2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season

The 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level, will begin on August 30, 2012 and will conclude with the National Championship Game of the NCAA Division I Football Championship on January 5, 2013 at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

Conference changes
Several teams changed conferences from the 2011 season. Texas State of the Southland Conference (but technically played as an independent in 2011), Massachusetts of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and independents South Alabama and UTSA are transitioning to the Football Bowl Subdivision and will be transitional FBS members (without bowl eligibility) in 2012; all four will become full FBS members in 2013.

The Great West Conference dropped football after all of its five football members in the 2011 season joined other conferences. Cal Poly, North Dakota, Southern Utah and UC Davis all joined the Big Sky Conference. South Dakota joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

In their third year as a program, Georgia State, already a full member of the CAA, joined the football conference after two years as an independent. However, this will be the Panthers' only season as a CAA football member, as the school has announced that it will begin an FBS transition in 2012 in advance of its July 2013 move to the Sun Belt Conference.

There will be no teams playing as independents in 2012.

FCS team wins over FBS teams

 * August 30:
 * McNeese State 27, Middle Tennessee 21
 * Eastern Washington 20, Idaho 3
 * September 1:
 * Tennessee–Martin 20, Memphis 17
 * Youngstown State 31, Pittsburgh 17
 * September 8:
 * Illinois State 31, Eastern Michigan 14
 * Sacramento State 30, Colorado 28
 * North Dakota State 22, Colorado State 7
 * Northern Arizona 17, UNLV 14
 * September 15:
 * Cal Poly 24, Wyoming 22

Automatic berths for conference champions

 * Big Sky Conference –
 * Big South Conference –
 * Colonial Athletic Association –
 * Missouri Valley Football Conference –
 * Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference –
 * Northeast Conference –
 * Ohio Valley Conference –
 * Patriot League –
 * Southern Conference –
 * Southland Conference –

At large qualifiers
Ten teams will receive at-large bids.

The champions of the Pioneer Football League do not receive an automatic bid.

Abstains

 * Ivy League –
 * Southwestern Athletic Conference –