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2018 NCAA Division I FCS season | |||
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NCAA logo.svg | |||
Regular season | August 25 – November 17 | ||
Playoffs | November 24 – December 15 | ||
National Championship | Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas | ||
Champions | North Dakota State | ||
Payton Award | Devlin Hodges, QB, Samford | ||
Buchanan Award | Zach Hall, LB, Southeast Missouri State | ||
Division I FCS football season
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The 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The FCS Championship Game was played on January 5, 2019, in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State claimed its second consecutive FCS title, and seventh in eight years.
Conference changes and new programs[]
Membership changes[]
School | Former conference | New conference |
---|---|---|
Campbell | Pioneer | Big South |
Hampton | MEAC | FCS Independent |
Idaho | Sun Belt (FBS) | Big Sky |
Liberty | Big South | FBS Independent |
North Alabama | Gulf South (D–II) | FCS Independent |
North Dakota | Big Sky | FCS Independent [lower-alpha 1] |
In addition to the schools changing conferences, the 2018 season was the last for Savannah State in D-I with its decision to reclassify all of its sports to D-II.[1]
- Source:[2]
Other headlines[]
Offseason[]
- June 13 – Major changes to redshirt rules in Division I football (both FBS and FCS) took effect from this season forward after having been approved by the NCAA Division I Council. Players can now participate in as many as four games in a given season while still retaining redshirt status. The only exception to this new rule is that players who enroll at a school in midyear and participate in postseason competition that takes place during or before their first academic term at that school will lose a full year of athletic eligibility.[3]
Season[]
- September 10 – The Northeast Conference (NEC) announced that Merrimack College would start a transition from the NCAA Division II Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) and join the NEC effective July 1, 2019. Merrimack's football team is expected to immediately start playing a full NEC schedule, but will not be eligible for the FCS playoffs until becoming a full D-I member in 2023.[4]
- October 3 – Long Island University announced that it would merge its two current athletic programs—the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds, full but non-football members of the NEC, and LIU Post Pioneers, a Division II program that is a full member of the non-football East Coast Conference and an NE-10 football member—effective with the 2019–20 school year. The new program will compete under the LIU name with a new nickname. The Post football team will become the LIU football team, playing in the NEC. There has been no definitive report as to when the new LIU football team will be eligible for the FCS playoffs.[5]
- October 27 – Central Connecticut's Aaron Dawson ran for 308 yards in the second half, a record for a half throughout Division I, and 361 overall to lead the Blue Devils to a 49–24 win over Wagner.[6]
- November 17 – In the final game of his college career, Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges set a new FCS record for career passing yardage, surpassing late Alcorn State and NFL great Steve McNair in the Bulldogs' 38–27 win over East Tennessee State. Hodges finished his career with 14,584 yards.[7]
- January 4 – The NCAA and the Southland Conference (SLC) announced that the FCS championship game, which is currently co-hosted by the SLC, would remain at its current home of Toyota Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas through at least the 2024 season, with an option for the 2025 season.[8]
Pre-season international exhibitions[]
Date | Name | Location | NCAA team | Hosting Team | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 26, 2018 | Drake-China Ambassadors Bowl | UIBE, Beijing, China | Drake | China All-Stars (AFLC, CAFL, & CBL) |
77–0 |
Kickoff games[]
One kickoff game was played during "Week Zero" on August 25:
- FCS Kickoff (Cramton Bowl, Montgomery): North Carolina A&T defeated Jacksonville State, 20–17
FCS team wins over FBS teams[]
(FCS rankings from the STATS poll, FBS rankings from the AP poll.)
- August 30:
- UC Davis 44, San Jose State 38
- September 1:
- September 2:
- No. 14 North Carolina A&T 28, East Carolina 23
- September 8:
- No. 22 Maine 31, Western Kentucky 28
- September 22:
- No. 16 Illinois State 35, Colorado State 19
Hurricane Florence[]
All times Eastern
Several games on the east coast were rescheduled, cancelled, or moved due to Hurricane Florence:
- Coastal Carolina at Campbell moved up to Wednesday, September 12 at 2:00 p.m.
- Richmond at Saint Francis moved up to Thursday, September 13 at 5:00 p.m.
- Robert Morris at No. 2 James Madison moved up to Thursday, September 13 at 7:00 p.m.
- Guilford at Davidson has been moved up to Thursday, September 13 at 7:00 p.m.
- East Tennessee State at VMI moved up to Friday, September 14 at 2:30 p.m.
- Western Carolina at Gardner–Webb moved up to Friday, September 14 at 6:00 p.m.
- North Carolina Central at South Carolina State has been moved to Saturday, November 24
- Charleston Southern at The Citadel has been moved to Thursday, November 29
- Norfolk State at Liberty has been moved to Saturday, December 1
- Elon at William & Mary has been cancelled
- Savannah State at Howard has been cancelled
- Tennessee State at Hampton has been cancelled
- Presbyterian at Stetson has been cancelled
- Walsh at Jacksonville has been cancelled
- Colgate at Furman has been cancelled
Conference standings[]
Template:2018 Big Sky Conference football standings | Template:2018 Big South Conference football standings | Template:2018 Colonial Athletic Association football standings | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Template:2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings | Template:2018 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Template:2018 Northeast Conference football standings | Template:2018 Ohio Valley Conference football standings |
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Template:2018 Pioneer Football League standings | Template:2018 Southern Conference football standings | Template:2018 Southland Conference football standings | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Template:2018 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings | Template:2018 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings |
Conference summaries[]
Championship games[]
Conference | Champion | Runner-up | Score | Offensive Player of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year | Coach of the Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SWAC | Alcorn State 9–3 (6–1) |
Southern 7–4 (6–1) |
37–28 | Noah Johnson (Alcorn State) |
De’Arius Christmas (Grambling State) |
Fred McNair (Alcorn State) |
Other conference winners[]
Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.
Conference | Champion | Record | Offensive Player of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year | Coach of the Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Big Sky | Eastern Washington UC Davis Weber State |
9–2 (7–1) 9–2 (7–1) 9–2 (7–1) |
Jake Maier (UC Davis) |
Jay-Tee Tiuli (Eastern Washington) |
Aaron Best (Eastern Washington) Dan Hawkins (UC Davis) |
Big South | Kennesaw State | 10–1 (5–0) | Chandler Burks (Kennesaw State) |
Anthony Gore, Jr. (Kennesaw State) |
Brian Bohanon (Kennesaw State) |
CAA | Maine | 8–3 (7–1) | Tom Flacco (Towson) |
Jimmy Moreland (James Madison) |
Joe Harasymiak (Maine) |
Ivy | Princeton | 10–0 (7–0) | John Lovett (Princeton) |
Isiah Swann (Dartmouth) |
Bob Surace (Princeton) |
MEAC | North Carolina A&T | 9–2 (6–1) | Caylin Newton (Howard) |
Darryl Johnson Jr. (North Carolina A&T) |
Sam Washington (North Carolina A&T) |
MVFC | North Dakota State | 11–0 (8–0) | Easton Stick (North Dakota State) |
Jabril Cox (North Dakota State) |
Curt Mallory (Indiana State) |
NEC | Duquesne Sacred Heart |
8–3 (5–1) 7–4 (5–1) |
A. J. Hines (Duquesne) |
Cam Gill (Wagner) |
Mark Nofri (Sacred Heart) Jerry Schmitt (Duquesne) |
OVC | Jacksonville State | 8–3 (7–1) | Marquis Terry (Southeast Missouri State) |
Zach Hall (Southeast Missouri State) |
Tom Matukewicz (Southeast Missouri State) |
Patriot | Colgate | 9–1 (6–0) | James Holland, Jr. (Colgate) |
T. J. Hill (Colgate) |
Dan Hunt (Colgate) |
Pioneer | San Diego | 9–2 (8–0) | Anthony Lawrence (San Diego) |
Nathan Clayberg (Drake) |
Roger Hughes (Stetson) |
Southern | East Tennessee State Furman Wofford |
8–3 (6–2) 6–4 (6–2) 8–3 (6–2) |
Devlin Hodges (Samford) |
Isaiah Mack (Chattanooga) |
Randy Sanders (East Tennessee State) |
Southland | Incarnate Word Nicholls |
6–4 (6–2) 8–3 (7–2) |
Jazz Ferguson (Northwestern State) |
B. J. Blunt (McNeese State) |
Eric Morris (Incarnate Word) |
- ↑ "Savannah State Plans Athletic Division Reclassification" (Press release). Savannah State Athletics. April 17, 2017. http://www.ssuathletics.com/news/2017/4/17/academics-savannah-state-plans-athletics-division-reclassification.aspx. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
- ↑ Haley, Craig (March 14, 2018). "5 College Football Teams Changing FCS Affiliations in 2018". Athlon Sports & Life. https://athlonsports.com/college-football/4-college-football-teams-changing-fcs-affiliations-2018.
- ↑ "DI football to offer more participation opportunities" (Press release). NCAA. June 13, 2018. https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/di-football-offer-more-participation-opportunities. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
- ↑ "Merrimack College Accepts Invitation to Join the Northeast Conference" (Press release). Northeast Conference. September 10, 2018. http://www.northeastconference.org/news/2018/9/7/GEN_Merrimack_Joins_NEC_18.aspx. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
- ↑ "Long Island University Announces Unification Into One LIU Division I Program" (Press release). LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds. October 3, 2018. https://liuathletics.com/news/2018/10/3/general-long-island-university-announces-unification-into-one-liu-division-i-program. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- ↑ "CCSU's Aaron Dawson sets record with 308 rushing yards in a half". ESPN. October 27, 2018. http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/25101020/ccsu-aaron-dawson-sets-record-308-rushing-yards-half. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
- ↑ "Devlin Hodges notches FCS mark with 14,584 career passing yards". ESPN. November 17, 2018. http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/25304719/devlin-hodges-samford-bulldogs-sets-fcs-career-passing-record. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- ↑ "FCS Championship Will Stay in Frisco Through 2025 With Option for 2026" (Press release). Southland Conference. January 4, 2019. https://southland.org/news/2019/1/3/administration-fcs-championship-will-stay-in-frisco-through-2025-with-option-for-2026.aspx. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ↑ Adelson, Andrea. "UNC, NC State, Va. Tech called due to Florence". ESPN. http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24644315/hurricane-florence-impacts-college-football-games-carolinas-virginia. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
- ↑ "Football Cancels Game against Stetson". Presbyterian College. http://www.gobluehose.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211771657&DB_OEM_ID=18100&_ga=2.208847514.90819769.1536855038-479974086.1516366204. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
- ↑ "NCAAF College Football Scores - FCS Week 3". ESPN. http://www.espn.com/college-football/scoreboard/_/group/81/year/2018/seasontype/2/week/3. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
Playoff qualifiers[]
Automatic berths for conference champions[]
Conference | Team | Appearance | Last bid | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Big Sky Conference | Weber State | 7th | 2017 | Quarterfinals (L – James Madison) |
Big South Conference | Kennesaw State | 2nd | 2017 | Quarterfinals (L – Sam Houston State) |
Colonial Athletic Association | Maine | 8th | 2013 | Second Round (L – New Hampshire) |
Missouri Valley Football Conference | North Dakota State | 9th | 2017 | National Champions (W – James Madison) |
Northeast Conference | Duquesne | 2nd | 2015 | First Round (L – William & Mary) |
Ohio Valley Conference | Jacksonville State | 9th | 2017 | Second Round (L – Kennesaw State) |
Patriot League | Colgate | 11th | 2015 | Quarterfinals (L – Sam Houston State) |
Pioneer Football League | San Diego | 4th | 2017 | Second Round (L – North Dakota State) |
Southern Conference | Wofford | 9th | 2017 | Quarterfinals (L – North Dakota State) |
Southland Conference | Nicholls | 5th | 2017 | First Round (L – South Dakota) |
At large qualifiers[]
Conference | Team | Appearance | Last bid | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Big Sky Conference | Eastern Washington | 13th | 2016 | Semifinals (L – Youngstown State) |
UC Davis | 1st | – | ||
Montana State | 9th | 2014 | First Round (L – South Dakota State) | |
Colonial Athletic Association | Delaware | 16th | 2010 | Championship Game (L – Eastern Washington) |
Elon | 3rd | 2017 | First Round (L – Furman) | |
James Madison | 15th | 2017 | Championship Game (L – North Dakota State) | |
Stony Brook | 4th | 2017 | Second Round (L – James Madison) | |
Towson | 3rd | 2013 | Championship Game (L – North Dakota State) | |
Missouri Valley Football Conference | Northern Iowa | 20th | 2017 | Second Round (L – South Dakota State) |
South Dakota State | 8th | 2017 | Semifinals (L – James Madison) | |
Ohio Valley Conference | Southeast Missouri State | 2nd | 2010 | Second Round (L – Eastern Washington) |
Southern Conference | East Tennessee State | 2nd | 1996 | Quarterfinals (L – Montana) |
Southland Conference | Incarnate Word | 1st | – | |
Lamar | 1st | – |
Abstentions[]
- Ivy League – Princeton
- Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina A&T
- Southwestern Athletic Conference – Alcorn State
Postseason[]
NCAA FCS Playoff bracket[]
Template:24TeamBracket-Byes2
Bowl games[]
Date | Game | Site | Television | Participants | Affiliations | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
December 15 | Celebration Bowl | Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia 12:00 pm |
ABC | North Carolina A&T Aggies (9–2) Alcorn State Braves (9–3) |
MEAC SWAC |
North Carolina A&T 24 Alcorn State 22 |
Awards and honors[]
Walter Payton Award[]
- The Walter Payton Award is given to the year's most outstanding offensive player. Finalists:
- Chandler Burks (QB), Kennesaw State
- Devlin Hodges (QB), Samford
- Easton Stick (QB), North Dakota State
Buck Buchanan Award[]
- The Buck Buchanan Award is given to the year's most outstanding defensive player. Finalists:
- Zach Hall (LB), Southeast Missouri State
- Dante Olson (LB), Montana
- Derick Roberson (DE), Sam Houston State
Jerry Rice Award[]
- The Jerry Rice Award is given to the year's most outstanding freshman.
- Winner: Josh Davis (RB), Weber State
Coaches[]
- AFCA Coach of the Year: Joe Harasymiak, Maine
- Eddie Robinson Award: Dan Hawkins, UC Davis
Coaching changes[]
Preseason and in-season[]
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2018. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2018, see 2017 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.
School | Outgoing coach | Date | Reason | Replacement |
---|---|---|---|---|
Stephen F. Austin | Clint Conque | August 6 | Resigned | Jeff Byrd (interim) |
Jackson State | Tony Hughes | October 28 | Fired | John Hendrick [lower-alpha 2] |
End of season[]
School | Outgoing coach | Date | Reason | Replacement |
---|---|---|---|---|
Eastern Illinois | Kim Dameron | November 18 | Contract not renewed | Adam Cushing |
William & Mary | Jimmye Laycock | November 18 | Retired | Mike London[1] |
Howard | Mike London | November 19 | Hired as head coach by William & Mary | Ron Prince |
Northern Arizona | Jerome Souers | November 19 | Retired | Chris Ball |
Brown | Phil Estes | November 19 | Resigned | James Perry |
McNeese State | Lance Guidry | November 20 | Contract not renewed | Sterlin Gilbert |
Sacramento State | Jody Sears | November 26 | Fired | Troy Taylor |
Texas Southern | Michael Haywood | November 27 | Resigned | Clarence McKinney |
Stephen F. Austin | Jeff Byrd (interim) | December 1 | Permanent replacement | Colby Carthel |
James Madison | Mike Houston | December 3 | Hired as head coach by East Carolina | Curt Cignetti |
Bryant | James Perry | December 3 | Hired as head coach by Brown | Chris Merritt |
Austin Peay | Will Healy | December 4 | Hired as head coach by Charlotte | Mark Hudspeth |
Charleston Southern | Mark Tucker | December 7 | Resigned | Autry Denson |
Savannah State | Erik Raeburn | December 7 | Fired | Shawn Quinn (interim) |
Lehigh | Andy Coen | December 7 | Retired | Tom Gilmore |
North Dakota State | Chris Klieman | December 10 | Hired as head coach by Kansas State | Matt Entz[2] |
Drake | Rick Fox | December 10 | Resigned | Todd Stepsis |
North Carolina Central | Granville Eastman (interim) | December 12 | Permanent replacement | Trei Oliver |
Chattanooga | Tom Arth | December 14 | Hired as head coach by Akron | Rusty Wright |
Elon | Curt Cignetti | December 14 | Hired as head coach by James Madison | Tony Trisciani |
Maine | Joe Harasymiak | December 21 | Hired as defensive assistant by Minnesota | Nick Charlton |
Bucknell | Joe Susan | January 14 | Resigned | Dave Cecchini |
Central Connecticut | Peter Rossomando | January 23 | Hired as offensive line coach by Rutgers | Ryan McCarthy |
Valparaiso | Dave Cecchini | February 6 | Hired as head coach by Bucknell | Landon Fox |
Morgan State | Ernest T. Jones (interim) | February 7 | Permanent replacement | Tyrone Wheatley |
See also[]
- 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings
- 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season
- 2018 NCAA Division II football season
References[]
- ↑ "London replaces legend as William & Mary coach". STATS FCS Football. November 19, 2018. http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20181119144319648907904&ref=rec&tm=&src=FCS.
- ↑ Rittenberg, Adam (December 13, 2018). "North Dakota St. promotes defensive coordinator Matt Entz to head coach". http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/25528378/north-dakota-state-promotes-coordinator-matt-entz-head-coach. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
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