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
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

School	Former conference	New conference
Dixie State Trailblazers	RMAC (Division II)	FCS independent
North Dakota Fighting Hawks	FCS independent	MVFC
Tarleton State Texans	LSC (Division II)	FCS independent
Presbyterian Blue Hose	Big South	FCS independent
Jacksonville Dolphins	Pioneer Football League	Disbanded program
Robert Morris Colonials	Northeast Conference	FCS independent

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]
  • Howard
  • McNeese State
  • Prairie View A&M
  • Stephen F. Austin
• 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.

• Southern Illinois at Kansas
• FCS Kickoff (Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Alabama): Austin Peay vs. Central Arkansas[22]

FCS team wins over FBS teams

Non-DI team wins over FCS teams

Conference standings

Conferences with possibility of playing in the spring

2020 Big South Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Campbell   –         –   Charleston Southern   –         –   Gardner–Webb   –         –   Hampton   –         –   Kennesaw State   –         –   Monmouth   –         –   North Alabama*   –         –   $ – Conference champion Note: Due to COVID-19, the Big South suspended the 2020 football season. * – Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to transition to NCAA Division I As of August 17, 2020; Rankings from STATS Poll	2020 Ivy League football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Brown   –         –   Columbia   –         –   Cornell   –         –   Dartmouth   –         –   Harvard   –         –   Penn   –         –   Princeton   –         –   Yale   –         –   Note: Due to COVID-19, the Ivy League suspended the 2020 football season. As of August 17, 2020; Rankings from STATS Poll	2020 Colonial Athletic Association football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Albany   –         –   Delaware   –         –   Elon   –         –   James Madison   –         –   Maine   –         –   New Hampshire   –         –   Rhode Island   –         –   Richmond   –         –   Stony Brook   –         –   Towson   –         –   Villanova   –         –   William & Mary   –         –   Note: Due to COVID-19, the Colonial Athletic suspended the 2020 football season. As of August 17, 2020; Rankings from STATS Poll
2020 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Bethune–Cookman   –         –   Delaware State   –         –   Florida A&M   –         –   Howard*   –         –   Morgan State   –         –   Norfolk State   –         –   North Carolina A&T   –         –   North Carolina Central   –         –   South Carolina State   –         –   Note: Due to COVID-19, the Mid-Eastern Athletic suspended the 2020 football season. * – Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to NCAA sanctions As of August 17, 2020; Rankings from STATS Poll	2020 Northeast Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Bryant   –         –   Central Connecticut   –         –   Duquesne   –         –   LIU   –         –   Merrimack*   –         –   Sacred Heart   –         –   Saint Francis   –         –   Wagner   –         –   Note: Due to COVID-19, the Northeast suspended the 2020 football season. * – 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 As of August 17, 2020; Rankings from STATS Poll	2020 Ohio Valley Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Austin Peay   0 – 0         0 – 0   Eastern Illinois   0 – 0         0 – 0   Eastern Kentucky   0 – 0         0 – 0   Jacksonville State   0 – 0         0 – 0   Murray State   0 – 0         0 – 0   Southeast Missouri State   0 – 0         0 – 0   Tennessee State   0 – 0         0 – 0   Tennessee Tech   0 – 0         0 – 0   UT Martin   0 – 0         0 – 0   As of August 17, 2020; Rankings from STATS Poll
2020 Patriot League football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Bucknell   –         –   Colgate   –         –   Fordham   –         –   Georgetown   –         –   Holy Cross   –         –   Lafayette   –         –   Lehigh   –         –   Note: Due to COVID-19, the Patriot League suspended the 2020 football season. As of August 17, 2020; Rankings from STATS Poll	2020 Pioneer Football League standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Butler   –         –   Davidson   –         –   Dayton   –         –   Drake   –         –   Marist   –         –   Morehead State   –         –   San Diego   –         –   Stetson   –         –   Valparaiso   –         –   Note: Due to COVID-19, the Pioneer Football League suspended the 2020 football season. As of August 17, 2020; Rankings from STATS Poll	2020 Southern Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Chattanooga   0 – 0         0 – 0   The Citadel   0 – 0         0 – 0   East Tennessee State   0 – 0         0 – 0   Furman   0 – 0         0 – 0   Mercer   0 – 0         0 – 0   Samford   0 – 0         0 – 0   VMI   0 – 0         0 – 0   Western Carolina   0 – 0         0 – 0   Wofford   0 – 0         0 – 0   As of August 17, 2020; Rankings from STATS Poll
2020 Southland Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Abilene Christian   0 – 0         0 – 0   Central Arkansas   0 – 0         0 – 0   Houston Baptist   0 – 0         0 – 0   Incarnate Word   0 – 0         0 – 0   Lamar   0 – 0         0 – 0   McNeese State *   0 – 0         0 – 0   Nicholls   0 – 0         0 – 0   Northwestern State   0 – 0         0 – 0   Sam Houston State   0 – 0         0 – 0   Southeastern Louisiana   0 – 0         0 – 0   Stephen F. Austin *   0 – 0         0 – 0   * – Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to NCAA sanctions As of August 17, 2020; Rankings from STATS Poll	2020 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Dixie State † *   –         –   Presbyterian † **   –         –   Robert Morris † **   –         –   Tarleton State †   –         –   Note: † Due to COVID-19, all teams have suspended the 2020 football season. * – Ineligible for FCS playoffs due to transition from Division II ** – Playing as an FCS independent for the 2020 season before moving to a different conference As of August 17, 2020; Rankings from STATS Poll

Conferences playing in the spring

2020 Big Sky Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Cal Poly   –         –   Eastern Washington   –         –   Idaho   –         –   Idaho State   –         –   Montana   –         –   Montana State   –         –   Northern Arizona   –         –   Northern Colorado   –         –   Portland State   –         –   Sacramento State   –         –   Southern Utah   –         –   UC Davis   –         –   Weber State   –         –   Note: Due to COVID-19, the Big Sky suspended the 2020 football season. As of August 17, 2020; Rankings from STATS Poll

2020 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Illinois State   –         –   Indiana State   –         –   Missouri State   –         –   North Dakota   –         –   North Dakota State   –         –   Northern Iowa   –         –   South Dakota   –         –   South Dakota State   –         –   Southern Illinois   –         –   Western Illinois   –         –   Youngstown State   –         –   Note: Due to COVID-19, the Missouri Valley Football suspended the 2020 football season. As of August 17, 2020; Rankings from STATS Poll

2020 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division Alabama A&M   –         –   Alabama State   –         –   Alcorn State   –         –   Jackson State   –         –   Mississippi Valley State   –         –   West Division Arkansas–Pine Bluff   –         –   Grambling State   –         –   Prairie View A&M*   –         –   Southern   –         –   Texas Southern   –         –   Note: Due to COVID-19, the Southwestern Athletic suspended the 2020 football season. * – Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to NCAA sanctions As of August 17, 2020; Rankings from STATS Poll

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
Austin Peay	Mark Hudspeth	July 3	Resigned	Marquase Lovings (interim)

End of season

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement

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

1. "Road to the Championship". ncaa.com. 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
2. "SWAC Announces Addition of Florida A&M as Full Member" (Press release). Southwestern Athletic Conference. June 4, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
3. "Bethune-Cookman University is fourth school to leave MEAC since 2018". WTKR. June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
4. "Big South Adds North Carolina A&T University as Full Member" (Press release). Big South Conference. February 7, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
5. "Football players flagged for targeting will be able to remain in bench area" (Press release). NCAA. April 21, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
6. Bonagura, Kyle (May 12, 2020). "California State University system to stay online, leaving fall sports up in air". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
7. Borzello, Jeff (May 19, 2020). "NCAA: 15 Division I programs face postseason bans over APR results". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
8. "Robert Morris leaves NEC for Horizon League; football moves to Big South". wtae.com. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
9. "Robert Morris football to join Big South Conference in 2021". fbschedules.com. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
10. "Robert Morris joins Horizon League, football heads to Big South". timesonline.com. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
11. West, Jenna. "Ivy League to Postpone Fall Athletics, No Date Set for Return". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
12. "Patriot League cancels fall sports due to virus". ESPN.com. July 13, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
13. "MEAC suspends all fall sports for indefinite period". ESPN.com. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
14. Singelais, Mark (July 16, 2020). "Reports: CAA football won't play this fall". Times Union. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
15. "MEAC-SWAC 2020 football matchups in Atlanta canceled". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
16. Wilmer, Brian (July 21, 2020). "SWAC postpones 2020 football season to spring 2021". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
17. Kelley, Kevin (July 27, 2020). "Pioneer Football League to play conference-only football schedule in 2020". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
18. Kelley, Kevin (July 30, 2020). "Northeast Conference postpones 2020 football season due to COVID-19". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
19. Kelley, Kevin (7 August 2020). "Pioneer Football League postpones fall 2020 football schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
20. "Big Sky Postpones Football Conference Competition Until Spring". bigskyconf.com. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
21. Kelley, Kevin (10 August 2020). "Missouri Valley Football Conference postpones season to Spring 2021". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
22. "Austin Peay Football to Open 2020 at Guardian Credit Union FCS Kickoff" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. January 29, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.