2007 was a typical FCS season: conference and team changes abounded. There was also that small upset caused by Appalachian State with their win over Michigan to start the season.
2007 FCS Over FBS Victories (10)
- Appalachian State @ Michigan, 34-32
- Nicholls @ Rice, 16-14
- Northern Iowa @ Iowa State, 24-13
- Southern Illinois @ Northern Illinois, 34-31
- McNeese @ Louisiana, 38-17
- New Hampshire @ Marshall, 48-35
- Western Kentucky @ Middle Tennessee, 20-17
- North Dakota State @ Central Michigan, 44-14
- North Dakota State @ Minnesota, 27-21
- Delaware @ Navy, 59-52
Playoff Bracket, Notes, and National Champion
The FCS playoff format remained the same for the seventh straight season with the seeding of only the top four teams and the use of campus sites through the semifinals. The National Championship was played on December 14 at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the 11th straight season.
The home team is listed on the bottom of each matchup in the bracket below while an asterisk (*) denotes the number of overtime periods played if a game went to overtime. Appalachian State (13-2 Overall, 5-2 Southern Conference) became the first FCS team to win three straight I-AA/FCS titles with a 49-21 win over Delaware (11-4 Overall, 5-3 Colonial Athletic Association). Only two teams had ever won back-to-back titles to that point – Georgia Southern three different times (1985–86, 89–90, and 1999–2000) and Youngstown State (1993–94).
Conference Changes
The Atlantic 10 Conference stopped sponsoring football after the 2006 season as all its football members moved over to the newly established Colonial Athletic Association. The CAA was a new charter, thus they did not keep the shared history of the Atlantic 10 (and the Yankee Conference before it) but kept the North and South divisions intact.
Team Changes
The 12 football teams from the Atlantic 10 went to the CAA: Delaware, Hofstra, James Madison, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Northeastern, Rhode Island, Richmond, Towson, Villanova, and William & Mary.
Saint Peter’s decided to drop their football program after the 2006 season. They were part of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).
Austin Peay became a member of the Ohio Valley Conference after spending one season as an FCS independent. Central Arkansas joined the Southland Conference after their first year of Division II to FCS transition was spent as an independent.
Stony Brook left the Northeast Conference and became an FCS independent for a season. Western Kentucky left the Gateway Conference (now Missouri Valley Football Conference) to become an FCS independent as part of their transition to the FBS.
Two Division II schools began their first year of a four-year transition process as FCS independents. North Carolina Central left the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and Presbyterian left the South Atlantic Conference (SAC).
The NCAA did not have North Dakota State and South Dakota State as fully eligible until the 2008 season. Thus, they were not counted as official teams but we do list them since they were in a transition to the FCS. The same applies to North Carolina Central and Presbyterian, both of whom became eligible starting in 2011.
Two other teams were in their second year of a transition and would be eligible starting in 2010 according to the NCAA. The first was Central Arkansas, moving up from the Division II Gulf South Conference. The second was Winston-Salem State who would complete three years of the D-II to FCS process but decided to return to Division II and never was fully eligible per the NCAA. WSSU spent the 2006 season as an FCS independent and was considered a MEAC team starting in 2007.
| Team | Old Conference | New Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Austin Peay | FCS Independent | Ohio Valley (FCS) |
| Central Arkansas | FCS Independent | Southland (FCS) |
| Delaware | Atlantic 10 (FCS) | CAA (FCS) |
| Hofstra | Atlantic 10 (FCS) | CAA (FCS) |
| James Madison | Atlantic 10 (FCS) | CAA (FCS) |
| Maine | Atlantic 10 (FCS) | CAA (FCS) |
| Massachusetts | Atlantic 10 (FCS) | CAA (FCS) |
| New Hampshire | Atlantic 10 (FCS) | CAA (FCS) |
| North Carolina Central | CIAA (Division II) | FCS Independent |
| Northeastern | Atlantic 10 (FCS) | CAA (FCS) |
| Presbyterian | SAC (Division II) | FCS Independent |
| Rhode Island | Atlantic 10 (FCS) | CAA (FCS) |
| Richmond | Atlantic 10 (FCS) | CAA (FCS) |
| Saint Peter’s | MAAC (FCS) | Dropped Football |
| Stony Brook | Northeast Conference (FCS) | FCS Independent |
| Towson | Atlantic 10 (FCS) | CAA (FCS) |
| Villanova | Atlantic 10 (FCS) | CAA (FCS) |
| Western Kentucky | Gateway (FCS) | FCS Independent |
| William & Mary | Atlantic 10 (FCS) | CAA (FCS) |
| Winston-Salem State | FCS Independent | MEAC (FCS) |
2006 Season ———————————————————————————————————————————————————- 2008 Season