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File:2009 FCS Champ Logo.png

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 the year 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 to determine its champion (until 2014 when the FBS adopts a four-team playoff system).

The reigning national champion is the North Dakota State University Bison, which also won the championship for the year 2011. In both seasons the Bison defeated the Sam Houston State University Bearkats in the championship game. The first time the Bison won 17–6 on January 7, 2012, and the second time 39-13 on January 5, 2013. Both games were played at FC Dallas Stadium, then known as Pizza Hut Park, in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas.

History[]

File:NC TrophiesASU.jpg

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.[2]

The tournament has historically been played in November and December; with the latest 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 FC Dallas Stadium (known as Pizza Hut Park until the day after the championship game of the 2011 season), 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;[3] it has since been extended through the 2015 season.[4]

Three Football Championship Subdivision conferences usually do not participate in the tournament. The Ivy League, I-AA since 1982, 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 (SWAC) has a conference schedule which conflicts with the tournament, so its members do not normally participate.[7] The SWAC has not sent a team since Jackson State in 1997. The Pioneer Football League members are eligible to participate in the tournament, but no PFL football team has ever received an FCS playoff invitation.[8]

In 2013, the FCS playoffs will expand to 24 teams and the PFL will receive an automatic invitation.

FCS Conferences[]

Champions[]

Year Champion[9] Runner-up Score Venue Location Attendance Winning 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 Roy Kidd
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
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
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 Jim Tressel
1994 Youngstown State (3) Boise State 28–14 Marshall University Stadium Huntington, West Virginia 27,674 Jim Tressel
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 Jim Tressel
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
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 Jerry Moore
2007 Appalachian State (3) Delaware 49–21 Finley Stadium Chattanooga, Tennessee 23,010 Jerry Moore
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 State Sam 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 [10] Bohl, CraigCraig Bohl

† Known as University of Louisiana at Monroe since 1999.

‡ Now FC Dallas Stadium

Most national championships[]

Team Titles Title Years Finals Runner-up
Georgia Southern 6 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999, 2000 8 1988, 1998
Youngstown State 4 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997 6 1992,1999
Appalachian State 3 2005, 2006, 2007 3
Eastern Kentucky 2 1979, 1982 4 1980, 1981
Marshall^ 2 1992, 1996 6 1987, 1991, 1993, 1995
Montana 2 1995, 2001 7 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2009
North Dakota State 2 2011, 2012 2
Boise State^ 1 1980 2 1994
Delaware 1 2003 4 1982, 2007, 2010
Eastern Washington 1 2010 1
Florida A&M 1 1978 1
Furman 1 1988 3 1985, 2001
Idaho State 1 1981 1
James Madison 1 2004 1
Northeast Louisiana^ 1 1987 1
Massachusetts 1 1998 3 1978, 2006
Montana State 1 1984 1
Richmond 1 2008 1
Southern Illinois 1 1983 1
Villanova 1 2009 1
Western Kentucky^ 1 2002 1
Arkansas State^ 0 1 1986
Colgate 0 1 2003
Lehigh 0 1 1979
Louisiana Tech^ 0 1 1984
McNeese State 0 2 1997, 2002
Nevada^ 0 1 1990
Northern Iowa 0 1 2005
Sam Houston State 0 2 2011, 2012
Stephen F. Austin 0 1 1989
Western Carolina 0 1 1983

^ Now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
† Currently transitioning to FBS.

See also[]

References[]

  1. NCAA Division I Football Championship - Official Web Site
  2. "NCAA approves playoff expansion to 20 teams for 2010. The current structure will include eight teams playing in four first round games. The four first round winners will advance to the second Round of Sixteen where they will play the top four seeds. Eight second round winners will advance to the regional championships (commonly referred to as East Region: Boardwalk Bowl, Midwest Region: Pecan Bowl, Mideast Region: Tangerine Bowl, and West Region: Camellia Bowl), with the winners of the regional championships advancing to the national semifinals. The National Semifinal winners with play in the FCS Championship Bowl in January.". The Sports Network. 2008-04-25. http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/news/newstest.aspx?id=4146516.
  3. Caplan, Jeff (2010-02-26). "20 teams to compete for FCS crown". ESPNDallas.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/ncf/news/story?id=4949141. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  4. "NCAA inks three-year extension to keep FCS title game in Frisco, Texas" (Press release). NCAA. December 19, 2012. http://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2012-12-19/ncaa-inks-three-year-extension-keep-fcs-title-game-frisco-texas. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
  5. Pablo Torre (2007-11-29). "No playoffs for you!". SI. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/sioncampus/11/29/ivyleague.football/. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  6. David Burrick (2003-09-18). "Ivy League not likely to see I-AA playoffs". The Daily Pennsylvanian. http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2003/09/18/Sports/Ivy-League.Not.Likely.To.See.IAa.Playoffs-2154091.shtml. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  7. Craig T. Greenlee (2000-01-06). "Not Exactly for THE SPORT OF IT". Black Issues in Higher Education. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DXK/is_23_16/ai_59019432/. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  8. http://pflfan.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1144
  9. NCAA (2008). "FCS History". http://www.ncaa.com/history/football-fcs.html.
  10. "2013 FCS National Championship Bowl: North Dakota State Bison vs. Sam Houston State Bearkats". Stat Broadcast. http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=14493. Retrieved January 1, 2013.

External links[]

es:FCS National Football Championship pt:NCAA Football Championship

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