NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision

The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the top level of college football in the United States. The FBS is the most competitive subdivision of NCAA Division I, which itself consists of the largest and most competitive schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As of 2018, there are 10 conferences and 130 schools in FBS.

NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision

Current season, competition or edition: 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season
Sport	American football
Founded	1978
No. of teams	130
Country	United States
TV partner(s)	Various
Official website	www.ncaa.com/sports/football/fbs

College football is one of the most popular spectator sports throughout much of the United States, and the top schools generate tens of millions of dollars in yearly revenue.[1][2] Top FBS teams draw tens of thousands of fans to games, and the ten largest American stadiums by capacity all host FBS teams or games. College athletes are not paid, but colleges are allowed to provide players with non-monetary compensation such as athletic scholarships that provide for tuition, housing, and books.

Unlike other NCAA divisions and subdivisions, the NCAA does not officially award an FBS football national championship, nor does it sanction a playoff tournament to determine such a champion on the field. Instead, organizations such as the Associated Press and AFCA have historically sought to rank the teams and crown a national champion, by taking a vote of sports writers and coaches, respectively. In place of such a playoff, various cities across the United States hold their own post-season contests, called bowl games, in which they traditionally invite teams to participate in them. Historically, these bowl games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating teams. However, in the modern era they are considered the de facto post-season. There have been agreements in recent decades (such as the Bowl Coalition from 1992 to 1994, the Bowl Alliance from 1995 to 1997, the Bowl Championship Series from 1998 to 2013, and the College Football Playoff from 2014 to the present) by the premier FBS conferences and bowl games to organize matchups so that the FBS national championship is decided on the field.

Overview

Number of FBS teams per state/territory as of 2014:[3]

  Six or more FBS schools in the state

  Five

  Four

  Three

  Two

  One

  No FBS schools

The FBS is the highest level of college football in the United States, and FBS players make up the vast majority of the players picked in the NFL Draft.[4] For every sport but football, the NCAA divides schools into three major divisions: NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III. However, in football, Division I is further divided into two sub-divisions: the Bowl Subdivision, abbreviated as the FBS, and the Championship Subdivision, abbreviated as the FCS.[5] Divisions are themselves further divided up into conferences, which are groupings of schools that play each other in contention for a conference championship. The FBS currently has ten conferences, which are often divided into the "Power Five conferences" and the less prominent "Group of Five".

Although FCS programs can draw thousands of fans per game, many FCS schools attempt to join the FBS in hopes of increased revenue, corporate sponsorship, alumni donations, prestige, and national exposure.[6] However, FBS programs also face increased expenses in regards to staff salaries, facility improvements, and scholarships.[6] The athletic departments of many FBS schools lose money every year, and these athletic departments must rely on subsidies from the rest of the university.[7][8] The 2014 decision by UAB (an FBS program) to discontinue the football program generated national headlines,[8][9] and other FBS programs have also considered discontinuing their football program.[10] In many states, the highest-paid public employee is the head coach of an FBS team.[11] FBS schools are limited to a total of 85 football players receiving financial assistance.[12] Nearly all FBS schools that are not on NCAA probation give 85 full scholarships.

In order to retain FBS membership, schools must meet several requirements.[13] FBS schools must have an average home attendance of at least 15,000 (over a rolling two-year period).[13] An FBS school must sponsor a minimum of 16 varsity intercollegiate teams (including football), with at least six men's or coeducational teams and at least eight all-female teams.[13] Across all sports, each FBS school must offer at least 200 athletic scholarships (or spend at least $4 million on athletic scholarships) per year, and FBS football teams must provide at least 90% of the maximum number of football scholarships (which is currently 85).[13]

Schedule and bowl games

Further information: Bowl game, List of college bowl games, and Bids to college bowl games

The FBS season begins in late August or early September and ends in January with the College Football Playoff National Championship game. Most FBS teams play 12 regular season games per year, with eight or nine of those games coming against conference opponents.[14] All ten FBS conferences hold a conference championship game to determine the winner of the conference.[15] Between conference games, non-conference games, a conference championship game, and one bowl game, a top FBS team could play 14 games in a season. A team that plays in the national championship game could play up to 15 games, as any team playing in the national championship must first win a playoff semifinal bowl game. The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors[16] and teams that play at Hawaii[17] get a special exemption and are allowed to play a thirteenth regular season game in order to defray travel costs,[14] so an FBS team that plays 13 regular season games, a conference championship game, a semifinal bowl game, and in the national championship game could theoretically play 16 games in a season.

Number of bowl games[18]

Year	Bowls	Teams in bowls[19]
1968	11	N/A
1984	18	~30%
1997	20	~35%
2017	40[lower-alpha 1]	60.5%[lower-alpha 2]

For non-conference regular season games, FBS teams are free to schedule match-ups against any other FBS team, regardless of conference. A small number of FBS teams are independent, and have total control over their own schedule. Non-conference games are scheduled by mutual agreement and often involve "home and homes" (where teams alternate as hosts) and long-established rivalries. A 2014 study found that teams from the stronger conferences frequently play non-conference games against teams from the weaker conferences or, occasionally, against FCS teams.[20] FBS teams are free to schedule up to forty percent of their games against FCS teams,[13] but FBS teams can only use one win per season against an FCS team for the purposes of bowl eligibility. Additionally, the FCS opponent must have averaged at least 90% of the FCS limit of 63 scholarship equivalents over a rolling two-year period.[21][lower-alpha 3] An FBS team must schedule a total of five home games per year; for the purposes of scheduling, a "home game" must take place at a venue in which the team plays 50% of its "home games", although a team is allowed to count one neutral-site game against an FBS team toward the "home game" requirement.[23] FBS-FCS games, known as "money games," are often home games for the FBS team, and victories by FCS teams are usually considered to be upsets.[24] FCS teams receive hundreds of thousands of dollars for their participation in these games.[24]

New Year's Six Bowls

Bowl	Location	Est.
Rose Bowl	Pasadena, CA	1902
Orange Bowl	Miami Gardens, FL	1935
Sugar Bowl	New Orleans, LA	1935
Cotton Bowl	Arlington, TX	1937
Peach Bowl	Atlanta, GA	1968
Fiesta Bowl	Glendale, AZ	1971

The Football Bowl Subdivision gets its name from the bowl games that many FBS teams play at the end of the year, although other college divisions also have their own bowl games. FBS bowl games are played at the end of the season in December or January, and collectively generate over $400 million per year as of 2012.[25] For the 2017–18 bowl season, there were 40 bowl games. In order to be bowl eligible, an FBS team must have a winning record. In certain cases, 5-7 and 6-7 teams can also be selected to bowls, usually to fill bowl vacancies.[26]

Many bowls have an established conference tie-in; for example, the Camping World Bowl provides a match-up between teams from ACC and the Big 12. A small number of long-established bowls played a major role in the Bowl Championship Series, which was used to select the national champion until 2015, and these bowls continue to play a major role in the College Football Playoff. Under the playoff, there are six major bowls, known as the New Year's Six, with automatic bids going to the conference champions of the Power Five conferences and the top-ranked member of the "Group of Five." Two of these bowls serve as semi-final games to the College Football Playoff National Championship game. Conferences receive millions of dollars for each school that appears in the playoff, and appearances in other bowls are also quite lucrative.[27] In addition to the regular bowls, some post-season bowls, such as the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, match up teams of all-stars and NFL Draft entrants.

History

NCAA Football Average Attendance

Conf.	1983[28]	1993[28]	2003[29]	2014[30]
SEC	64,842	62,789	74,059	77,694
Big Ten	67,471	63,535	70,198	66,869
Big 12	—	—	56,362	58,102
Pac-12	47,248	47,919	51,608	52,702
ACC	42,608	44,056	51,938	50,291
AAC[lower-alpha 4]	—	38,039	46,870	29,193
MW	—	—	32,809	25,254
C-USA	—	—	32,346	20,455
Sun Belt	—	—	14,352	18,294
MAC	17,351	14,252	17,820	15,431
FBS	42,162	41,281	44,877	44,603
FCS	10,844	8,599	7,739	8,310

See also: History of American football

College football has been played for over one hundred years, but the game and the organizational structure of college football have evolved significantly during that time. The first college football game was played in 1869, but the game continued to develop during the late 19th and early 20th century. During this period, Walter Camp pioneered the concept of a line of scrimmage, the system of downs, and the College Football All-America Team.[31] The 1902 Rose Bowl was the first bowl game in college football history, and the event began to be held annually starting with the 1916 Rose Bowl. In the 1930s, other bowl games came into existence, including the Sugar Bowl, the Cotton Bowl Classic, and the Orange Bowl. The 1906 college football season was the first season played under the IAAUS (which would later change its name to the NCAA) and the first season in which the forward pass was legal. The IAAUS had formed after President Theodore Roosevelt, responding to several deaths that had occurred during football games, requested that colleges find ways to make football a safer sport.[32] In 1935, the Heisman Trophy was presented for the first time; the award is generally considered to be college football's most prestigious individual award.[33] In 1965, the NCAA voted to allow the platoon system, in which different players played on offense and defense; teams had previously experimented with the concept in the 1940s.[34] In 1968, the NCAA began allowing freshmen to compete in games; freshmen had previously been required to take a redshirt year.[35] In 1975, after a growth of "grants-in-aid" (scholarships given for athletic rather than academic or need-based reasons), the NCAA voted to limit the number of athletic scholarships each school could offer.[36] In 1968, the NCAA required all teams to identify as members of either the University Division (for larger schools) or the College Division (for smaller schools), and in 1973, the NCAA divided into three divisions.[37] At the urging of several larger schools seeking increased autonomy and commonality, Division I-A was formed prior to the 1978 season; the remaining teams in Division I formed the Football Championship Subdivision or FCS (then known as Division I-AA).[38] In 1981, members of the College Football Association attempted to create a fourth division consisting solely of the most competitive schools, but this effort was defeated.[39] In the 1992 season, the SEC split into divisions and played the first FBS conference championship game. The Big 12 and Western Athletic Conference did the same for the 1996 season, and most conferences eventually adopted divisions and championship games.

The NCAA does not officially award an FBS football championship,[40] but several teams have claimed national championships. Other organizations have also sought to rank the teams and crown a national champion. The Dickinson System and other methods were formed in the early 20th century to select the best team in the country, and the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll began rankings teams in the middle of the 20th century. In many seasons, selectors such as the AP and the Coaches Poll designated different teams as national champions. Often, more than one team would finish undefeated, as the top teams were not guaranteed to play each other during the regular season or in bowl games. In 1992, five major conferences established the Bowl Coalition in order to determine the FBS champion. In 1998, the two remaining major conferences joined with the other five conferences to form the Bowl Championship Series. The BCS used a rankings system to match up the top two teams in the BCS National Championship Game.[41] However, even the BCS era saw split national championships, as in 2003 the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll selected different national champions. The College Football Playoff, with a four-team field, replaced the BCS starting with the 2014 season.

Currently as of March 2020, there is no unified system to provide FBS football players with financial compensation aside from collegiate scholarships. Leading the forefront of the movement on compensation is California governor Gavin Newsom. Newsom stated, "Collegiate student athletes put everything on the line — their physical health, future career prospects and years of their lives to compete. Colleges reap billions from these student athletes' sacrifices and success but, in the same breath, block them from earning a single dollar," he said in a statement. "That's a bankrupt model — one that puts institutions ahead of the students they are supposed to serve. It needs to be disrupted." Newsom passed a law in California called the "Fair Play to Pay Act" making it the first state to allow student athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness. The law is scheduled to go in effect on January 1, 2023.[42]

The FBS on television

Main article: College football on television

College football was first broadcast on radio in 1921, and first broadcast on television in 1939.[43] Television became profitable for both schools and the NCAA, which tightly controlled the airing of games in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.[44] The NCAA limited each football team to six television appearances over a two-year period.[44] The 1981 Supreme Court case NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma & University of Georgia granted television rights to individual schools as opposed to the NCAA and allowed teams to televise all of their games.[45] After a period during which FBS schools negotiated collectively under the College Football Association, Notre Dame's 1991 television contract ushered in an era in which schools and conferences negotiate their own television contracts.[38][46] This new era of television led to several waves of conference realignment, most notably in 1996, 2005, and the early 2010s.[47] FBS games continue to be a major draw on television, as over 26 million people watched the 2014 BCS National Championship Game.[48]

National networks such as CBS, ABC, NBC, several ESPN networks, several Fox networks have all covered the FBS, as have several regional and local networks. As conferences negotiate their own television deals, each conference is affiliated with a network that airs its home games. In the mid-2000s, college and conferences began to create their own television networks;[49] such networks include the Big Ten Network, BYUtv, the Longhorn Network, and the Pac-12 Network. In 2012, college football games drew over 400 million viewers.[50]

Teams and conferences

Conferences

FBS teams and conferences

Year	Conferences	Teams
1980	13[51]	138
1990	9[52]	107
2000	11[53]	116
2010	11[54]	120
2020	10	130

History

The Big Ten (then popularly known as the Western Conference) was founded in 1896, after which several other schools joined together to form conferences, including the Pacific Coast Conference, the MVIAA, the Southwest Conference, the Southern Conference, the Mountain States Conference (also known as the Skyline Conference), and the Border Conference. In 1928, six schools seceded from the MVIAA to form the Big Six Conference, which later expanded to the Big Eight in 1957; the remaining schools formed the Missouri Valley Conference. In 1932, several Southern schools formed the SEC after breaking away from the Southern Conference, and in 1953 several more schools seceded from the Southern Conference to form the ACC. In 1946, several Midwestern schools formed the MAC. Several elite Northeastern schools had formed the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League in 1901, and its members (plus Brown University, not an EIBL member at the time) signed the Ivy Group Agreement, which governed football competition between the signatories, in 1945; the Ivy League was formally founded in 1954, when the agreement was extended to cover all sports. In 1959, the Pacific Coast Conference dissolved, and most of its former members formed the new Athletic Association of Western Universities, which became the Pac-8 when more former PCC members joined. In 1962, several schools from the Mountain States Conference and the Border Conference formed the Western Athletic Conference. In 1969, the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA), later known as the Big West Conference, was formed by several Division II California schools that sought to join Division I.

Division I separated into Division I-A (the predecessor to the FBS) and I-AA (predecessor of the FCS) prior to the 1978 season. At that time, there were several independent I-A schools and twelve Division I-A conferences: the Southeastern Conference (SEC), Big 10, Pacific-10 (Pac-10), Big 8, Southwest Conference (SWC), Western Athletic Conference (WAC), PCAA (which later changed its name to the Big West), Missouri Valley Conference, Southern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Mid-American Conference (MAC), and the Ivy League. The Ivy League and the Southern Conference left for Division I-AA prior to the 1982 season, while the Missouri Valley Conference stopped sponsoring football prior to the 1985 season. In 1991, the Big East recruited several independents and began sponsoring football, becoming a major conference. In 1996, Conference USA (C-USA), formed the previous year by the merger of the non-football Metro and Great Midwest Conferences, also began sponsoring football. That same year, the Southwest Conference dissolved, and four of its former members joined with the Big 8 to form the Big 12 Conference. In 1999, eight schools broke away from the WAC to form the Mountain West Conference (MW). Prior to the 2000 season, the Big West stopped sponsoring football. The Sun Belt Conference began sponsoring football in 2001. After periods of conference realignment in 2005 and the early 2010s that saw the expansion of the ACC, Big 10, SEC, and Pac-10 (which changed its name to the Pac-12), the WAC reorganized as a non-football conference and the Big East split into the American Athletic Conference and a new non-football conference that retained the Big East name.[55]

Current conferences

See also: List of NCAA Division I FBS football programs

Most of the 130 FBS schools are members of an FBS conference, but there are also a small number of independent schools. Since the Western Athletic Conference discontinued football sponsorship prior to the 2013 season, there have been ten conferences in the FBS. All of the FBS conferences have between ten and fourteen members, although independent Notre Dame has a scheduling agreement with the fourteen-member ACC. The ten conferences are split into two groups for the purposes of the College Football Playoff. The "Power Five conferences" consist of most of the largest and best-known college athletic programs in the country. A school from one of the Power Five conferences won every BCS National Championship Game (which operated from 1999 to 2014), and has won every College Football Playoff National Championship. The remaining five conferences are known as the "Group of Five."[56] Any conference may split its teams into two divisions,[57] and only the American Athletic Conference and Big 12 Conference do not use divisions. The American had used divisions before UConn left the league in July 2020, while the Big 12 has not used divisions since the early-2010s conference realignment left it with 10 members. As of the 2018 season, all conferences hold a championship game that determines the conference champion. The Sun Belt was the last conference to launch a championship game, as well as the most recent to split into divisions for football, with both the title game and the divisional alignment debuting in 2018. That conference chose to form football divisions despite having only 10 football members.[15]

Conference	Nickname	Founded	Football Members	Sports	Headquarters
American Athletic Conference	The American (official) AAC (informal)	1979[lower-alpha 5]	11[lower-alpha 6]	22	Providence, Rhode Island
Atlantic Coast Conference†	ACC	1953	14[lower-alpha 7]	27	Greensboro, North Carolina
Big 12 Conference†	Big 12	1996	10	21	Irving, Texas
Big Ten Conference†	Big Ten, B1G	1896	14	28	Rosemont, Illinois
Conference USA	C-USA	1995[lower-alpha 8]	14	19	Irving, Texas
Division I FBS Independents[lower-alpha 9]			7
Mid-American Conference	MAC	1946	12	24	Cleveland, Ohio
Mountain West Conference	MW (official) MWC (informal)	1999	12[lower-alpha 10]	19	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Pac-12 Conference†	Pac-12	1915[lower-alpha 11]	12	24	San Francisco, California
Southeastern Conference†	SEC	1932	14	20	Birmingham, Alabama
Sun Belt Conference	Sun Belt	1976	10[lower-alpha 12]	18	New Orleans, Louisiana

† "Big Five" or "Power Five" conferences with guaranteed berths in the "access bowls" associated with the College Football Playoff

Notes

1. Includes the College Football Playoff National Championship, which involves the winners of two semifinal bowl games.
2. Based on 78 teams qualifying for bowl games.
3. While the Ivy League prohibits athletic scholarships across all sports, the Pioneer Football League prohibits scholarships only in football, and Georgetown chooses not to offer football scholarships, wins against such schools may potentially count toward bowl eligibility. NCAA rules interpretations allow academic aid to count toward the 90% requirement. This issue came up in the 2017 season when Florida State was thought to be bowl-ineligible because one of its six wins that season was over Delaware State, a school that did not meet the 90% requirement with football-related aid. However, once academic aid was counted, Delaware State met the threshold and FSU played in its bowl game.[22]
4. Includes numbers for the Big East in 1993 and 2003.
5. The conference was founded in 1979 as the original Big East Conference. It renamed itself the American Athletic Conference following a 2013 split along football lines. The non-FBS schools of the original conference left to form a new conference that purchased the Big East name, while the FBS schools continued to operate under the old Big East's charter and structure. The American also inherited the old Big East's Bowl Championship Series berth for the 2013 season, the last for the BCS.
6. Navy is a football-only member, and Wichita State is a full member that does not sponsor football.
7. Notre Dame is a full member except in football, in which it remains independent. It has committed to play at least five games each season against ACC opponents, and to play each other ACC member at least once every three years.
8. The conference was founded in 1995, with football competition starting in 1996.
9. Note that "Independents" is not a conference; it is simply a designation used for schools whose football programs do not play in any conference. All of these schools have conference memberships for other sports.
10. Since 2012, Hawaii has been a football-only associate member, with most of its remaining teams in the non-football Big West Conference.
11. The charter of the Pac-12 dates only to the formation of the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU) in 1959. However, the Pac-12 claims the history of the Pacific Coast Conference, which was founded in 1915 and began competition in 1916, as its own. Of the nine members of the PCC at the time of its demise in June 1959, five were charter members of the AAWU, and three of the four others joined the AAWU by 1964; only Idaho never joined the Pac-12. The PCC's berth in the Rose Bowl passed to the AAWU.
12. The Sun Belt has 12 full members, but two of them, Little Rock and UT Arlington, do not sponsor football.

Teams transitioning to the FBS

Liberty University began the FBS transition process on July 1, 2017. The NCAA granted the school a waiver from its normal transition rules that require an invitation from an FBS conference before beginning the transition. The Flames played in the Big South Conference in 2017 but were not eligible for the FCS playoffs. For 2018 and beyond, the Flames became an FBS independent. The school initially intended to remain a Big South member in other sports until it received an invitation to an FBS conference,[58] but instead joined the non-football ASUN Conference in 2018.[59]

The most recent school to complete an FBS transition is Coastal Carolina University, which completed its FBS transition for the 2018 season. The Chanticleers' transition began with the school's move from the Big South to the Sun Belt Conference on July 1, 2016. Coastal competed as a non-football Sun Belt member in 2016–17, with the football team playing the 2016 season as an FCS independent. The school then joined Sun Belt football in 2017, playing a full conference schedule.[60]

Realignment

The FBS has experienced several realignments since its formation in 1978, with many teams changing conferences, dropping out of the FBS, or moving up from the FCS. In 1982, the size of the division was cut considerably, and the Southern Conference and the Ivy League were demoted to the FCS.[61] In 1985, the Missouri Valley Conference stopped sponsoring football.[62] In the 1980s and 1990s, several independents joined conferences, dropped football, or joined the FCS. In the 1996 NCAA conference realignment, the Southwest Conference dissolved, and four Texas teams from that conference joined with the Big 8 schools to form the Big 12 Conference. The Western Athletic Conference expanded to sixteen members, but half of the schools left in 1999 to form the Mountain West Conference. Conference USA (C-USA) formed from a merger of the Metro Conference and the Great Midwest Conference, two conferences which had not sponsored football. The Big West stopped sponsoring football after the 2000 season, and was essentially replaced by the Sun Belt Conference, which added former Big West members and began sponsoring football in 2001. In the mid-2000s, the Big East added former basketball-only member Connecticut, while Temple left the conference (before eventually returning in 2013). During another phase of realignment in 2005, three schools jumped from the Big East to the ACC. The Big East responded by adding schools from Conference USA.[62]

College football underwent another major conference realignment in the first half of the 2010s. Members of the Big East left the conference to join the Big 12 and ACC. The Big 12 lost members to the SEC, the Pac-12, and the Big Ten, while the Big Ten also gained one former ACC member. The remaining members of the Big East split into two conferences: the American Athletic Conference ("The American") and a new conference that assumed the Big East name but does not sponsor football. The American added several schools from C-USA, but lost one school each to the ACC and Big Ten after its first season. In turn, C-USA added FCS schools and schools from the Sun Belt Conference. The Sun Belt Conference replenished its membership by adding FCS schools and schools from the Western Athletic Conference. The Mountain West lost schools to the Big 12, Pac-12 and the FBS independent ranks, and added several schools from the WAC. After several defections, the WAC dropped its sponsorship of football.[62]

The early-2010s realignment cycle also affected the FBS independent ranks. BYU left the MW in 2011 for football independence and the non-football West Coast Conference. In 2013, Idaho and New Mexico State, the last two football-sponsoring schools in the WAC, became FBS independents, but would return to their former football home of the Sun Belt Conference as football-only members the following year. Also in 2013, Notre Dame became a full but non-football member of the ACC, entering into a scheduling agreement with that conference that calls for the Fighting Irish football team to play five games each season against ACC schools, and to play each other ACC school at least once every three years. Finally, in 2015, Navy became a football-only member of The American, ending more than a century of football independence.[62]

Realignment has continued to this day, though at a considerably lower level. The 2016 season saw FCS Coastal Carolina join the Sun Belt Conference for non-football sports while beginning a transition to FBS football; the football team joined the Sun Belt in 2017. That season was also the last for Idaho and New Mexico State as Sun Belt football members. After 2017, New Mexico State returned to independent status, while Idaho downgraded to FCS football—becoming the first program ever to voluntarily do so—and added football to its all-sports membership in the Big Sky Conference. Also in 2016, UMass went independent after turning down an offer of full membership in the Mid-American Conference.

Awards

See also: College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS

Several awards are given each year to players and coaches in the FBS. Although all college football players are eligible for many of these awards (such as the Heisman Trophy), FBS players usually win these awards, and other awards (such as the Walter Payton Award) exist to honor players in other divisions and the FCS. In addition to the national awards listed below, FBS conferences also have their own awards, and several organizations release a yearly College Football All-America Team. In 1951, the National Football Foundation established the College Football Hall of Fame. Notable individual awards include:

• Best/most valuable player: Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, Archie Griffin Award, AP Player of the Year, SN Player of the Year, Lombardi Award (originally lineman/linebacker, but expanded to all players in 2016)
• Defensive player of the year: Chuck Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lott Trophy
• Position awards: Dave Rimington Trophy (Center), Davey O'Brien Award and Manning Award (Quarterback), Dick Butkus Award (Linebacker), Doak Walker Award (Running back), Fred Biletnikoff Award (Wide receiver), Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive back), John Mackey Award (Tight end), Lou Groza Award (Placekicker), Outland Trophy (Interior lineman), Ray Guy Award (Punter), Ted Hendricks Award (Defensive end), Jet Award (Return Specialist)
• Non-positional playing awards: Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player), Burlsworth Trophy (top player who began his college career as a walk-on)
• Coaching awards:
  • Head coaches: AFCA Coach of the Year, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, SN Coach of the Year, Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award, Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, Home Depot Coach of the Year Award, AP Coach of the Year
  • Assistants: Broyles Award, AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year
• Other awards: William V. Campbell Trophy, Wuerffel Trophy, Rudy Award, Amos Alonzo Stagg Award, Walter Camp Man of the Year, Theodore Roosevelt Award

The NCAA does not officially name a national champion, but several other organizations name national champions and all conferences participate in the College Football Playoff in order to determine a champion. The winner of the College Football Playoff receives the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy. The AP awards the AP National Championship Trophy, while the American Football Coaches Association awards the AFCA National Championship Trophy. The AFCA trophy was previously awarded to the winner of the BCS National Championship Game (a predecessor of the College Football Playoff National Championship game), which operated from 1999 to 2014. The Football Writers Association of America awards the Grantland Rice Trophy, and the National Football Foundation awards the MacArthur Bowl. Since the disputed end of the 2003 season, the various organizations have been able to agree on a single national champion.

Maps of teams

2019 season

2019 Map of Teams

Notre Dame Army BYU Liberty NM St. UMass La. Tech S. Miss. Rice UTEP Charlotte FIU FAU Marshall MTSU N. Texas Old Dominion UAB UTSA W. Kentucky Louisiana Ark. St. App. St. Coastal Carolina Georgia Southern Georgia St. ULM S. Alabama Texas St. Troy Akron NIU BGSU Central Mich. Miami (OH) Toledo W. Mich. Ball St. E. Mich. Ohio Kent St. Buffalo Temple SMU Houston Navy Tulane Memphis Cincinnati Tulsa E. Carolina UCF USF UConn Arizona Arizona St. Cal UCLA Oregon Oregon St. USC Stanford Washington Washington St. Colorado Utah TAMU Arkansas Florida Kentucky Georgia Tenn. Vanderbilt Alabama Auburn LSU Ole Miss Miss. St. Missouri S. Carolina Penn State Rutgers Nebraska Indiana Mich. MSU Ohio St. Illinois Iowa Minnesota Northwestern Purdue Wisconsin Maryland Iowa State Kansas Kansas St. Oklahoma Oklahoma St. Texas Tech Texas Baylor TCU WVU Ga. Tech WFU Virginia NCSU UNC Duke Clemson Boston College Syracuse Pitt Miami Va. Tech Florida St. Louisville San Diego St. Air Force Wyoming Colorado St. New Mexico Fresno St. San Jose St. Utah St. UNLV Boise St. Nevada This map shows Division I FBS during the 2019 season. Not shown: Hawaii (Mountain West)

Historical

1991

1991 Map of Teams

South Carolina Florida St. Penn State Notre Dame Louisville Tulsa E. Carolina La. Tech Akron Memphis Army Cincinnati S. Miss. USL NIU Ark. St. Navy Tulane Houston Texas Tech SMU TAMU Texas Rice Baylor TCU Arkansas Arizona Arizona St. Cal UCLA Oregon Oregon St. USC Stanford Washington Washington St. Florida Kentucky Georgia Tenn. Vanderbilt Alabama Auburn LSU Ole Miss Miss. St. Boston College Syracuse Pitt Miami Rutgers WVU Va. Tech Temple Indiana Mich. MSU Ohio St. Illinois Iowa Minnesota Northwestern Purdue Wisconsin Colorado Iowa State Kansas Kansas St. Missouri Nebraska Oklahoma Oklahoma St. Ga. Tech Wake Forest Virginia NCSU UNC Duke Clemson Maryland BYU San Diego St. Air Force Utah Wyoming UTEP Colorado St. New Mexico Fresno St. San Jose St. Utah St. Pacific UNLV Long Beach St. NM St. Cal St. Fullerton BGSU Central Mich. Miami (OH) Toledo W. Mich. Ball St. E. Mich. Ohio Kent St. This map shows Division I-A in 1991, when the Big East was formed and one year before the start of the Bowl Coalition. Hawaii (a member of the WAC) is not shown. Independents that joined an AQ conference by the BCS's inaugural 1998 season (plus Notre Dame, which also automatically qualified for the BCS under certain conditions) are represented by black circles, while the remaining independents are represented by silver pogs.

1956

1956 Map of Teams

Florida St. Penn State Notre Dame Louisville Army Cincinnati N. Texas Navy Syracuse Pitt Miami Pacific Holy Cross Boston College Villanova Colgate Dayton Drake Rutgers Texas Tech Boston U. San Jose St. Marquette Brown Columbia Cornell Dartmouth Harvard Penn Princeton Yale Colorado Iowa State Kansas Kansas St. Missouri Nebraska Oklahoma Wake Forest Virginia NCSU UNC Duke Clemson Maryland South Carolina BYU Colorado St. Wyoming New Mexico Utah Utah St. Denver Montana WVU Va. Tech GW Furman VMI Davidson Richmond Citadel W&M Houston Tulsa Oklahoma St. Wichita St. Detroit Arizona Arizona St. New Mexico St. UTEP Hardin-Simmons W. Texas A&M Cal UCLA Oregon Oregon St. USC Stanford Washington Washington St. Idaho SMU TAMU Texas Rice Baylor TCU Arkansas Florida Kentucky Georgia Tenn. Vanderbilt Alabama Auburn LSU Ole Miss Miss. St. Ga. Tech Tulane Indiana Michigan MSU Ohio St. Illinois Iowa Minnesota Northwestern Purdue Wisconsin The "University Division" in 1956.[63]

1927

1927 Map of Teams

Penn State Notre Dame Army Navy Syracuse Pitt Colgate Marquette MSU Brown Columbia Cornell Dartmouth Harvard Penn Princeton Yale Detroit Furman WVU Davidson Wake Forest Duke Georgetown W&J Creighton NYU Lafayette CMU Va. Tech VMI W&L Citadel Virginia NCSU UNC Clemson Maryland South Carolina Florida Kentucky Georgia Tenn. Vanderbilt Alabama Auburn LSU Ole Miss Miss. St. Ga. Tech Tulane Sewanee BYU Colorado St. Colorado Wyoming Utah Utah St. Denver Montana St. Denver Colorado Co. Colorado Mines Western St. N. Colorado Iowa State Kansas Kansas St. Missouri Nebraska Oklahoma Oklahoma St. Drake WUSTL Grinnell Cal UCLA Oregon Oregon St. USC Stanford Washington Washington St. Idaho Montana SMU TAMU Texas Rice Baylor TCU Arkansas Indiana Michigan Ohio St. Illinois Iowa Minnesota Northwestern Purdue Wisconsin Chicago College football teams in 1927, before six MVIAA teams formed the Big 6.[64]

Schools that have transitioned to the FBS

Schools that have transitioned to the FBS

La. Tech Akron UNLV Ark. St. Nevada ULM N. Texas Boise St. Buffalo UCF Marshall MTSU S. Florida UConn Troy FAU FIU W. Kentucky UMass Charlotte Liberty Old Dominion UTSA App. St. Georgia Southern Georgia St. S. Alabama Texas St. Coastal Carolina Idaho This map shows schools that have transitioned to the FBS since 1978. Green pogs indicate schools that transitioned before 1990, red pogs indicate schools that transitioned between 1990 and 1999, blue pogs indicate schools that transitioned between 2000 and 2009, and orange pogs indicate schools that transitioned after 2010. White pog denotes Idaho, a school that has transitioned from FCS to FBS (1997) and back to FCS (2018).

FBS programs by state

Alabama

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Alabama	Crimson Tide	Tuscaloosa	SEC	1892
Auburn	Tigers	Auburn	SEC	1892
South Alabama	Jaguars	Mobile	Sun Belt	2009
Troy	Trojans	Troy	Sun Belt	1909
UAB	Blazers	Birmingham	C-USA	1991

Arizona

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Arizona	Wildcats	Tucson	Pac-12	1899
Arizona State	Sun Devils	Tempe	Pac-12	1897

Arkansas

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Arkansas	Razorbacks	Fayetteville	SEC	1894
Arkansas State	Red Wolves	Jonesboro	Sun Belt	1911

California

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
California	Golden Bears	Berkeley	Pac-12	1886
Fresno State	Bulldogs	Fresno	MW	1921
San Diego State	Aztecs	San Diego	MW	1921
San Jose State	Spartans	San José	MW	1893
Stanford	Cardinal	Stanford	Pac-12	1891
UCLA	Bruins	Los Angeles	Pac-12	1919
USC	Trojans	Los Angeles	Pac-12	1888

Colorado

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Air Force	Falcons	Colorado Springs	MW	1955
Colorado	Buffaloes	Boulder	Pac-12	1890
Colorado State	Rams	Fort Collins	MW	1890

Connecticut

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
UConn	Huskies	Storrs	Independent	1896

Florida

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
FIU	Panthers	University Park	C-USA	2002
Florida	Gators	Gainesville	SEC	1906
Florida Atlantic	Florida Atlantic	Boca Raton	C-USA	2001
Florida State	Seminoles	Tallahassee	ACC	1902
Miami (FL)	Hurricanes	Coral Gables	ACC	1926
South Florida	Bulls	Tampa	The American	1997
UCF	Knights	Orlando	The American	1979

Georgia

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Georgia	Bulldogs	Athens	SEC	1892
Georgia Southern	Eagles	Statesboro	Sun Belt	1924
Georgia State	Panthers	Atlanta	Sun Belt	2010
Georgia Tech	Yellow Jackets	Atlanta	ACC	1892

Hawaii

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Hawaii	Rainbow Warriors	Honolulu	MW	1909

Idaho

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Boise State	Broncos	Boise	MW	1933

Illinois

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Illinois	Fighting Illini	Champaign–Urbana	Big Ten	1890
Northern Illinois	Huskies	DeKalb	MAC	1899
Northwestern	Wildcats	Evanston	Big Ten	1876

Indiana

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Ball State	Cardinals	Muncie	MAC	1924
Indiana	Hoosiers	Bloomington	Big Ten	1887
Notre Dame	Fighting Irish	Notre Dame	Independent	1887
Purdue	Boilermakers	West Lafayette	Big Ten	1887

Iowa

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Iowa	Hawkeyes	Iowa City	Big Ten	1889
Iowa State	Cyclones	Ames	Big 12	1891

Kansas

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Kansas	Jayhawks	Lawrence	Big 12	1890
Kansas State	Wildcats	Manhattan	Big 12	1896

Kentucky

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Kentucky	Wildcats	Lexington	SEC	1881
Louisville	Cardinals	Louisville	ACC	1910
Western Kentucky	Hilltoppers	Bowling Green	C-USA	1908

Louisiana

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Louisiana	Ragin' Cajuns	Lafayette	Sun Belt	1902
Louisiana Tech	Bulldogs	Ruston	C-USA	1901
LSU	Tigers	Baton Rouge	SEC	1893
Tulane	Green Wave	New Orleans	The American	1893
UL Monroe	Warhawks	Monroe	Sun Belt	1931

Maryland

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Maryland	Terrapins	College Park	Big Ten	1888
Navy	Midshipmen	Annapolis	The American	1879

Massachusetts

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Boston College	Eagles	Chestnut Hill	ACC	1893
UMass	Minutemen	Amherst	Independent	1879

Michigan

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Central Michigan	Chippewas	Mount Pleasant	MAC	1896
Eastern Michigan	Eagles	Ypsilanti	MAC	1891
Michigan	Wolverines	Ann Arbor	Big Ten	1879
Michigan State	Spartans	East Lansing	Big Ten	1885
Western Michigan	Broncos	Kalamazoo	MAC	1905

Minnesota

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Minnesota	Golden Gophers	Minneapolis–Saint Paul	Big Ten	1882

Mississippi

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Mississippi State	Bulldogs	Starkville	SEC	1895
Ole Miss	Rebels	Oxford	SEC	1890
Southern Miss	Golden Eagles	Hattiesburg	C-USA	1912

Missouri

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Missouri	Tigers	Columbia	SEC	1890

Nebraska

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Nebraska	Cornhuskers	Lincoln	Big Ten	1890

Nevada

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Nevada	Wolf Pack	Reno	MW	1896
UNLV	Rebels	Paradise	MW	1968

New Jersey

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Rutgers	Scarlet Knights	New Brunswick–Piscataway	Big Ten	1869

New Mexico

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
New Mexico	Lobos	Albuquerque	MW	1892
New Mexico State	Aggies	Las Cruces	Independent	1893

New York

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Army	Black Knights	West Point	Independent	1890
Buffalo	Bulls	Buffalo	MAC	1894
Syracuse	Orange	Syracuse	ACC	1889

North Carolina

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Appalachian State	Mountaineers	Boone	Sun Belt	1928
Charlotte	49ers	Charlotte	C-USA	2013
Duke	Duke	Durham	ACC	1888
East Carolina	Pirates	Greenville	The American	1932
NC State	Wolfpack	Raleigh	ACC	1892
North Carolina	Tar Heels	Chapel Hill	ACC	1888
Wake Forest	Demon Deacons	Winston–Salem	ACC	1888

Ohio

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Akron	Zips	Akron	MAC	1891
Bowling Green	Falcons	Bowling Green	MAC	1919
Cincinnati	Bearcats	Cincinnati	The American	1885
Kent State	Golden Flashes	Kent	MAC	1920
Miami (OH)	RedHawks	Oxford	MAC	1888
Ohio	Bobcats	Athens	MAC	1894
Ohio State	Buckeyes	Columbus	Big Ten	1889
Toledo	Rockets	Toledo	MAC	1917

Oklahoma

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Oklahoma	Sooners	Norman	Big 12	1895
Oklahoma State	Cowboys	Stillwater	Big 12	1901
Tulsa	Golden Hurricane	Tulsa	The American	1895

Oregon

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Oregon	Ducks	Eugene	Pac-12	1894
Oregon State	Beavers	Corvallis	Pac-12	1893

Pennsylvania

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Penn State	Nittany Lions	State College	Big Ten	1881
Pittsburgh	Panthers	Pittsburgh	ACC	1890
Temple	Owls	Philadelphia	The American	1895

South Carolina

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Clemson	Tigers	Clemson	ACC	1896
Coastal Carolina	Chanticleers	Conway	Sun Belt	2003
South Carolina	Gamecocks	Columbia	SEC	1892

Tennessee

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Memphis	Tigers	Memphis	The American	1912
Middle Tennessee	Blue Raiders	Murfreesboro	C-USA	1911
Tennessee	Volunteers	Knoxville	SEC	1891
Vanderbilt	Commodores	Nashville	SEC	1890

Texas

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Baylor	Bears	Waco	Big 12	1899
Houston	Cougars	Houston	The American	1946
North Texas	Mean Green	Denton	C-USA	1913
Rice	Owls	Houston	C-USA	1912
SMU	Mustangs	Dallas	The American	1915
TCU	Horned Frogs	Fort Worth	Pac-12	1896
Texas	Longhorns	Austin	Big 12	1893
Texas A&M	Aggies	College Station	SEC	1894
Texas State	Bobcats	San Marcos	Sun Belt	1904
Texas Tech	Red Raiders	Lubbock	Big 12	1925
UTEP	Miners	El Paso	C-USA	1914
UTSA	Roadrunners	San Antonio	C-USA	2011

Utah

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
BYU	Cougars	Provo	Independent	1922
Utah	Utes	Salt Lake City	Pac-12	1892
Utah State	Aggies	Logan	MW	1992

Virginia

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Liberty	Flames	Lynchburg	Independent	1973
Old Dominion	Monarchs	Norfolk	C-USA	2009
Virginia	Cavaliers	Charlottesville	ACC	1888
Virginia Tech	Hokies	Blacksburg	ACC	1992

Washington

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Washington	Huskies	Seattle	Pac-12	1889
Washington State	Cougars	Pullman	Pac-12	1893

West Virginia

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Marshall	Thundering Herd	Huntington	C-USA	1895
West Virginia	Mountaineers	Morgantown	Big 12	1891

Wisconsin

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Wisconsin	Badgers	Madison	Big Ten	1889

Wyoming

Team	Nickname	City	Current conference	First played
Wyoming	Cowboys	Laramie	MW	1893

• 9 states (Alaska, Delaware, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont) and Washington, D.C. do not currently have FBS programs.

See also

• NCAA Men's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision alignment history
• List of NCAA Division I non-football programs
• List of NCAA Division I FBS football stadiums

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