The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of
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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
in the United States, after the
Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
(NCAA), the FCS level comprises
130 teams in 15 conferences as of the
2022 season. The FCS designation is only tied to football with the non-football sports programs of each school generally competing in
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...
.
History
From 1906 to 1955, the NCAA had no divisional structure for member schools. Prior to the 1956 college football season, schools were organized into an upper
NCAA University Division and lower
NCAA College Division. From 1973 to 1977, all schools participated in a single
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...
group. Prior to the 1978 season, schools were again organized into upper
NCAA Division I-A and lower
NCAA Division I-AA groupings. These two divisions were renamed as NCAA Division I FBS and NCAA Division I FCS prior to the 2006 season.
Championships
The FCS has held a post-season playoff to award an NCAA-sanctioned
national championship since its inception in 1978. The size of the playoff bracket has increased from 4 teams in 1978 to 24 teams in the 2020 season. This makes the FCS the highest level of college football with an NCAA-sanctioned national championship.
See also
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List of NCAA Division I FCS football programs
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List of NCAA Division I FCS football stadiums
The following is a list of current National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) football stadiums in the United States.
Conference affiliations reflect those for the comi ...
*
List of NCAA Division I FCS playoff appearances by team
The list of current Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) schools that have participated in the playoffs leading to the NCAA Division I Football Championship stands at 92. Known as Division I-AA from 1978 through 2005, it was renamed FCS prior ...
*
List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons
*
NCAA Division I FBS
References
External links
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{{Collegefootball-stub