2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season

2019 NCAA Division I FCS season
2019 NCAA Division I FCS season
Regular season
Number of teams	126
Duration	August 24 – November 30
Payton Award	Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State
Buchanan Award	Dante Olson, LB, Montana
Playoff
Duration	November 30 – December 21
Championship date	January 11, 2020
Championship site	Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
Champion	North Dakota State
NCAA Division I FCS football seasons
	«2018 2020»

The 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The FCS Championship Game was played on January 11, 2020, in Frisco, Texas.^[1] Defending champion North Dakota State completed the regular season undefeated,^[2] then won their eighth championship in nine seasons, defeating James Madison, 28-20, for the title.^[3]

All FCS teams were allowed to schedule 12 regular season games in the 2019 season. A standard provision of NCAA bylaws allows for 12 regular season games during years having 14 Saturdays in the period starting with the Labor Day (first Monday in September) weekend and ending with the last Saturday of November. The next time that a 12-game regular season will be allowed is 2024.^[4]

FCS team wins over FBS teams

August 29: Central Arkansas 35, Western Kentucky 28
September 7: Southern Illinois 45, UMass 20
September 14: The Citadel 27, Georgia Tech 24 ^OT

Conference changes and new programs

School	2018 conference	2019 conference
Hampton	FCS independent	Big South
LIU+	NE-10 (D-II)	NEC (FCS)
Merrimack	NE-10 (D-II)	NEC (FCS)
North Alabama	FCS Independent	Big South
North Dakota	Big Sky	FCS Independent
Savannah State	MEAC (FCS)	SIAC (D-II)

+ Following the 2018–19 academic year, Long Island University merged the athletic programs of its two campuses—the Division I non-football LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and Division II football-sponsoring LIU Post Pioneers—into a single Division I program rebranded as the LIU Sharks. The Sharks inherited LIU Brooklyn's membership in the Northeast Conference, with the former Post football team joining the NEC alongside most of LIU's other sports.

Conference standings

2019 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 3 Weber State +^	7	–	1	11	–	4
No. 9 Sacramento State +^	7	–	1	9	–	4
No. 4 Montana State ^	6	–	2	11	–	4
No. 6 Montana ^	6	–	2	10	–	4
Eastern Washington	6	–	2	7	–	5
Idaho	3	–	5	5	–	7
Portland State	3	–	5	5	–	7
UC Davis	3	–	5	5	–	7
Northern Arizona	2	–	6	4	–	8
Cal Poly	2	–	6	3	–	8
Idaho State	2	–	6	3	–	9
Southern Utah	2	–	6	3	–	9
Northern Colorado	2	–	6	2	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Although North Dakota was classified as an independent, games against them still counted as Big Sky Conference games. Rankings from STATS Poll

2019 Big South Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 12 Monmouth $^	6	–	0	11	–	3
No. 13 Kennesaw State ^	5	–	1	11	–	3
Charleston Southern	4	–	2	6	–	6
Campbell	3	–	3	6	–	5
Hampton	1	–	5	5	–	7
Gardner–Webb	1	–	5	3	–	9
Presbyterian	1	–	5	2	–	10
North Alabama *	0	–	0	4	–	7

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * North Alabama ineligible for FCS postseason play due to transition to NCAA Division I Rankings from STATS Poll

2019 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 James Madison $^	8	–	0	14	–	2
No. 18 Albany ^	6	–	2	9	–	5
No. 15 Villanova ^	5	–	3	9	–	4
New Hampshire	5	–	3	6	–	5
Towson	4	–	4	7	–	5
Maine	4	–	4	6	–	6
Elon	4	–	4	5	–	6
Richmond	4	–	4	5	–	7
Delaware	3	–	5	5	–	7
William & Mary	3	–	5	5	–	7
Stony Brook	2	–	6	5	–	7
Rhode Island	0	–	8	2	–	10

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

2019 Ivy League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 22 Dartmouth +	6	–	1	9	–	1
No. 25 Yale +	6	–	1	9	–	1
Princeton	5	–	2	8	–	2
Penn	3	–	4	5	–	5
Cornell	3	–	4	4	–	6
Harvard	2	–	5	4	–	6
Columbia	2	–	5	3	–	7
Brown	1	–	6	2	–	8

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from STATS Poll

2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 24 Florida A&M *	7	–	1	9	–	2
No. 20 North Carolina A&T +	6	–	2	9	–	3
South Carolina State +	6	–	2	8	–	3
Bethune–Cookman	5	–	3	7	–	4
Norfolk State	4	–	4	5	–	7
North Carolina Central	3	–	5	4	–	8
Howard	2	–	6	2	–	10
Morgan State	2	–	6	3	–	9
Delaware State	1	–	7	2	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions * Florida A&M ineligible for conference title due to NCAA sanctions Rankings from STATS Poll

2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State $^	8	–	0	16	–	0
No. 5 Northern Iowa ^	6	–	2	10	–	5
No. 7 Illinois State ^	5	–	3	10	–	5
No. 10 South Dakota State ^	5	–	3	8	–	5
Southern Illinois	5	–	3	7	–	5
South Dakota	4	–	4	5	–	7
Indiana State	3	–	5	5	–	7
Youngstown State	2	–	6	6	–	6
Missouri State	1	–	7	1	–	10
Western Illinois	1	–	7	1	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

2019 Northeast Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 23 Central Connecticut $^	7	–	0	11	–	1
Robert Morris	6	–	1	7	–	5
Duquesne	4	–	3	6	–	5
Sacred Heart	4	–	3	7	–	5
Saint Francis (PA)	3	–	4	6	–	6
Bryant	3	–	4	4	–	8
Wagner	1	–	6	1	–	11
LIU	0	–	7	0	–	10
Merrimack *	0	–	0	6	–	5

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * – Merrimack ineligible for NEC title and FCS postseason play due to transition to NCAA Division I, and also ineligible for NEC title due to not playing a full conference schedule Rankings from STATS Poll

2019 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 8 Austin Peay +^	7	–	1	9	–	3
No. 17 Southeast Missouri State +^	7	–	1	9	–	3
UT Martin	6	–	2	7	–	5
Eastern Kentucky	5	–	3	7	–	5
Tennessee Tech	3	–	5	6	–	6
Jacksonville State	3	–	5	6	–	6
Murray State	2	–	6	4	–	8
Tennessee State	2	–	6	3	–	9
Eastern Illinois	1	–	7	1	–	11

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

2019 Patriot League football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Holy Cross $^	5	–	1	7	–	5
Lafayette	4	–	2	4	–	8
Bucknell	3	–	3	3	–	8
Lehigh	3	–	3	4	–	7
Colgate	3	–	3	4	–	8
Fordham	2	–	4	4	–	8
Georgetown	1	–	5	5	–	6

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant

2019 Pioneer Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
San Diego $^	8	–	0	9	–	3
Dayton	6	–	2	8	–	3
Drake	6	–	2	6	–	5
Davidson	5	–	3	8	–	4
Stetson	4	–	4	7	–	4
Marist	4	–	4	4	–	7
Morehead State	3	–	5	5	–	7
Butler	2	–	6	3	–	9
Jacksonville	1	–	7	3	–	9
Valparaiso	1	–	7	1	–	11

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant

2019 Southern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 16 Wofford $^	7	–	1	8	–	3
No. 21 Furman ^	6	–	2	8	–	4
Chattanooga	5	–	3	6	–	6
The Citadel	4	–	4	6	–	6
Samford	4	–	4	5	–	7
VMI	4	–	4	5	–	7
Mercer	3	–	5	4	–	8
Western Carolina	2	–	6	3	–	9
East Tennessee State	1	–	7	3	–	9

$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

2019 Southland Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 14 Nicholls +^	7	–	2	8	–	4
No. 11 Central Arkansas +^	7	–	2	9	–	3
No. 19 Southeastern Louisiana ^	6	–	3	8	–	5
Sam Houston State	6	–	3	7	–	5
McNeese State	5	–	4	7	–	5
Incarnate Word	4	–	5	5	–	7
Abilene Christian	4	–	5	5	–	7
Northwestern State	3	–	6	3	–	9
Stephen F. Austin	3	–	6	3	–	9
Houston Baptist	2	–	6	5	–	7
Lamar	2	–	7	4	–	8

+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS poll

2019 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Alcorn State x$	6	–	1	9	–	4
Alabama A&M	4	–	3	7	–	5
Alabama State	4	–	3	5	–	6
Jackson State	3	–	4	4	–	8
Mississippi Valley State	1	–	6	2	–	9
West Division
Southern x	6	–	1	8	–	5
Prairie View A&M	4	–	3	6	–	5
Grambling State	4	–	3	6	–	5
Arkansas–Pine Bluff	3	–	4	6	–	5
Texas Southern	0	–	7	0	–	11
Championship: Alcorn State 39, Southern 24
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

2019 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
North Dakota ^		–		7	–	5

^ – FCS playoff participant

Playoff qualifiers

Champions of the following 10 conferences automatically received playoff bids:^[5]

Big Sky (Weber State)
Big South (Monmouth)
Colonial Athletic Association (James Madison)
Missouri Valley Football Conference (North Dakota State)
Northeast Conference (Central Connecticut)

Ohio Valley Conference (Austin Peay)
Patriot League (Holy Cross)
Pioneer Football League (San Diego)
Southern Conference (Wofford)
Southland Conference (Nicholls)

Abstentions

Ivy League – Yale and Dartmouth (co-champions)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – North Carolina A&T
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Alcorn State

Postseason

A 24-team single-elimination tournament bracket culminated in the 2020 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game. Teams were announced in a selection show on November 24, with the top eight teams seeded and receiving first-round byes.^[6]

Bowl game

Date	Game	Site	Television	Participants	Affiliations	Results
Dec. 21	Celebration Bowl	Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, Georgia 12:00 p.m.	ABC	North Carolina A&T Aggies (8–3) Alcorn State Braves (9–3)	MEAC SWAC	North Carolina A&T 64 Alcorn State 44

NCAA Division I playoff bracket


First Round November 30 Campus sites		Second Round December 7 Campus sites			Quarterfinals December 13/14^[a] Campus sites			Semifinals December 21 Campus sites			National Championship



		1	North Dakota State	37

Nicholls	24		Nicholls	13
					1	North Dakota State	9
North Dakota	6
						Illinois State	3
		8	Central Arkansas	14

Southeast Missouri State	6		Illinois State	24
								1	North Dakota State	42
Illinois State	24
								5	Montana State	14
		4	Sacramento State	28

Austin Peay	42		Austin Peay	42
						Austin Peay	10
Furman	6
					5	Montana State	24
		5	Montana State	47
											January 11 – Toyota Stadium
Albany	42		Albany	21
											1	North Dakota State	28
Central Connecticut	14
											2	James Madison	20
		2	James Madison	66

Monmouth	44		Monmouth	21
					2	James Madison	17
Holy Cross	27
						Northern Iowa	0
		7	South Dakota State	10

Northern Iowa	17		Northern Iowa	13
								2	James Madison	30
San Diego	3
								3	Weber State	14
		3	Weber State	26

Wofford	21		Kennesaw State	20
					3	Weber State	17
Kennesaw State	28
					6	Montana	10
		6	Montana	73

Southeastern Louisiana	45		Southeastern Louisiana	28

Villanova	44

Source:^[7]

Kickoff game

Saturday, August 24 FCS Kickoff (Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama): Youngstown State def. Samford, 45–22

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2019. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2019, see 2018 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement
Howard	Ron Prince	November 6	Placed on administrative leave†	Aaron Kelton (interim)

† Prince was placed on administrative leave by the university, "after allegations of verbal abuse and intimidation of players."^[8]

End of season

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement
Gardner–Webb	Carroll McCray	November 24	Fired	Tre Lamb
Mercer	Bobby Lamb	November 24	Fired	Drew Cronic
Murray State	Mitch Stewart	November 24	Reassigned within athletic department	Dean Hood
Northern Colorado	Earnest Collins Jr.	November 24	Fired	Ed McCaffrey
Eastern Kentucky	Mark Elder	November 25	Contract not renewed	Walt Wells
Lamar	Mike Schultz	November 25	Fired	Blane Morgan
Cal Poly	Tim Walsh	November 25	Retired	Beau Baldwin
Jacksonville	Ian Shields	December 3	Program discontinued	None
Wagner	Jason Houghtaling	December 6	Fired	Tom Masella
Howard	Ron Prince	December 6	Resigned^[9]	Larry Scott
Missouri State	Dave Steckel	January 9	Fired	Bobby Petrino
McNeese State	Sterlin Gilbert	January 12	Became OC at Syracuse	Frank Wilson
Youngstown State	Bo Pelini	January 27	Became DC at LSU	Doug Phillips
Arkansas Pine-Bluff	Cedric Thomas	February 17	Became DB coach at Southern Miss	Doc Gamble

Notes

^ North Dakota State vs. Illinois State on December 14; other games on December 13

References

^ "2019 FCS Playoff Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ "North Dakota State Completes Perfect Season as No. 1 Ranked Team". FCS Football Insider. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
^ "North Dakota State football beats James Madison for eighth FCS championship". NCAA.com. January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
^ "Bylaw 17.10.5.1: Number of Contests, Maximum Limitations—Institutional" (PDF). 2018–19 NCAA Division I Manual. NCAA. July 2018. p. 273. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
^ Chiusano, Anthony (November 16, 2019). "Every automatic qualifier for the 2019 FCS football playoffs". NCAA.com. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
^ "FCS bracket revealed for 2019 Division I football championship". ncaa.com. November 24, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
^ "2019 FCS Football Official Bracket". NCAA.org. December 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
^ VanHaaren, Tom (November 6, 2019). "Howard places coach Ron Prince on leave amid ongoing investigation". ESPN. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
^ Bogage, Jacob (December 6, 2019). "Howard football coach Ron Prince resigns after allegations of verbal abuse, player intimidation". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 14, 2019.

[7] North Dakota State vs. Illinois State on December 14; other games on December 13

[1] "2019 FCS Playoff Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved January 9, 2019.

[2] "North Dakota State Completes Perfect Season as No. 1 Ranked Team". FCS Football Insider. Retrieved January 9, 2019.

[3] "North Dakota State football beats James Madison for eighth FCS championship". NCAA.com. January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.

[4] "Bylaw 17.10.5.1: Number of Contests, Maximum Limitations—Institutional" (PDF). 2018–19 NCAA Division I Manual. NCAA. July 2018. p. 273. Retrieved March 14, 2019.

[5] Chiusano, Anthony (November 16, 2019). "Every automatic qualifier for the 2019 FCS football playoffs". NCAA.com. Retrieved November 17, 2019.

[6] "FCS bracket revealed for 2019 Division I football championship". ncaa.com. November 24, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.

[8] "2019 FCS Football Official Bracket". NCAA.org. December 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.

[9] VanHaaren, Tom (November 6, 2019). "Howard places coach Ron Prince on leave amid ongoing investigation". ESPN. Retrieved November 12, 2019.

[WaPoRonPrince-10] Bogage, Jacob (December 6, 2019). "Howard football coach Ron Prince resigns after allegations of verbal abuse, player intimidation". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 14, 2019.

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v t e NCAA football seasons
Pre-NCAA	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905
NCAA pre-divisional	1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961
NCAA University Division	1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972
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