NCAA Division I FCS National Football Championship
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The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision National Football Championship, more properly known as the NCAA Division I Football Championship, is played every year to determine the champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA). The FCS is the lower half of NCAA Division I, but the highest division in college football to hold a playoff tournament to determine its champion. The top subdivision, the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A), uses a combination of human and computer rankings to determine entry into its championship game, and features a series of 32 postseason games known as bowl games. The 16-team Division I FCS tournament is played each year in November and December and culminates in a championship game, which is played in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The current champions are the Mountaineers of Appalachian State University, who, in 2007 became the first team to win the tournament for three straight years.
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[edit] NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
The NCAA Division I Football Championship is a college football game played to determine the champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA).
Since 1997, the Championship Subdivision Championship Game has been played annually on Davenport Field at Finley Stadium, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Finley Stadium is the home field of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
[edit] NCAA Football Championship Subdivision
On August 3, 2006, the Division I Board of Directors took action regarding the two football subdivisions in Division I (Division I-A and I-AA), approving new labels. The university presidents approved a change in terminology to "NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision" for the former I-A classification and "NCAA Football Championship Subdivision" for the former I-AA group. The Collegiate Commissioners Association helped develop the new labels.
The presidents believe the new nomenclature, which became effective on December 15, 2006, more accurately distinguishes Division I institutions for purposes of governing football, the only sport for which such a distinction is necessary. Members felt the old nomenclature inaccurately tiered Division I institutions in all sports, not just football, and produced instances in which media outlets and other entities incorrectly cited institutions as being Division I-AA in basketball or baseball, for example.
The new nomenclature does not affect the voting structure used in Division I governance matters.
When Division I-AA was formed for football in 1978, the playoffs included just four teams, doubling to eight teams in its fourth season of 1981. In 1982 the I-AA playoffs were expanded to 12 teams, with each of the top four seeds receiving a first-round bye and a home game in the quarterfinals. In its ninth season of 1986, the I-AA playoffs were expanded again, to the present 16-team format, requiring four post-season victories to win the title.
[edit] Champions
[edit] Most national championships
| Team | Championships | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| Georgia Southern | 6 | 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1999, 2000 |
| Youngstown State | 4 | 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997 |
| Appalachian State | 3 | 2005, 2006, 2007 |
| Eastern Kentucky | 2 | 1979, 1982 |
| Marshall ^ | 2 | 1992, 1996 |
| Montana | 2 | 1995, 2001 |
| Boise State ^ | 1 | 1980 |
| Delaware | 1 | 2003 |
| Florida A&M | 1 | 1978 |
| Furman | 1 | 1988 |
| Idaho State | 1 | 1981 |
| James Madison | 1 | 2004 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 1998 |
| Montana State | 1 | 1984 |
| Northeast Louisiana ^$ | 1 | 1987 |
| Southern Illinois | 1 | 1983 |
| Western Kentucky ^ | 1 | 2002 |
^ Now a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision
$ Now University of Louisiana at Monroe
[edit] See also
- NCAA Division I-A National Football Championship
- NCAA Division I FCS Consensus Mid-Major Football National Championship
- NCAA Division II National Football Championship
- NCAA Division III National Football Championship
- NAIA National Football Championship
- NJCAA National Football Championship
- List of college bowl games
[edit] External links
- NCAA FCS Championship Official Website
- NCAA football page
- NCAA Division I Football Record Books
- College Sporting News: Division I FCS news service (old site)
- FCS College Football Weekly Preview
- Year-by-year FCS (I-AA) playoff results
- Memo about name change
- Championship Subdivision Fans Forum
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