FCS East Teams in NCAA Division I Football
The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, represents the second-highest tier of college football in the United States, just below the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). This article provides a detailed overview of FCS football, with a particular focus on teams located in the eastern region of the United States.
History and Evolution of FCS
Prior to the 1956 college football season, NCAA schools were organized into an upper University Division and lower College Division. From 1906 to 1955, the NCAA had no divisional structure for member schools. Division I-AA was created in January 1978, when Division I was subdivided into Division I-A and Division I-AA for football only. The initial criteria for a program's admittance to I-A included (1) scheduling 60% of its games against other I-A teams, and either (2) having a 30,000-seat stadium and an average attendance of 17,000 for one year in the last four, or (3) drawing an average of 17,000 over the last four years. Division I football schools satisfying #1 and either #2 or #3 also had to maintain eight sports overall. Schools failing to meet either #2 or #3 could still qualify for I-A if they maintained twelve sports overall.
The creation of Division I-AA appeared to backfire; rather than serve as a home for the smaller or less competitive football programs of Division I, it created a pathway for football-playing Division II schools to join Division I without the burden of funding a major football program. The next big increase in Division I-AA membership came after the January 1991 NCAA convention voted to require every athletic program to maintain all of its sports at the same divisional level by the 1993 season. In order to comply, 28 Division I schools with football programs at the Division II and Division III levels were forced to upgrade their teams to the Division I level, and all of them (at least initially) chose Division I-AA as their new football home. At the same time, the number of football scholarships allowed in I-AA was reduced from the original 70 to 63, effective in 1994; it has remained at that number ever since. The subdivision stabilized thereafter, maintaining at least 120 members from 1997 onward. The FCS has held a post-season playoff to award an NCAA-sanctioned national championship since its inception in 1978.
FCS Conferences
As of the 2025 season, there are 127 FCS programs. These teams compete in a 24-team playoff for the NCAA Division I Football Championship. FCS comprises 14 conferences: the Big Sky, Big South, CAA, Independent, Ivy, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Pioneer, Southern, Southland and SWAC conferences.
Several conferences within the FCS have unique histories and affiliations:
Read also: Affording ECU
CAA (Colonial Athletic Association): The CAA played its first season in 2007 under the Colonial Athletic Association banner. The 2007 membership was essentially the Atlantic 10 football conference, but the CAA and A10 operate as separate entities.
Ivy League: The Ivy League became part of the FCS in 1982 when Division I formalized requirements to be in the FBS.
Missouri Valley Football Conference: The Missouri Valley Football Conference began playing football in 1985 under the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference.
Big South-OVC Football Association: The Big South-OVC Football Association began in 2023 when the Big South and Ohio Valley Conferences combined football members into one conference to compete for an automatic qualifying bid to the FCS playoffs. For the 2023 and 2024 seasons, it was known as the Big South-OVC Football Association. Started play in 2023 as an alliance between the Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference that shares a single automatic FCS playoff berth.
Patriot League: The Patriot League began competition in the 1986 season as the Colonial League.
Read also: Your Guide to ETSU Academics
Southern Conference: Like the Ivy League, the Southern Conference became part of the FCS in 1982 when Division I formalized requirements to be in the FBS.
Southland Conference: Like the Ivy League and Southern Conference, the Southland Conference became part of the FCS in 1982 when Division I formalized requirements to be in the FBS.
SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference): The SWAC is currently the only FCS conference to separate its teams into divisions, which is used to determine the participants in the SWAC Championship Game.
FCS East Teams
Within the landscape of FCS football, numerous teams are located in the eastern region of the United States. These teams compete in various conferences, including the CAA, Ivy League, Patriot League, and Northeast Conference.
Transitioning Programs
The following programs are transitioning from NCAA Division II to FCS, or have announced definitive plans to do so. Under current NCAA rules, they must have an invitation from a Division I conference to begin the transition. During the normally four-year transition period, they are ineligible for the FCS playoffs. Since January 2025, the NCAA has expedited the reclassification period for schools, by one year, with schools already reclassifying to Division I being given the option to use either the new, shorter reclassification period or the original, longer period they initially agreed to.
Read also: Tuition for International Students at ECU
tags: #FCS #East #teams #in #NCAA #Division
