Lower NCAA Division Season Structures

Regular Season from 1978-2025

Initially from 1978-2025, each team plays an 11-game regular season while the duration of the regular season lasts from 12-14 weeks. From 2008-25, FCS teams only played a 12-game regular season schedule if there were 14 Saturdays from Labor Day Weekend to Thanksgiving Weekend. The season duration would look like the this:

Regular Season Since 2026

Since the 2026 season, all FCS teams play a 12-game regular season schedule every year (except the Ivy League as each team plays a 10-game schedule every year). It would begin on the weekend before Labor Day Weekend and conclude on the weekend before Thanksgiving. The season duration would look like the this:

Ivy League

From its inception and until 2024, the Ivy League did not send their conference champion nor any other teams to the postseason. On December 18, 2024, after sitting out of the postseason for nearly 80 years, the Ivy League approved their teams to participate in the FCS playoffs beginning with the 2025 season.

MEAC and SWAC

MEAC and SWAC only send their conference champions to the Celebration Bowl. MEAC teams are eligible for at-large bids for the FCS playoffs if they do not win the conference championship. The SWAC, on the other hand, do not send any team to the postseason other than the Celebration Bowl. The MEAC and SWAC are now the only conferences that do not send their conference champions to the FCS playoffs.

FCS Playoff Evolution

The evolution of the Division I FCS Playoffs looked like the following:

Since splitting from Division I FBS, the FCS initiated a 4-team playoff in 1978. The four-team playoff consisted of three regional selections (East, South, and West) and an at-large bid. As more conferences and teams joined the FCS, the playoffs expanded. It expanded to eight teams in 1981, then to 12 teams the following season, 16 teams in 1986, 20 teams in 2010, and eventually expanded to 24 teams starting in 2013. The 2020 season was an exception to the rule due to the pandemic. The FCS postponed their 2020 season to spring 2021 and held a 16-team playoff. The 1981 edition of the playoffs contained automatic bids from the five conference champions, one bid from the top independent team, and two at-large bids. The 12-team playoff seasons from 1982-1985 were a bit unique as there were some conferences that were hybrids of either Division I-A and I-AA or I-AA and DIvision II conferences. Automatic qualifiers went to teams that win their conference with at least 6 Division I -AA teams during the 12-team playoff seasons.

Since the 1986-playoff expansion and before the 2013-playoff expansion, not all FCS conferences have automatic bids to the playoffs. Before the latest FCS playoff expansion, teams that were part of the non-automatic qualifying conferences did not offer football scholarships and must meet a requirement in order to gain consideration for the playoffs. These teams must have at least eight wins in Division I in order to gain consideration into the playoffs. However, there were exceptions to the case. Until 1997, the Patriot League abstained from the playoffs. Some teams that win the conference championships from these non-automatic qualifying conferences also met the winning requirement but did not earn any playoff invite. Because these conferences do not have automatic bids, some of the conferences send teams to the bowl games to relinquish their season accomplishments.

Since the 2013 playoff expansion, all FCS conferences give scholarships to their respective players except for the Ivy League and Pioneer League. Teams in either of those conferences do not offer scholarships. All FCS conferences except for two receive automatic bids to the FCS playoffs. In order to qualify for the playoffs, teams must win their conference and break all ties if they share their conference championship. With the Ivy League’s inclusion for the FCS playoffs, the FCS playoffs consist of 11 automatic bids and 13 at-large selections to determine the Division I FCS National Champion.

FCS Playoff Schedule

The current FCS playoffs since 2010 happens as follows:

The FCS Playoffs last 6-7 weeks due to one or two bye weeks in-between the semifinals and National Championship games. From 2013-23, all eight national seeds earn a first-round bye and play the winner of the first-round playoff games, which contain 16 unseeded teams. Since the 2024 season, all eight national seeds earn a first-round bye and play the winner of the first-round playoff games, which contain 8 more national seeded teams and 8 more unseeded teams. The 16 national seeds also earn home field advantage, with the higher seed hosting a playoff game, and top two teams earning home field throughout until the FCS National Championship Game. The first top 8 national seed to win four Division I FCS playoff games or first top 16 national seed or unseeded team to win five Division I FCS playoff games is the Division I FCS National Champion.

FCS Teams Playing 16 or 17 Total Games from 2008-25

From 2008-25, when the FCS allowed teams to play a 12-game regular season, teams could play up to 16 or 17 games if they make the playoffs. In the 2025 season, Illinois State became the first and only team to play 17 games (as well as the first team to win four true road postseason games) before the FCS permanently allowed 12-game regular season schedules. The following are teams that pulled off this model with the 2008 NCAA rule from 2008-25:

*Was only a 16-team playoff prior to 2010 playoff expansion

With the permanent regular season expansion to 12 games beginning in 2026, a top 8 national seed would permanently play up to 16 games, while a first-round participant would permanently play up to 17 games to try to become a Division I FCS National Champion.

Regular Season from 1973-2023

Initially from 1978-2023, each team plays an 10-game or 11-game regular season while the duration of the regular season lasts for 11 weeks. You'll notice how some Division II teams playing an 11-game schedule initially have zero bye weeks in the regular season (in most years). The season duration would look like the following:

Regular Season Since 2024

Since the 2024 season, the NCAA allowed schools to play one week earlier, which extended the regular season from 11 weeks to 12 weeks. It would begin on the weekend before Labor Day Weekend and conclude on the penultimate weekend before Thanksgiving. The season duration would look like the following:

The Regular Season Structure

Four Super Regions divide the Division II football conferences to one of four super regions. Each super region houses four conferences each. Northeastern State currently competes as an Independent. Most Division II teams within their respective conferences do schedule non-conference opponents. However, the number of non-conference games each Division II team can play highly depends on the max number of conference games they can play. That number would also depend on the number of Division II teams that are part of their respective conferences. The following are the number of conference games and nonconference games each Division II team can play, depending on the conference affiliation:

*Only applicable for an 11-game regular season schedule

In other words, any team that does not play any non-conference games play a conference-only schedule during the regular season.

Exceptions

There are a few conferences that deviate from this rule. The following Division II conferences are the exceptions:

Division II Postseason History

In 1964, the NCAA utilized four bowl games to highlight the best Division II teams after the regular season. Division II relied on polls to consent a National Champion. Therefore, these bowl games did not matter and did not affect the standing of the participating Division II teams. This happened from 1964-72.

Division II began to administer a playoff system in 1973. The evolution of the Division II Playoffs looked like the following:

Starting in 1973, the NCAA administered an 8-team playoff system to determine a national champion in Division II Football. After 15 seasons, it then expanded to 16 teams in 1988. The playoff then expanded to a fifth round to 24 teams in 2004, and eventually expanded to 28 teams, which lasted from 2015-24. Their playoffs consist of four super regional playoffs, semifinals, and a national championship game.

Division II Playoff Bids 1973-2024

From 1973-2024, the teams selected to participate in the playoff were all at-large selections. Up until the 2024 season, winning a conference championship does not guarantee an automatic spot into the Division II playoffs. In other words, Division II football had no automatic qualifiers. Because there were no automatic bids, it is possible for a conference to not have a team qualify for the playoffs. From 1973-1987, the top eight teams were selected to participate in the playoffs. From 1988-2003, the top 16 teams were selected to participate in the playoffs.

Since the playoff expanded to 24 teams in 2004, every team in one of the Division II super regions can qualify for the playoffs. The NCAA Division II football national committee provides three Super Regional rankings of each of the four Super Regions over the final three weeks of the season. The Super Regional rankings show the top 10 teams from each super region to keep track of teams in contention to make the Division II playoffs for the final three weeks of the regular season. From 2004-14, the Division II selection committee would select the top six teams in each super region to make the playoffs. From 2015-24, the Division II selection committee would select the top seven teams in each super region to make the playoffs, totaling to the final 28 teams to play for the Division II Football Championship. Because there were no automatic bids, it is possible for a conference to not have a team qualify for the playoffs.

From 2015-18, the top seven seeds in each regional ranking advance to the Division II football playoffs. The four number one seeds in each super region will gain a first-round bye, while the other six seeded teams in each super region will play against each other in the first round. From 2019-24, only the top four teams in each super region have seeds, with the number one seed still gaining a first-round bye, while the last three qualifying teams in each super region are unseeded and play on the road against one of the top four seeds. The national quarterfinals are the Super Region championships. The Division II selection committee reseeds the four super regional winners, seeding them from 1-4, and one of those four super regional winners will win the championship. The first number one seed to win four postseason games (playing up to 15 total games) or any 2-4 seeds or unseeded teams (2-7 seeds from 2015-18 Division II Playoff Editions) to win five postseason games (playing up to 16 total games) will win the championship.

However, there was a rule in place called Earned Access. Earned Access works for each super region. It will reward the final spot in the seven-team regional bracket to the highest ranked team from a conference if said team is in the top 9 of their respective regional rankings, but not in the top 7. For example, if the highest ranked team from a conference is 8th in the final regional rankings, it would be awarded the final invitation in that region. If the highest ranked team from a conference is 10th or lower, that conference will not be represented in the playoffs.

Division II Playoff Bids 2025-present

On January 17, 2025, Division II eliminated the Earned Access Model and administers automatic bids beginning with the 2025 season. The automatic bids will go to the teams who won their conference championship. If a conference names co-champions, ties would be broken to determine their automatic bid. With the administration of automatic bids, the Earned Access Bids would be eliminated. In addition, on April 23, 2025, Division II has officially expanded the playoff to 32 teams beginning the 2025 season to accommodate the automatic bids. This time, the first team to win five postseason games (playing up to 16 total games) will win the championship.

Division II Playoff Schedule

The current Division II playoffs schedule goes as follows:

Bowl Games in Division II

In addition, Division II currently offers three bowl games to teams that missed the Division II playoffs. These bowl games have conference ties and kick off on the same weekend as the Division II playoff quarterfinals. There are currently three bowl games administered to teams not making the Division II playoffs.

Division III Season Duration

The season duration would look like the this:

The regular season begins on Labor Day Weekend and ends at the same time Division II concludes their regular season (also having a date range on Nov. 10-16).

The Regular Season Structure

Like Division II, the number of conference games Division III teams can play depends on the number of teams that are part of their respective conferences. Each conference supports at least 6 teams, but no more than 10-11 teams. Each conference supports at least 6 teams, but no more than 10-11 teams. The following are the number of conference games and nonconference games each Division III team can play, depending on the conference affiliation and the number of teams that are part of their respective conferences:

Exceptions

The following Division III conferences are the exceptions

New England Small Collegiate Athletic Conference (NESCAC)

Up until 2025, the New England Small Collegiate Athletic Conference (NESCAC) did not send their conference champion nor any other teams to the postseason. The 10 NESCAC teams initially played an 8-game conference only schedule. Since 2017, all NESCAC members only play a 9-game round-robin conference only schedule. On April 18, 2025, the NESCAC approved their teams to participate in the postseason beginning in 2026.

Division III Postseason History

In 1969, the NCAA started utilizing regional championship games for small college football teams. They utilized the Knute Rockne Bowl and Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl as the regional bowl games as their postseason. This happened for only four seasons from 1969-72. In 1973, the NCAA began enforcing a playoff system in Division III. The evolution of the Division III Playoffs looked like the following:

Division III kept the Stagg Bowl name and began using a 4-team playoff system in 1973. It expanded to eight teams in 1975, then to 16 teams in 1985, 28 teams in 1999, and eventually expanded to 32 teams starting with the 2005 season. On April 18, 2024, the Division III Management Council supported (and eventually approved) the expansion of the Division III Playoffs to 40 teams.

Division III Playoff Schedule From 1999-2023

The five-round playoff lasted until the 2023 season. The Division III playoffs from 1999-2023 ran as follows:

Prior to playoff expansion, the Division III playoff schedule is nearly the same as the Division II playoffs except for the National Championship Game. The Friday before the 3rd Weekend of December is the day of the Division III National Championship Game.

Division III Playoffs from 2024-present

With the expansion gone to effect since the 2024 season, there would be now double-digit at-large berths for the Division III playoffs. With the extra week added to the Division III playoff schedule, the Division III National Championship would kick off in January. The Division III playoffs schedule would run as follows:

Division III Bowl Games

In addition, Division III currently administers 14 bowl games to any team that did not win their conference championship and missed the playoffs. Most Division III bowl games are part of a bowl series and have conference ties. These bowl games kick off on the same weekend as the first round of the Division III playoffs.