The 2025 FCS Season began on Saturday, August 23, 2025, and ended on Monday, January 5, 2026, with 129 teams across 13 conferences. The Montana State Bobcats dethroned the MVFC by defeating Illinois State 35-34 in the first overtime FCS Championship Game. It was Montana State’s first FCS title since 1984.
2025 FCS Over FBS Victories (4)
- Tarleton State @ Army, 30-27 (2 OT)
- Austin Peay @ Middle Tennessee, 34-14
- Bryant @ Massachusetts, 27-26
- Long Island @ Eastern Michigan, 28-23
Playoff Bracket, Notes, and National Champion
The FCS Playoff format remained the same for the 2025 season with a 24-team bracket and 16-seeded teams. The top 8 teams received a first round bye, while seeds 9 through 16 hosted a first round matchup. Campus sites were used from the first round through the semifinal round. The Ivy League competed in the FCS Playoffs for the first time after reversing its policy against football postseason competition. FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, hosted the FCS Championship for the first time. The date of the National Championship game was Monday, January 5, 2026.
Conference Changes
The Big South-OVC Football Association switched its name to the “OVC-Big South Football Association” after the conclusion of the 2024 season. A new logo appeared when the OVC-Big South announced its 2025 conference schedule that featured the OVC title more prominently, along with the words “in association with the Big South.”
The Ivy League sent its conference champion to the 2025 FCS Playoffs as an automatic qualifier for the first time after ending its longstanding abstention policy for football postseason competition. As a result, there were 11 automatic qualifiers and 13 at-large bids for the 2025 FCS Playoffs, which culminated in the National Championship game to be held in Nashville, Tennessee.
Team Changes
There were four total changes involving membership for the FCS in 2025: two teams departed, one team joined, and another switched conferences. Delaware (CAA) and Missouri State (MVFC) left the FCS to join the FBS and Conference USA in 2025. Both teams started the two-year reclassification process in 2024 and were ineligible for the FCS playoffs.
There are two FCS newcomers for the 2025 season. The first is the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), which joined the Southland Conference and will be eligible for the FCS playoffs in its first season. The other new team for 2025 is the New Haven Chargers, who joined NCAA Division I and the Northeast Conference beginning with the 2025-26 academic year. Meanwhile, the Richmond Spiders moved from the CAA to the Patriot League in 2025, putting the CAA at 14 teams and the Patriot League at 8.
The NCAA amended its reclassification policy that could shorten the transition period by one year for any schools moving from NCAA Division II or Division III into Division I and the FCS. The policy applies to teams already in the reclassification process into D-I, as well as any future programs. East Texas A&M (Southland), Lindenwood (OVC-Big South), St. Thomas (PFL), and Stonehill (Northeast) were eligible for the FCS Playoffs beginning with the 2025 season.
| Team | Old Conference | New Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Delaware | CAA (FCS) | C-USA (FBS) |
| Missouri State | MVFC (FCS) | C-USA (FBS) |
| New Haven | Northeast-10 (D-II) | Northeast (FCS) |
| Richmond | CAA (FCS) | Patriot League (FCS) |
| UTRGV | New Program | Southland (FCS) |
2024 Season ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— 2026 Season