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(Top) 1 Conference changes and new programs 1.1 Membership changes 2 Rule changes 3 "Week Zero" 4 FCS team wins over FBS teams 5 Non-DI team wins over FCS teams 6 Conference standings 7 Postseason 7.1 NCAA FCS Playoff bracket 7.2 Bowl games 8 Coaching changes 8.1 Preseason and in-season 8.2 End of season 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References

2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season

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2019 NCAA Division I FCS season

Regular season
Number of teams	125^[1]
Duration	August – November
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.^[2] North Dakota State entered the season as the defending champion,^[3] and after completing the regular season undefeated, successfully defended their title and secured their eighth championship in nine seasons.^[4]

Conference changes and new programs

Membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Hampton Pirates	FCS independent	Big South
LIU Sharks^[a]	NE-10 (D-II)	NEC
Merrimack Warriors	NE-10 (D-II)	NEC
North Alabama Lions	FCS independent	Big South
North Dakota Fighting Hawks	Big Sky	FCS independent^[b]
Savannah State Tigers	MEAC	SIAC (D-II)

^ Following the 2018–19 school year, Long Island University merged its two then-existing athletic programs—the Division I non-football LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and Division II football-sponsoring LIU Post Pioneers—into a single Division I program that now competes 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.

^ North Dakota will officially join the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2020, and is classified as an FCS independent for 2018 and 2019. However, to accommodate pre-existing game contracts, it still plays its Big Sky Conference schedule and conference games still count for their opponents.

The 2019 season was the last for Presbyterian in Big South Conference football. The school announced in 2017 that it had begun a transition to non-scholarship football. Presbyterian will play the 2020 season as an FCS independent before joining the non-scholarship FCS Pioneer Football League in 2021; it will remain a full but non-football Big South member.

This was also the final season for Jacksonville football, as the school announced shortly after the end of the season that it was dropping the sport.^[5]

Rule changes

The following playing rule changes have been recommended by the NCAA Football Rules Committee for 2019:^[6]

Requiring replay reviews on targeting calls be either confirmed or overturned by reviewing all aspects of the play. If the review shows not all elements of targeting exist or if there is no indisputable video evidence, the call will be overturned.
Players who commit a second targeting penalty in the same season will not only have to sit out the remainder of that game, but will also have to sit out their team's entire next scheduled game.
Eliminating the two-man wedge on kickoffs.
Starting with the fifth overtime period, each team will line up to attempt a two-point conversion instead of snapping the ball from the 25-yard-line. Successful plays are scored as conversions.
Adding a two-minute break after the second and fourth overtime period.
Blindside blocks delivered with forcible contact will draw a 15-yard penalty (personal foul). If elements of targeting exist, the player delivering the block will be subject to ejection as with any other targeting foul.

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.^[7]

"Week Zero"

The regular season began with two games on Saturday, August 24:

Villanova def. No. 13 Colgate, 34–14
FCS Kickoff (Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama): Youngstown State def. Samford, 45–22

FCS team wins over FBS teams

(FCS rankings from the STATS poll, FBS rankings from the AP poll.)

August 29:
- Central Arkansas 35, Western Kentucky28
September 7:
- Southern Illinois 45, UMass20
September 14:
- The Citadel 27, Georgia Tech24^OT

Non-DI team wins over FCS teams

September 7:
- Kentucky State 13, Robert Morris7
- East Stroudsburg 24, Wagner14
- Virginia Union 36, Hampton17
- Truman 10, Drake7
- Midwestern State 33, Northwestern State7
- Tarleton State 37, Stephen F. Austin26
September 14:
- Taylor (IN) 17, Butler14
September 21:
- Truman 38, Valparaiso7
September 28:
- Charleston (WV) 19, Valparaiso13
- Kentucky State 33, Jackson State25
October 12:
- Missouri S&T 23, Texas Southern20

Conference standings

2019 Big Sky Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No.3Weber State +^	7	–	1	11	–	4
No.9Sacramento State +^	7	–	1	9	–	4
No.4Montana State ^	6	–	2	11	–	4
No.6Montana ^	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.12Monmouth $^	6	–	0	11	–	3
No.13Kennesaw 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.2James Madison $^	8	–	0	14	–	2
No.18Albany ^	6	–	2	9	–	5
No.15Villanova ^	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.22Dartmouth +	6	–	1	9	–	1
No.25Yale +	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.24Florida 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.1North Dakota State $^	8	–	0	16	–	0
No.5Northern Iowa ^	6	–	2	10	–	5
No.7Illinois State ^	5	–	3	10	–	5
No.10South 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.23Central 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.8Austin Peay +^	7	–	1	9	–	3
No.17Southeast 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.16Wofford $^	7	–	1	8	–	3
No.21Furman ^	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.14Nicholls +^	7	–	2	8	–	4
No.11Central Arkansas +^	7	–	2	9	–	3
No.19Southeastern 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
Southernx	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

Postseason

A 24-team single-elimination tournament bracket culminated in the 2020 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game. Champions of the following 10 conferences automatically received playoff bids:^[8]

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)

Teams were announced in a selection show on November 24, with the top eight teams seeded and receiving first-round byes.^[9]

NCAA FCS 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 January 11 12:00 pm EST Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas

			1	North Dakota State	37
	Nicholls	24		Nicholls	13
	North Dakota	6				1	North Dakota State	9
							Illinois State	3
			8	Central Arkansas	14
	Southeast Missouri State	6		Illinois State	24
	Illinois State	24							1	North Dakota State	42
									5	Montana State	14
			4	Sacramento State	28
	Austin Peay	42		Austin Peay	42
	Furman	6					Austin Peay	10
						5	Montana State	24
			5	Montana State	47
	Albany	42		Albany	21
	Central Connecticut	14										1	North Dakota State	28
												2	James Madison	20
			2	James Madison	66
	Monmouth	44		Monmouth	21
	Holy Cross	27				2	James Madison	17
							Northern Iowa	0
			7	South Dakota State	10
	Northern Iowa	17		Northern Iowa	13
	San Diego	3							2	James Madison	30
									3	Weber State	14
			3	Weber State	26
	Wofford	21		Kennesaw State	20
	Kennesaw State	28				3	Weber State	17
						6	Montana	10
			6	Montana	73
	Southeastern Louisiana	45		Southeastern Louisiana	28
	Villanova	44

Source: ^[10]

Bowl games

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

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."^[11]

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^[12]	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

Notes

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

References

^ "Road to the Championship". ncaa.com. 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.

^ "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.

^ "Jacksonville University Discontinues Football" (Press release). Jacksonville Dolphins. December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.

^ "Football Rules Committee to examine targeting". ncaa.org. February 26, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.

^ "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.

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