NCAA Division I Football Championship


The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. From 1978 to 2005, the game was known as the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship.
The game serves as the final match of an annual postseason bracket tournament between top teams in FCS. Since 2013, 24 teams participate in the tournament, with some teams receiving automatic bids upon winning their conference championship, and other teams determined by a selection committee. The reigning national champions are the North Dakota State Bison, who have won eight championship games in the past nine seasons.
The FCS is the highest division in college football to hold a playoff tournament sanctioned by the NCAA to determine its champion. The four-team College Football Playoff used by the Football Bowl Subdivision is not sanctioned by the NCAA.

History

Playoff format

In the inaugural season of Division I-AA, the 1978 postseason included just four teams; three regional champions plus an at-large selection. The field doubled to eight teams in 1981, with champions of five conferences—Big Sky, Mid-Eastern, Ohio Valley, Southwestern, and Yankee—receiving automatic bids. The top four teams were seeded, and then matched against the four remaining teams based on geographical proximity. The tournament was expanded to 12 teams in 1982, with each of the top four seeds receiving a first-round bye and a home game in the quarterfinals. Champions of the Southern and Southland conferences also received automatic bids.
The number of automatic bids has varied over time, due to changes in the number and size of conferences, with an automatic bid typically granted only to champions of conferences with at least six teams. Initially, the tournament was played in December; since the expansion to twelve teams in 1982, earlier rounds have been held in late November.
The playoffs expanded to a 16-team format in 1986, requiring four postseason victories to win the title. Initially, only the top four teams were seeded, with other teams geographically placed in the bracket. From 1995 through 2000, all 16 teams were seeded, independent of geography. In 2001, the number of seeded teams was reduced to four, with the seeded teams assured of home games in early tournament rounds, and other teams once again placed in the bracket to minimize travel. Home team designation in games between unseeded teams is determined based on several factors, including attendance history and revenue potential.
In April 2008, the NCAA announced that the playoff field would expand to 20 teams in 2010, with the Big South and Northeast Conference earning automatic bids for the first time. That bracket structure included seeding of the top five teams. Twelve teams received first-round byes; the remaining eight teams played first-round games, with the four winners advancing to face the top four seeds. The playoffs expanded to 24 teams beginning in 2013, with the champion of the Pioneer Football League receiving an automatic bid for the first time. The number of seeded teams was increased to eight, with the 16 unseeded teams playing in first-round games.
The field is traditionally set the Sunday before Thanksgiving and play begins that weekend.
SeasonBracket
size		Seeded
teams		1st round
byes
1978–19804——
198184—
1982–19851244
1986–1994164—
1995–20001616—
2001–2009164—
2010–201220512
2013–present2488

Team selection

At-large selections and seeding within the bracket are determined by the FCS Playoff Selection Committee, which consists of one athletic director from each conference with an automatic bid. As of the 2018 season, there are 10 conferences with automatic bids and the selection committee makes 14 at-large selections. For the 2018 season, the committee was chaired by Dr. Brad Teague of the University of Central Arkansas.

Championship game

The tournament culminates with the national championship game, played between the two remaining teams from the playoff bracket. Unlike earlier round games in each year's playoff, which are played at campus sites, the title game is played at a site predetermined by the NCAA, akin to how the NFL predetermines the site for each Super Bowl. Originally played in December, with the 2010 expansion to a 20-team field, the championship game moved to January, with two or three weeks between the semifinals and final.
The inaugural title game was played in 1978 in Wichita Falls, Texas. The 1979 and 1980 games were held in Orlando, Florida, and Sacramento, California, respectively, and the game returned Wichita Falls for 1981 and 1982. The games played in Wichita Falls were known as the Pioneer Bowl, while the game played in Sacramento was known as the Camellia Bowl—both names were used for various NCAA playoff games played in those locations, and were not specific to the I-AA championship. In 1983 and 1984, the game was played in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1985 and 1986, Tacoma, Washington, hosted the game, which the NCAA branded as the "Diamond Bowl".
The 1987 and 1988 games were played in Pocatello, Idaho; and from 1989 through 1991, in Statesboro, Georgia. The 1992 through 1996 games were held in Huntington, West Virginia; and from 1997 through 2009, the title game was played in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Since 2010, the title game has been played in Frisco, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas, at Toyota Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium primarily used by FC Dallas of Major League Soccer. The stadium was known as Pizza Hut Park until the day after the championship game of the 2011 season, and then as FC Dallas Stadium until September 2013. The original contract with Frisco began in the 2010 season and ran through the 2012 season. The contract has since been extended three times; first through the 2015 season, then through the 2019 season, and most recently through the 2024 season with an option for the 2025 season.
SeasonVenueLocationTenant NCAA teamTitle games by tenant
1978Memorial StadiumWichita Falls, TexasnoneN/A
1979Orlando StadiumOrlando, FloridaUCF Knights N/A
1980Hughes StadiumSacramento, CalifornianoneN/A
1981–1982Memorial StadiumWichita Falls, TexasnoneN/A
1983–1984Johnson Hagood StadiumCharleston, South CarolinaThe Citadel Bulldogsnone
1985–1986Tacoma DomeTacoma, WashingtonnoneN/A
1987MinidomePocatello, IdahoIdaho State Bengalsnone
1988Holt ArenaPocatello, IdahoIdaho State Bengalsnone
1989–1991Paulson StadiumStatesboro, GeorgiaGeorgia Southern Eagles2: 1989, 1990
1992–1996Marshall University StadiumHuntington, West VirginiaMarshall Thundering Herd4: 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996
1997–2009Finley StadiumChattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga Mocsnone
2010–2011Pizza Hut ParkFrisco, TexasnoneN/A
2012FC Dallas StadiumFrisco, TexasnoneN/A
2013–presentToyota StadiumFrisco, TexasnoneN/A

at the time games were played
earlier name of the same venue
There have been six instances where a team whose venue was predetermined to host the final game advanced to play for the championship on their own field. Georgia Southern won both title games they played at Paulson Stadium, while Marshall had a 2–2 record in four title games they played at Marshall University Stadium.

Non-participants

Three FCS conferences usually do not participate in the tournament. The Ivy League, which has been at the FCS level since 1982 and prohibits its members from awarding athletic scholarships in any sport, plays a strict ten-game regular season and does not participate in any postseason football, citing academic concerns. The Southwestern Athletic Conference and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, two conferences consisting of historically black colleges and universities, opt to play the Celebration Bowl instead of the FCS tournament. MEAC gave up its automatic spot in the tournament prior to the 2015 season, while SWAC has not sent a team to the tournament since 1997. Teams from the MEAC and SWAC may accept at-large bids, so long as they aren't committed to other postseason games that would conflict with the tournament. The most recent team from the MEAC to accept a bid were the 2016 North Carolina A&T Aggies, while the most recent SWAC team to participate in the tournament were the Jackson State Tigers in 1997.
Historically, conferences in FCS that did not offer athletic scholarships were not granted automatic bids into the tournament and, although in theory were eligible for at-large bids, never received any. The last non-scholarship conference in the subdivision, the Pioneer Football League, now receives a tournament bid, which was initiated with the 2013 postseason.

FCS conferences

% The Ivy League abstains from the championship tournament and all postseason play.
The MEAC champion, since 2015, forgoes its automatic bid to allow its champion to participate in the Celebration Bowl. Non-champions are eligible for at-large bids.
The SWAC abstains from the championship tournament to allow for a longer regular season, a conference championship game, and participation in the Celebration Bowl against the MEAC champion since 2015.

Champions

For each season since the inaugural year of Division I-AA play, 1978, the following table lists the date of each title game and the champion. The score and runner-up are also noted, along with the host city, game attendance, and head coach of the championship team.
SeasonDate ChampionScoreRunner-upLocationAttendanceWinning
head coach
1978December 16, 1978Florida A&M35–28UMassWichita Falls, TX13,604
1979December 15, 1979Eastern Kentucky30–7Orlando, FL5,200
1980December 20, 1980Boise State31–29Sacramento, CA8,157
1981December 19, 1981Idaho State34–23Wichita Falls, TX11,002
1982December 18, 1982 17–14Wichita Falls, TX11,257
1983December 17, 1983Southern Illinois43–7Charleston, SC15,950
1984December 15, 1984Montana State19–6Louisiana TechCharleston, SC9,125
1985December 21, 1985Georgia Southern44–42FurmanTacoma, WA5,306
1986December 19, 1986Georgia Southern 48–21Tacoma, WA4,419
1987December 19, 1987Northeast Louisiana43–42Pocatello, ID11,513
1988December 17, 1988Furman17–12Georgia SouthernPocatello, ID9,714
1989December 16, 1989Georgia Southern 37–34Statesboro, GA25,725
1990December 15, 1990Georgia Southern 36–13NevadaStatesboro, GA23,204
1991December 21, 1991Youngstown State25–17Statesboro, GA12,667
1992December 19, 1992Marshall31–28Huntington, WV31,304
1993December 18, 1993 17–5MarshallHuntington, WV29,218
1994December 17, 1994 28–14Boise StateHuntington, WV27,674
1995December 16, 1995Montana22–20MarshallHuntington, WV32,106
1996December 21, 1996Marshall 49–29MontanaHuntington, WV30,052
1997December 20, 1997 10–9Chattanooga, TN14,771
1998December 19, 1998UMass55–43Georgia SouthernChattanooga, TN17,501
1999December 18, 1999Georgia Southern 59–24Chattanooga, TN20,052
2000December 16, 2000Georgia Southern 27–25MontanaChattanooga, TN17,156
2001December 21, 2001Montana 13–6FurmanChattanooga, TN12,698
2002December 20, 2002Western Kentucky34–14McNeese StateChattanooga, TN12,360
2003December 19, 2003Delaware40–0Chattanooga, TN14,281
2004December 17, 2004James Madison31–21MontanaChattanooga, TN16,771Mickey Matthews
2005December 16, 2005Appalachian State21–16Northern IowaChattanooga, TN20,236
2006December 15, 2006Appalachian State 28–17UMassChattanooga, TN22,808
2007December 14, 2007Appalachian State 49–21DelawareChattanooga, TN23,010
2008December 19, 2008Richmond24–7MontanaChattanooga, TN17,823
2009December 18, 2009Villanova23–21MontanaChattanooga, TN14,328
2010January 7, 2011Eastern Washington20–19DelawareFrisco, TX13,027
2011January 7, 2012North Dakota State17–6Sam Houston StateFrisco, TX20,586
2012January 5, 2013North Dakota State 39–13Sam Houston StateFrisco, TX21,411
2013January 4, 2014North Dakota State 35–7TowsonFrisco, TX19,802
2014January 10, 2015North Dakota State 29–27Illinois StateFrisco, TX20,918
2015January 9, 2016North Dakota State 37–10Jacksonville StateFrisco, TX21,836
2016January 7, 2017James Madison 28–14Youngstown StateFrisco, TX14,423
2017January 6, 2018North Dakota State 17–13James MadisonFrisco, TX19,090
2018January 5, 2019North Dakota State 38–24Eastern WashingtonFrisco, TX17,802
2019January 11, 2020North Dakota State 28–20James MadisonFrisco, TX17,866

Note: 1987 champion Northeast Louisiana has been known as the University of Louisiana at Monroe since 1999.

MVPs

Since 2009, a Most Outstanding Player has been named for each championship game.
SeasonPlayerTeamPosition
2009Matt SzczurVillanovaWR
2010Bo Levi MitchellEastern WashingtonQB
2011Travis BeckNorth Dakota StateLB
2012Brock JensenNorth Dakota StateQB
2013Brock JensenNorth Dakota StateQB
2014Carson WentzNorth Dakota StateQB
2015Carson WentzNorth Dakota StateQB
2016Bryan SchorJames MadisonQB
2017Easton StickNorth Dakota StateQB
2018Darrius ShepherdNorth Dakota StateWR
2019Trey LanceNorth Dakota StateQB

Note: starting with the 2010 season, the championship game is played in January of the next calendar year.

Most appearances

The following table summarizes appearances in the championship game, by team, since the 1978 season, the first year of Division I-AA. Updated through completion of the 2019 season.
;Map
The below map shows the locations of teams that have won the championship; the color of the dot indicates the number of titles.

Appearances by conference

The following table summarizes appearances in the championship game, by conference, since the 1978 season, the first year of Division I-AA. Updated through completion of the 2019 season.

Media coverage

The game has been televised on an ESPN affiliated network since 1995.