The 2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

game that determined a national champion in the

NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

for the 2015 season. It was played at Toyota Stadium in

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...

, on January 9, 2016, with kickoff at 12:00 noon EST, and was the culminating game of the 2015 FCS Playoffs. With sponsorship from

Northwestern Mutual Northwestern Mutual is an American financial services mutual organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The financial security company provides consultation on wealth and asset income protection, education planning, retirement planning, investme ...

, the game was officially known as the NCAA FCS Football Championship Presented by Northwestern Mutual.

Teams

The participants of the 2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game were the finalists of the 2015 FCS Playoffs, which began with a 24-team

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. No. 1 seed Jacksonville State and No. 3 seed

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

qualified for the final by winning their semifinal games.

Jacksonville State Gamecocks

The Gamecocks, led by second-year head coach

John Grass John Grass, Matȟó Watȟákpe or Charging Bear (1836–May 10, 1918) was a chief of the Sihasapa (Blackfeet) band of Lakota people during the 1870s through 1890s.Merkel, Diane and Dietmar Schulte-Möhring"John Grass."''American Tribes.'' 2009 ( ...

, finished the regular season 10–1, 8–0 in OVC play, to earn a conference championship and the No. 1 seed in the FCS Playoffs. Jacksonville State defeated unseeded

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, No. 8 seed

Charleston Southern Charleston Southern University (CSU) is a private Baptist university in North Charleston, South Carolina. It is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention ( Southern Baptist Convention). History Charleston Southern University was ch ...

, and unseeded

Sam Houston State Sam Houston State University (SHSU or Sam) is a public university in Huntsville, Texas. It was founded in 1879 and is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools west of the Mississippi River and ...

to reach their first ever final.

North Dakota State Bison

The Bison, led by second-year head coach

Chris Klieman Christopher Paul Klieman ( ; born September 27, 1967) is an American football coach and former player, and is currently the head coach for Kansas State University in the Big 12 Conference. He took over from the retiring Bill Snyder after leading ...

, finished the regular season 8–2, 7–1 in MVFC play, to earn a conference co-championship (shared with

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a Public university, public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is reco ...

) and the No. 3 seed in the FCS Playoffs. North Dakota State defeated unseeded

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, unseeded

Northern Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, and No. 7 seed

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

to reach the final. The Bison entered the Championship game with a 4–0 record in previous FCS Championships, having won the last four straight.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Game statistics

References

External links

Box score
at

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2016 FCS Championship Jacksonville State vs North Dakota State
via

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{{DEFAULTSORT:2016 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game

Championship Game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

NCAA Division I Football Championship Games Jacksonville State Gamecocks football games North Dakota State Bison football games American football in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Sports in Frisco, Texas NCAA Division I Football Championship Game NCAA Division I Football Championship Game