The final season of the decade ended with some familiar themes: teams changing conferences and North Dakota State winning the FCS Championship.
2019 FCS Over FBS Victories (3)
- Central Arkansas @ Western Kentucky, 35-28
- Southern Illinois @ Massachusetts, 45-20
- The Citadel @ Georgia Tech, 27-24 (1 OT)
Playoff Bracket, Notes, and National Champion
The 2019 FCS Playoffs retained the same format for the seventh straight season with a field of 24 teams. In addition, the 8 seeded teams all received a first-round bye while campus sites were used through the semifinal round. Frisco, Texas was the site of the FCS National Championship for the tenth straight season. The title game was held on January 11, 2020.
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. North Dakota State (16-0 Overall, 8-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference) won their third straight title and eighth in the previous nine seasons. They defeated a familiar foe in James Madison (14-2 Overall, 8-0 Colonial Athletic Association) 28-20 for the second time in three FCS Championship contests.
Conference Changes
No conference changes were in effect at the FCS level for the 2019 season.
Team Changes
Only one team left the FCS level when Savannah State dropped from the MEAC to the Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). Joining the FCS were Long Island University and Merrimack. Both moved up from the Division II Northeast-10 Conference to become members of the Northeast Conference. Neither team is fully FCS-eligible until the 2023 season.
Two FCS independents joined the Big South Conference from FCS independent status – Hampton and North Alabama. The Lions were in their second year of transition from Division to FCS. The NCAA does not list the Lions as they are not fully eligible until the 2022 season. North Dakota was in their second year of a two-year process to move into the Missouri Valley Conference, but their Big Sky games counted for their opponents.
| Team | Old Conference | New Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Hampton | FCS Independent | Big South (FCS) |
| Long Island | Northeast-10 (Division II) | Northeast Conference (FCS) |
| Merrimack | Northeast-10 (Division II) | Northeast Conference (FCS) |
| North Alabama | FCS Independent | Big South (FCS) |
| North Dakota | Big Sky (FCS) | FCS Independent |
| Savannah State | MEAC (FCS) | SIAC (Division II) |
2018 Season ——————————————————————————————————————————————————- 2020 Season