2020 NCAA Division I FCS football season
The 2020 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, will be organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level.
2020 NCAA Division I FCS season | |
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Regular season | |
Number of teams | 127[1] |
Duration | August – November |
Playoff | |
Duration | November 28 – December 19 |
Championship site | Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas |
NCAA Division I FCS football seasons | |
«2019 |
Conference changes and new programs
Membership changes
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. Robert Morris, moving from the football-sponsoring Northeast Conference to the non-football Horizon League, will play as an FCS independent before joining Big South football in 2021.
The 2020 season will be the last for Bethune–Cookman, Florida A&M, and North Carolina A&T in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. On July 1, 2021, Bethune–Cookman and Florida A&M will move to the Southwestern Athletic Conference[2][3] and North Carolina A&T will move to the Big South Conference.[4]
Rule changes
The following playing rule changes were approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel for 2020:[5]
- Players ejected for targeting will now be permitted to remain in the bench area. Previously, players ejected for targeting had to return to the locker room.
- Restricting the number of players on a team wearing the same uniform number to two; such players still cannot be on the field at the same time and must play different positions.
- Including the number "0" as a legal uniform number.
- Extending the official's jurisdiction prior to kickoff from 60 to 90 minutes, requiring a coach from each team be on the field during warm-ups, and identifying each player by number.
- Adopting as a guideline a maximum of 2 minutes for instant replay reviews. Exceptions will be allowed in "exceptionally complicated" or end-of-game situations.
- If the game clock expires at the end of a half, replay determines that time was remaining, and the game situation calls for the clock to start on the referee's signal, the half ends unless the replay determines that the clock should have stopped with 3 or more seconds left.
Other headlines
- May 12 – Timothy White, chancellor of the 23-campus California State University system, announced that it would remain in a virtual learning model for the 2020 fall term. Because NCAA president Mark Emmert publicly stated that athletics could not take place on a campus without students, this left the 2020 season in doubt for the system's two FCS schools, Big Sky Conference members Cal Poly and Sacramento State. No decision on any school's football season has been made.[6]
- May 19 – The NCAA announced its Academic Progress Rate (APR) sanctions for the 2020–21 school year. A total of fifteen programs in eight sports were declared ineligible for postseason play due to failure to meet the required APR benchmark, including the following Division I FCS football teams:[7]
- June 4 – Florida A&M University announced that it would leave the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for the Southwestern Athletic Conference after the 2020–21 school year.[2]
- June 15 – Robert Morris University announced its departure from the Northeast Conference for the Horizon League effective July 1, 2020. Football is one of six sports sponsored by RMU that are not sponsored by the Horizon League. The football program will join Big South Conference football in 2021. For the 2020 football team, the Colonials will play as an FCS independent.[8][9] The schedule for the Robert Morris football team will still be played, yet will transfer those games as non-conference.[10]
- June 25 – Bethune–Cookman University announced that it would leave the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for the Southwestern Athletic Conference after the 2020–21 school year.[3]
- July 8 – the Ivy League announced that no sports would be played until January 1, 2021, at the earliest, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has not yet been determined whether football will take place in the spring or not at all.[11]
- July 13 – The Patriot League announced the cancellation of its fall sports season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly to the Ivy League, it has not been announced whether football will be cancelled altogether or played in the spring.[12]
- July 16 – The MEAC announces that no sports will be played in the fall, but that the possibility of playing fall sports, including football, in the spring, is still open.[13]
- July 17 – The Colonial Athletic Association announces that it will not play fall sports, but that teams still wishing to play football can compete as independents for the 2020 season.[14] Due to the cancellation of the MEAC season, ESPN Events announced that the MEAC/SWAC Challenge and Celebration Bowl had both been cancelled.[15]
- July 19 – The SWAC announces that it has cancelled fall sports but becomes the first conference to commit to playing football in the spring, with the announcement of a seven-game conference schedule preceded by an eight-week training schedule to start in January 2021.[16]
- July 27 – The Pioneer Football League announces that it will play a conference-only schedule in 2020.[17]
- July 29 – The Northeast Conference announces that it will postpone football and all other fall sports, and that its Council of Presidents will reconvene on October 1 to reevaluate its plans.[18]
- August 7
- The Pioneer Football League announces that its fall football season will be cancelled, with no announcement made with regard to playing in the spring.[19]
- The Big Sky Conference announces the rescheduling of all fall sports for spring 2021, the second conference FCS to commit to playing football in the spring.[20]
- August 10 – The Missouri Valley Football Conference announces that its fall football season will be postponed to spring of 2021.[21]
"Week Zero"
The regular season will begin on Saturday, August 29 with at least two games involving FCS teams. One will pit an FCS team against an FBS team.
FCS team wins over FBS teams
Non-DI team wins over FCS teams
Conference standings
Conferences with possibility of playing in the spring
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Conferences playing in the spring
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Postseason
Due to the MEAC cancelling all fall sports for the 2020 season, the MEAC/SWAC Celebration Bowl (the one FCS bowl game) was cancelled.[15]
Coaching changes
Preseason and in-season
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2020. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2020, see 2019 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.
School | Outgoing coach | Date | Reason | Replacement |
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Austin Peay | Mark Hudspeth | July 3 | Resigned | Marquase Lovings (interim) |
End of season
School | Outgoing coach | Date | Reason | Replacement |
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See also
- 2020 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings
- 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season
- 2020 NCAA Division II football season
- 2020 NCAA Division III football season
- 2020 NAIA football season
References
- "Road to the Championship". ncaa.com. 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
- "SWAC Announces Addition of Florida A&M as Full Member" (Press release). Southwestern Athletic Conference. June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
- "Bethune-Cookman University is fourth school to leave MEAC since 2018". WTKR. June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
- "Big South Adds North Carolina A&T University as Full Member" (Press release). Big South Conference. February 7, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- "Football players flagged for targeting will be able to remain in bench area" (Press release). NCAA. April 21, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- Bonagura, Kyle (May 12, 2020). "California State University system to stay online, leaving fall sports up in air". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
- Borzello, Jeff (May 19, 2020). "NCAA: 15 Division I programs face postseason bans over APR results". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
- "Robert Morris leaves NEC for Horizon League; football moves to Big South". wtae.com. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- "Robert Morris football to join Big South Conference in 2021". fbschedules.com. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- "Robert Morris joins Horizon League, football heads to Big South". timesonline.com. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- West, Jenna. "Ivy League to Postpone Fall Athletics, No Date Set for Return". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
- "Patriot League cancels fall sports due to virus". ESPN.com. July 13, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
- "MEAC suspends all fall sports for indefinite period". ESPN.com. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- Singelais, Mark (July 16, 2020). "Reports: CAA football won't play this fall". Times Union. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- "MEAC-SWAC 2020 football matchups in Atlanta canceled". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- Wilmer, Brian (July 21, 2020). "SWAC postpones 2020 football season to spring 2021". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
- Kelley, Kevin (July 27, 2020). "Pioneer Football League to play conference-only football schedule in 2020". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- Kelley, Kevin (July 30, 2020). "Northeast Conference postpones 2020 football season due to COVID-19". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
- Kelley, Kevin (7 August 2020). "Pioneer Football League postpones fall 2020 football schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- "Big Sky Postpones Football Conference Competition Until Spring". bigskyconf.com. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- Kelley, Kevin (10 August 2020). "Missouri Valley Football Conference postpones season to Spring 2021". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- "Austin Peay Football to Open 2020 at Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. January 29, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.