2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season
The 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision 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
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.- Source:
Other headlines
Offseason
- June 13 – Major changes to redshirt rules in Division I football 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.
Season
- September 10 – The Northeast Conference announced that Merrimack College would start a transition from the NCAA Division II Northeast-10 Conference 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- January 4 – The NCAA and the Southland Conference 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.
Pre-season international exhibitions
Kickoff games
One kickoff game was played during "Week Zero" on August 25:- FCS Kickoff : North Carolina A&T defeated Jacksonville State, 20–17
FCS team wins over FBS teams
- August 30:
- * UC Davis 44, San Jose State 38
- September 1:
- * No. 18 Nicholls 26, Kansas 23 OT
- * Northern Arizona 30, UTEP 10
- * No. 19 Villanova 19, Temple 17
- 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
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
Conference summaries
Championship games
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 9–2 9–2 | Jake Maier | Jay-Tee Tiuli | Aaron Best Dan Hawkins |
| Big South | Kennesaw State | 10–1 | Chandler Burks | Anthony Gore, Jr. | Brian Bohanon |
| CAA | Maine | 8–3 | Tom Flacco | Jimmy Moreland | Joe Harasymiak |
| Ivy | Princeton | 10–0 | John Lovett | Isiah Swann | Bob Surace |
| MEAC | North Carolina A&T | 9–2 | Caylin Newton | Darryl Johnson Jr. | Sam Washington |
| MVFC | North Dakota State | 11–0 | Easton Stick | Jabril Cox | Curt Mallory |
| NEC | Duquesne Sacred Heart | 8–3 7–4 | A. J. Hines | Cam Gill | Mark Nofri Jerry Schmitt |
| OVC | Jacksonville State | 8–3 | Marquis Terry | Zach Hall | Tom Matukewicz |
| Patriot | Colgate | 9–1 | James Holland, Jr. | T. J. Hill | Dan Hunt |
| Pioneer | San Diego | 9–2 | Anthony Lawrence | Nathan Clayberg | Roger Hughes |
| Southern | East Tennessee State Furman Wofford | 8–3 6–4 8–3 | Devlin Hodges | Isaiah Mack | Randy Sanders |
| Southland | Incarnate Word Nicholls | 6–4 8–3 | Jazz Ferguson | B. J. Blunt | Eric Morris |
Playoff qualifiers
Automatic berths for conference champions
At large qualifiers
| Conference | Team | Appearance | Last bid | Result |
| Big Sky Conference | Eastern Washington | 13th | 2016 | Semifinals |
| Big Sky Conference | UC Davis | 1st | – | |
| Big Sky Conference | Montana State | 9th | 2014 | First Round |
| Colonial Athletic Association | Delaware | 16th | 2010 | Championship Game |
| Colonial Athletic Association | Elon | 3rd | 2017 | First Round |
| Colonial Athletic Association | James Madison | 15th | 2017 | Championship Game |
| Colonial Athletic Association | Stony Brook | 4th | 2017 | Second Round |
| Colonial Athletic Association | Towson | 3rd | 2013 | Championship Game |
| Missouri Valley Football Conference | Northern Iowa | 20th | 2017 | Second Round |
| Missouri Valley Football Conference | South Dakota State | 8th | 2017 | Semifinals |
| Ohio Valley Conference | Southeast Missouri State | 2nd | 2010 | Second Round |
| Southern Conference | East Tennessee State | 2nd | 1996 | Quarterfinals |
| Southland Conference | Incarnate Word | 1st | – | |
| Southland Conference | Lamar | 1st | – |
Abstentions
- Ivy League – Princeton
- Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina A&T
- Southwestern Athletic Conference – Alcorn State
Postseason
NCAA FCS Playoff bracket
Bowl games
Awards and honors
Walter Payton Award
- The Walter Payton Award is given to the year's most outstanding offensive player. Finalists:
- * Chandler Burks, Kennesaw State
- * Devlin Hodges, Samford
- * Easton Stick, North Dakota State
Buck Buchanan Award
- The Buck Buchanan Award is given to the year's most outstanding defensive player. Finalists:
- * Zach Hall, Southeast Missouri State
- * Dante Olson, Montana
- * Derick Roberson, Sam Houston State
Jerry Rice Award
- The Jerry Rice Award is given to the year's most outstanding freshman.
- * Winner: Josh Davis, 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 |
| Jackson State | Tony Hughes | October 28 | Fired | John Hendrick |