2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season

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For the 2023 FBS season, see 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
2023 NCAA Division I FCS season
NCAA logo.svg
Duration August 26 – December 2
Playoff
Duration November 25 – December 16
Championship site Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
Champion South Dakota State
Payton Award Mark Gronowski, QB, South Dakota State
Buchanan Award Terrell Allen, DE, Tennessee State
Division I FCS football season
238px
Missouri Valley Conference: North Dakota Hawks vs. Indiana State Sycamores
238px
Patriot League: Georgetown Hoyas vs. Holy Cross Crusaders

The 2023 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 regular season began on August 26 and ended in November. The postseason began in November and ended on January 7, 2024, with the 2024 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.[1] South Dakota State repeated as champions, defeating Montana, 23–3.

Notable headlines

  • October 4 – The NCAA announced several major changes to Division I football recruiting and governance rules:[2]
    • The window for athletes to enter the transfer portal was reduced. For FCS players, the portal now opens on the Monday after the selection of the playoff field, and stays open for 30 days. For players participating in the FCS playoffs or the Celebration Bowl, there will be an additional 5-day window after the players' final game.
    • The limit on "initial counters"—i.e., players who are receiving athletically-related financial aid for the first time—was permanently eliminated. The previous FCS limit of 30 had been suspended due to COVID-19 impacts.
    • The application fee for transitioning from FCS to FBS increased from $5,000 to $5 million, effective immediately.
  • October 12 – Northwestern State junior safety Ronnie Caldwell died after being shot multiple times near the school's Natchitoches, Louisiana campus.[3] Two weeks after the shooting, Northwestern State canceled the remainder of its season, and head coach Brad Laird resigned.[4]

FCS team wins over FBS teams

September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 11
September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37
September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6
September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23

Conference changes and new programs

  • The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) and Western Athletic Conference, which had created the WAC-ASUN Challenge in 2021, merged their football leagues effective in 2023.[5] In April 2023, the partnership was formally rebranded as the United Athletic Conference (UAC), a football-only league separate from the two conferences.[6] The NCAA denied the UAC's request to be classified as a single-sport FCS football conference,[7] but continued to recognize the organization as an extension of the WAC-ASUN Challenge.
  • The Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference also merged their football leagues effective in 2023, but without attempting to create a new independent league, instead adopting the name Big South–OVC Football Association. Like the ASUN and WAC, both conferences were in danger of falling below the minimum six members required to remain an automatic qualifier (AQ) for the FCS postseason.[8]
  • The Colonial Athletic Association, along with its (technically-separate) FCS football league, adopted the name Coastal Athletic Association, a change that did not affect the CAA branding.[9]
School 2022 conference 2023 conference
Abilene Christian WAC United
Austin Peay ASUN
Campbell Big South CAA
Central Arkansas ASUN United
Eastern Kentucky
Jacksonville State ASUN (FCS) C-USA (FBS)
Kennesaw State ASUN FCS Independent
Murray State Ohio Valley MVFC
North Alabama ASUN United
North Carolina A&T Big South CAA
Sam Houston State WAC (FCS) C-USA (FBS)
Southern Utah WAC United
Tarleton State
Stephen F. Austin
Utah Tech

Conference standings

2023 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
No. 2 Montana $^   7 – 1         13 – 2  
No. 8 Idaho ^   6 – 2         9 – 4  
No. 9 Montana State ^   6 – 2         8 – 4  
Northern Arizona   5 – 3         5 – 6  
No. 24 UC Davis   5 – 3         7 – 4  
No. 13 Sacramento State ^   4 – 4         8 – 5  
Portland State   4 – 4         5 – 6  
Weber State   4 – 4         6 – 5  
Eastern Washington   3 – 5         4 – 7  
Idaho State   3 – 5         3 – 8  
Cal Poly   1 – 7         3 – 8  
Northern Colorado   0 – 8         0 – 11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
Template:2023 Big South–OVC football standings Template:2023 Coastal Athletic Association football standings
Template:2023 Ivy League football standings Template:2023 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings Template:2023 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
Template:2023 Northeast Conference football standings Template:2023 Patriot League football standings Template:2023 Pioneer Football League standings
Template:2023 Southern Conference football standings Template:2023 Southland Conference football standings Template:2023 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Template:2023 United Athletic Conference standings Template:2023 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings

Playoff qualifiers

Automatic berths for conference champions

Conference Team Appearance Last bid Result of last appearance
Big Sky Conference Montana 27th 2022 Second round - (L - North Dakota State)
Big South–OVC Gardner–Webb 2nd 2022 Second round - (L - William & Mary)
CAA Football Villanova 15th 2021 Quarterfinal - (L - South Dakota State)
Missouri Valley Football Conference South Dakota State 13th 2022 National Champions (W - North Dakota State)
Northeast Conference Duquesne 3rd 2018 Second round - (L - South Dakota State)
Patriot League Lafayette 5th 2013 First round - (L - New Hampshire)
Pioneer Football League Drake 1st None None
Southern Conference Furman 20th 2022 Second round - (L - Incarnate Word)
Southland Conference Nicholls 7th 2019 Second round - (L - North Dakota State)
United Athletic Conference Austin Peay 2nd 2019 Quarterfinals - (L - Montana State)

At large qualifiers

Conference Team Appearance Last bid Result of last appearance
Big Sky Conference Idaho 13th 2022 First round (L - Southeastern Louisiana)
Montana State 13th 2022 Semifinal (L - South Dakota State)
Sacramento State 4th 2022 Quarterfinal (L - Incarnate Word)
CAA Football Albany 3rd 2019 Second round (L - Montana State)
Delaware 19th 2022 Second round (L - South Dakota State)
Richmond 13th 2022 Second round (L - Sacramento State)
Missouri Valley Football Conference North Dakota 5th 2022 First round (L - Weber State)
North Dakota State 14th 2022 National Runner-up (L - South Dakota State)
South Dakota 3rd 2021 First round (L - Southern Illinois)
Southern Illinois 11th 2021 Second round (L - North Dakota State)
Youngstown State 13th 2016 National Runner-up (L - James Madison)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference North Carolina Central 1st None None
Southern Conference Chattanooga 5th 2016 Second round (L - Sam Houston State)
Mercer 1st None None

Abstentions

Postseason

The FCS again featured a 24-team postseason bracket: 10 teams decided via automatic bids issued to conference champions, and 14 at-large bids (see above). The top eight teams were seeded and received a bye to the second round.[10]

Bowl game

Date Time (EST) Game Site Television Teams Affiliations Results
Dec. 16 12:00 p.m. Celebration Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Atlanta, Georgia		 USA: ABC
Canada: TSN2		 Florida A&M (11–1)
Howard (6–5)		 SWAC
MEAC		 Florida A&M 30
Howard 26

NCAA Division I playoff bracket

  First Round
November 25
Campus sites
ESPN+		     Second Round
December 2
Campus sites
ESPN+		     Quarterfinals
December 8/9
Campus sites
ABC, ESPN Networks		     Semifinals
December 15/16
Campus sites
ESPN2		     National Championship
January 7
2 p.m. EST
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
ABC, ESPN+
                                               
        1  South Dakota State 41  
   Gardner–Webb 7        Mercer 0    
   Mercer 17         1  South Dakota State 23  
      8  Villanova 12    
        8  Villanova 45    
   Duquesne 7        Youngstown State 28  
   Youngstown State 40       1  South Dakota State 59  
    5  Albany 0    
        5  Albany 41  
   North Carolina Central 27        Richmond 13    
   Richmond 49         5  Albany 30  
      4  Idaho 22  
        4  Idaho 20OT    
   Nicholls 0        Southern Illinois 17  
   Southern Illinois 35       1  South Dakota State 23
    2  Montana 3
        3  South Dakota 34  
   Sacramento State 42        Sacramento State 24    
   North Dakota 35         3  South Dakota 17  
       North Dakota State 45    
        6  Montana State 34    
   Drake 3        North Dakota State 35OT  
   North Dakota State 66        North Dakota State 29  
    2  Montana 312OT  
        7  Furman 26  
   Chattanooga 24        Chattanooga 7    
   Austin Peay 21         7  Furman 28  
      2  Montana 35OT  
        2  Montana 49    
   Lafayette 34        Delaware 19  
   Delaware 36  


Source:[11]

Rankings

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Main article: 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings

The top 25 from the Stats Perform and USA Today Coaches Polls.

Pre-season polls

Stats Perform
Ranking Team
1 South Dakota State (56)
2 North Dakota State
3 Montana State
4 William & Mary
5 Holy Cross
6 Furman
7 Incarnate Word
8 Idaho
9 Samford
10 Sacramento State
11 New Hampshire
12 Southeast Missouri State
13 Weber State
14 Montana
15 Southeastern Louisiana
16 UC Davis
17 North Dakota
18 Richmond
19 North Carolina Central
20 Mercer
21 Rhode Island
22 Delaware
23 Northern Iowa
24 Eastern Kentucky
25 Gardner–Webb
USA Today Coaches
Ranking Team
1 South Dakota State (24)
2 North Dakota State (1)
3 Montana State
4 William & Mary
5 Holy Cross
6 Furman
7 Incarnate Word
8 Sacramento State
9 Samford
10 Weber State
11 Southeast Missouri State
12 New Hampshire
13 Idaho
14 Montana
15 Southeastern Louisiana
16 Richmond
17 UC Davis
18 North Dakota
19 North Carolina Central
20 Northern Iowa
21 Delaware
22 Mercer
23 Rhode Island
24 Gardner–Webb
25 Florida A&M


Kickoff games

The regular season began on Saturday, August 26 with three games in Week 0:

Regular season top 10 matchups

Rankings reflect the Stats Perform Poll.

Upsets

This section lists instances of unranked teams defeating ranked teams during the season.

Regular season

During the regular season, 33 unranked teams defeated ranked teams.

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2023, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled games but before its playoff games. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2023, see 2022 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.

School Outgoing coach Date Reason Replacement
Columbia Al Bagnoli August 4, 2023 Retired[12] Mark Fabish (interim)
Dartmouth Buddy Teevens September 19, 2023 Died[13] Sammy McCorkle (named full time on October 19)
Northwestern State Brad Laird October 26, 2023 Resigned[4] Weston Glaser (interim)
Southern Eric Dooley November 14, 2023 Fired[14] Terrence Graves (named full time on December 12)

End of season

This list includes coaching changes announced during the season that did not take effect until the end of the season.

School Outgoing coach Date Reason Replacement Previous position
South Carolina State Oliver Pough August 24, 2023 Retired (effective at season's end)[15] Chennis Berry Benedict head coach (2020–2023)
Stony Brook Chuck Priore November 13, 2023 Fired[16] Billy Cosh Western Michigan offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2023)
East Tennessee State George Quarles November 19, 2023 Fired[17] Tre Lamb Gardner–Webb head coach (2020–2023)
Cornell David Archer November 19, 2023 Fired[18] Dan Swanstrom Penn offensive coordinator (2022–2023)
Western Illinois Myers Hendrickson November 19, 2023 Fired[19] Joe Davis Eastern Illinois offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2022–2023)
Northern Arizona Chris Ball November 20, 2023 Fired[20] Brian Wright Pittsburg State head coach (2020–2023)
Morehead State Rob Tenyer November 20, 2023 Contract not renewed[21] Jason Woodman[22] Fairmont State head coach (2013–2023)
Texas Southern Clarence McKinney November 20, 2023 Contract not renewed[23] Cris Dishman[24] Vegas Vipers defensive coordinator (2023)
Utah Tech Paul Peterson November 20, 2023 Fired[25] Lance Anderson[26] Boise State senior analyst (2023)
Tennessee Tech Dewayne Alexander November 21, 2023 Fired[27] Bobby Wilder Old Dominion head coach (2009–2019)
Gardner–Webb Tre Lamb November 27, 2023 Hired by East Tennessee State[28] Cris Reisert Tiffin head coach (2019–2023)
Grambling State Hue Jackson November 28, 2023 Fired[29] Mickey Joseph Nebraska interim head coach (2022)
UC Davis Dan Hawkins November 28, 2023 Resigned[30] Tim Plough California tight ends coach (2023)
Northwestern State Weston Glaser (interim) November 28, 2023 Permanent replacement[31] Blaine McCorkle Belhaven head coach (2018–2023)
Marist Jim Parady November 29, 2023 Retired[32] Mike Willis[33] Princeton assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, and tight ends coach (2020–2023)
Columbia Mark Fabish (interim) December 2, 2023 Permanent replacement[34] Jon Poppe Union (NY) head coach (2023)
Austin Peay Scotty Walden December 4, 2023 Hired by UTEP[35] Jeff Faris UCLA tight ends coach (2022–2023)
Holy Cross Bob Chesney December 7, 2023 Hired by James Madison[36] Dan Curran Merrimack head coach (2013–2023)
North Dakota State Matt Entz December 10, 2023 Hired as linebackers coach by USC[37] Tim Polasek Wyoming offensive coordinator and offensive line coach (2021–2023)
Merrimack Dan Curran December 15, 2023 Hired by Holy Cross[38] Mike Gennetti Merrimack assistant head coach and defensive coordinator (2011–2023)
Campbell Mike Minter December 18, 2023 Resigned[39] Braxton Harris Houston Christian head coach (2023)
Alcorn State Fred McNair December 19, 2023 Contract not renewed Cedric Thomas[40] Alcorn State defensive coordinator (2022–2023)
Florida A&M Willie Simmons January 1, 2024 Hired as running backs coach by Duke[41] James Colzie III[42] Florida A&M assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach (2023)
Murray State Dean Hood January 1, 2024 Retired[43] Jody Wright[44] South Carolina tight ends coach (2022–2023)
Houston Christian Braxton Harris January 2, 2024 Hired by Campbell[45] Jason Bachtel[46] Houston Christian offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2023)
Mercer Drew Cronic January 9, 2024 Hired as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach by Navy[47] Mike Jacobs[48] Lenoir–Rhyne head coach (2020–2023)
Harvard Tim Murphy January 17, 2024 Retired[49] Andrew Aurich Rutgers tight ends coach (2023)
Hampton Robert Prunty April 30, 2024 Fired[50] Trenton Boykin (full-season interim) Hampton special teams coordinator and running backs coach (2020–2023)

See also

References

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