn Opening Bye |agency=AP |newspaper=The Daily Times |location=Salisbury, Maryland |page=10 |date=November 22, 1982 |access-date=February 6, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} Champions of the Southern and Southland conferences also received automatic bids.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26942234/will_iaa_numbers_hamper_easterns/ |title=Will I-AA numbers hamper Eastern's playoff bid? |first=Stan |last=Sutton |newspaper=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |page=11 |date=September 9, 1982 |access-date=January 6, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}}

The number of automatic bids has varied over time, due to changes in the number and size of conferences, with an automatic bid typically granted only to champions of conferences with at least six teams.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26945221/swac_loses_automatic_bid/ |title=SWAC loses automatic bid |newspaper=The Times |location=Shreveport, Louisiana |page=6 |date=October 28, 1983 |access-date=January 6, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} Initially, the tournament was played in December; since the expansion to twelve teams in 1982, earlier rounds have been held in late November.

The playoffs expanded to a 16-team format in 1986, requiring four postseason victories to win the title. Initially, only the top four teams were seeded,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28121512/iaa_playoffs/ |title=I-AA playoffs |newspaper=Daily Press |location=Newport News, Virginia |page=C5 |date=November 24, 1986 |access-date=February 6, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} with other teams geographically placed in the bracket. From 1995 through 2000, all 16 teams were seeded, independent of geography. In 2001, the number of seeded teams was reduced to four, with the seeded teams assured of home games in early tournament rounds, and other teams once again placed in the bracket to minimize travel.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27957303/ncaa_changes_format_for_playoff_pairings/ |title=NCAA changes format for playoff pairings |first=Jon |last=Kasper |newspaper=Missoulian |location=Missoula, Montana |page=D1 |date=November 12, 2001 |access-date=February 2, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} Home team designation in games between unseeded teams is determined based on several factors, including attendance history and revenue potential.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27957366/ncaa_changes_format_for_playoff/ |title=NCAA changes format for playoff pairings (cont'd) |first=Jon |last=Kasper |newspaper=Missoulian |location=Missoula, Montana |page=D6 |date=November 12, 2001 |access-date=February 2, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}}

In April 2008, the NCAA announced that the playoff field would expand to 20 teams in 2010, with the Big South and Northeast Conference earning automatic bids for the first time.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26946084/nec_granted_access_to_playoffs/ |title=NEC granted access to playoffs |first=Tony |last=Graham |newspaper=Asbury Park Press |location=Asbury Park, New Jersey |page=28 |date=April 26, 2008 |access-date=January 6, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} That bracket structure included seeding of the top five teams. Twelve teams received first-round byes; the remaining eight teams played first-round games, with the four winners advancing to face the top four seeds. The playoffs expanded to 24 teams beginning in 2013, with the champion of the Pioneer Football League receiving an automatic bid for the first time.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26946372/flyers_set_sights_on_playoff_prize/ |title=Flyers set sights on playoff prize |first=Chris |last=Moorman |newspaper=Dayton Daily News |location=Dayton, Ohio |page=37 |date=August 4, 2013 |access-date=January 6, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} The number of seeded teams was increased to eight, with the 16 unseeded teams playing in first-round games. The unseeded teams continue to be paired according to geographic proximity and then placed in the bracket according to geographic proximity to the top eight seeds. Teams cannot travel more than 400 miles via ground, and teams from the same conference that played each other during the regular season are not paired for first-round games.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2020-01-11/fcs-championship-everything-you-need-know|title=FCS Championship: Everything you need to know | NCAA.com|website=www.ncaa.com}} For the 2020 season, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the bracket was reduced to 16 teams.{{cite news |url=https://fbschedules.com/fcs-playoff-schedule-format-for-spring-2021-football-set/ |title=FCS Playoff Schedule format for Spring 2021 football season set |first=Kevin |last=Kelley |website=fbschedules.com |date=September 22, 2020 |access-date=October 22, 2020}} The bracket returned to 24 teams for the 2021 season.

The field is traditionally set the Sunday before Thanksgiving and play begins that weekend.

Image:NC TrophiesASU.jpg

At-large selections and seeding within the bracket are determined by the FCS Playoff Selection Committee, which consists of one athletic director from each conference with an automatic bid.{{cite web |url=http://footballscoop.com/news/one-week-go-heres-fcs-playoff-primer/ |title=With one week to go, here's your FCS playoff primer |first=Zach |last=Barnett |website=footballscoop.com |date=November 15, 2018 |access-date=January 6, 2019}} As of the 2018 season, there were 10 conferences with automatic bids and the selection committee made 14 at-large selections. An 11th automatic bid was added as of the 2021 season, reducing the number of at-large selections to 13.{{cite web |url=https://herosports.com/fcs-football-predicting-2021-playoff-bracket-bzbz/ |title=Predicting The 2021 FCS Playoff Bracket |first=Sam |last=Herder |website=herosports.com |date=August 9, 2021 |accessdate=September 5, 2021}}

File:Toyotastadiumfcs.jpg]]

The tournament culminates with the national final, played between the two remaining teams from the playoff bracket. Unlike earlier round games in each year's playoff, which are played at campus sites, the title game is played at a site predetermined by the NCAA, akin to how the NFL predetermines the site for each Super Bowl. Originally played in December, with the 2010 expansion to a 20-team field, the final moved to January, with two or three weeks between the semifinals and final.

The inaugural title game was played in 1978 in Wichita Falls, Texas. The 1979 and 1980 games were held in Orlando, Florida, and Sacramento, California, respectively, and the game returned to Wichita Falls for 1981 and 1982. The games played in Wichita Falls were known as the Pioneer Bowl, while the game played in Sacramento was known as the Camellia Bowl—both names were used for various NCAA playoff games played in those locations, and were not specific to the I-AA championship. In 1983 and 1984, the game was played in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1985 and 1986, Tacoma, Washington, hosted the game, which the NCAA branded as the "Diamond Bowl".{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31148618/iaa_championship_moved_to_tacoma/ |title=I-AA championship moved to Tacoma |agency=AP |newspaper=Billings Gazette |location=Billings, Montana |page=2-C |date=January 5, 1985 |access-date=May 1, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}}

The 1987 and 1988 games were played in Pocatello, Idaho; and from 1989 through 1991, in Statesboro, Georgia. The 1992 through 1996 games were held in Huntington, West Virginia; and from 1997 through 2009, the title game was played in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

From 2010 through the 2024 season, the title game was played in Frisco, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas, at Toyota Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium primarily used by FC Dallas of Major League Soccer. The stadium was known as Pizza Hut Park until the day after the final of the 2011 season, and then as FC Dallas Stadium until September 2013. The original contract with Frisco began in the 2010 season and ran through the 2012 season.{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/dallas/ncf/news/story?id=4949141|title=20 teams to compete for FCS crown |first=Jeff |last=Caplan |publisher=ESPN| date=February 26, 2010|access-date=February 26, 2010}} The contract was extended three times; first through the 2015 season,{{cite press release |url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2012-12-19/ncaa-inks-three-year-extension-keep-fcs-title-game-frisco-texas |title=NCAA inks three-year extension to keep FCS title game in Frisco, Texas |publisher=NCAA |date=December 19, 2012 |access-date=December 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130220072902/http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2012-12-19/ncaa-inks-three-year-extension-keep-fcs-title-game-frisco-texas |archive-date=February 20, 2013 |url-status=dead }} then through the 2019 season,{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2016/01/08/ncaa-keeping-fcs-title-game-in-frisco-through-at-least-2020/78514898/ |title=NCAA keeping FCS title game in Frisco through at least 2020 |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=USA Today |date=January 8, 2016 |access-date=January 12, 2016}} and finally through the 2024 season with an option for the 2025 season.{{cite press release|url=https://southland.org/news/2019/1/3/administration-fcs-championship-will-stay-in-frisco-through-2025-with-option-for-2026.aspx |title=FCS Championship Will Stay in Frisco Through 2025 With Option for 2026 |publisher=Southland Conference |date=January 4, 2019 |access-date=January 5, 2019}}

For at least 2026 and 2027, the title game will be played at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, home of the Vanderbilt Commodores, due to renovations beginning at Toyota Stadium following the 2025 title game.{{cite press release|url=https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/nashville-to-host-2026-2027-fcs-national-championships/ |title=Nashville, TN to host 2026, 2027 FCS National Championships |publisher=WKRN-TV |date=December 12, 2024 | access-date=December 12, 2024}}

;Notes

{{reflist|group=n}}

There have been six instances where a team whose venue was predetermined to host the final game advanced to play for the championship on its own field. Georgia Southern won both title games it played at Paulson Stadium, while Marshall had a 2–2 record in four title games it played at Marshall University Stadium (now known as Joan C. Edwards Stadium).

As of the 2025 season, two FCS conferences usually do not participate in the tournament: the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

The Ivy League has been at the FCS level since 1982 and prohibits its members from awarding athletic scholarships in any sport and plays a strict ten-game regular season. Through the 2024 season, it did not participate in any postseason football, citing academic concerns.{{cite news|title=No playoffs for you!|first=Pablo |last=Torre |author-link=Pablo S. Torre |publisher=CNN/Sports Illustrated|date=November 29, 2007|access-date=June 27, 2009 |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/sioncampus/11/29/ivyleague.football/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025182231/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/sioncampus/11/29/ivyleague.football/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 25, 2012}}{{cite news|title="Ivy League not likely to see I-AA playoffs"|author=David Burrick|publisher=The Daily Pennsylvanian|date=September 18, 2003|access-date=June 27, 2009|url=https://www.thedp.com/article/2003/09/ivy_league_not_likely_to_see_iaa_playoffs}} The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (consisting of student-athletes at all sports, including those who participated in the NCAA tournament in their respective sport) recommended the change be reversed, and on December 18, 2024, the Ivy League announced starting with the 2025 season, the league champion will participate in the tournament.{{cite news|title=Ivy League To Begin Participating in the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs Starting With 2025 Season|publisher=The Ivy League|date=December 18, 2024|access-date=December 18, 2024|url=https://ivyleague.com/news/2024/12/18/football-fb-fcs-announcement.aspx}}

The MEAC and SWAC, 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.{{cite news|title=Not Exactly for THE SPORT OF IT|author=Craig T. Greenlee|publisher=Black Issues in Higher Education|date=January 6, 2000|access-date=June 27, 2009 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DXK/is_23_16/ai_59019432/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040916204156/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DXK/is_23_16/ai_59019432/ |archive-date=September 16, 2004 |via=Wayback Machine}} MEAC gave up its automatic spot in the tournament prior to the 2015 season,{{cite news |url=https://hbcusports.com/2014/12/30/listen-morgan-state-ad-confirms-meacswac-bowl-game-will-be-played-in-2015/ |title=Morgan State AD Confirms MEAC/SWAC Bowl Game Will Be Played In 2015 |first=Kenn |last=Rashad |website=hbcusports.com |date=December 30, 2014 |accessdate=December 3, 2021}} while the SWAC's regular season extends through the Turkey Day Classic and Bayou Classic at the end of November and the SWAC Championship Game is played in December. Teams from the MEAC and SWAC may accept at-large bids, so long as they aren't committed to other postseason games that would conflict with the tournament. The most recent MEAC and SWAC teams to accept bids were the 2023 North Carolina Central Eagles and 2021 Florida A&M Rattlers, respectively.

Historically, conferences in FCS that did not offer athletic scholarships were not granted automatic bids into the tournament and, although in theory were eligible for at-large bids, never received any. The last non-scholarship conference in the subdivision, the Pioneer Football League, now receives a tournament bid, which was initiated with the 2013 postseason.

Membership numbers reflect those in the next FCS season in 2025.

;Notes

{{notelist|group=conf}}

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}}

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{{see also|List of NCAA Division I FCS playoff appearances by team}}

For each season since the inaugural year of Division I-AA play, 1978, the following table lists the date of each title game and the champion.{{cite web|title=FCS Football Championship History |website=NCAA.com |url=https://www.ncaa.com/history/football/fcs |date=January 2019 |access-date=February 5, 2019}} The score and runner-up are also noted, along with the host city, game attendance, and head coach of the championship team.

Notes:

• 1987 champion Northeast Louisiana has been known as the University of Louisiana at Monroe (Louisiana–Monroe) since 1999.
• The 2020–21 school year was the first in which Sam Houston State University called its athletic program "Sam Houston", without the word "State".
• Attendance at the 2020 championship game (played in May 2021) was limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Updated through the January 2024 championship game, following the 2023 football season.

Key

• {{colorbox|#FFA500|CH|border=#AA5000}} National Champion
• {{colorbox|#ACACAC|RU}} National Runner-up
• {{colorbox|#F0E68C|SF}} Semifinals
• {{colorbox|#70E0E0|QF}} Quarterfinals
• {{colorbox|#9AE5E5|12}} {{colorbox|#9AE5E5|16}} Round of 12 (1982 through 1985), Round of 16 (1986 to present)
• {{colorbox|#DDDDDD|•}} First Round (2010 to present, except for 2020)

{{sticky table start}}