The 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, was organized by the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA) at the
Division I Football Championship Subdivision
The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (F ...
(FCS) level. The season began on August 30, 2012, and concluded with the
2013 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
The 2013 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the North Dakota State Bison football, North Dakota State Bison and the Sam Houston State Bearkats football, Sam Houston State Bearkats. It was pl ...
on January 5, 2013, at
FC Dallas Stadium
Toyota Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in the southern United States, located in Frisco, Texas, a suburb north of Dallas. Built and owned by the city of Frisco, the 20,500-seat stadium opened in 2005. Its primary tenants are Major League ...
in
Frisco, Texas
Frisco is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Collin County, Texas, Collin and Denton County, Texas, Denton counties. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (DFW) and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth In ...
.
North Dakota State
North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural Colle ...
beat
Sam Houston State
Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, United States. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools wes ...
for the second year in a row, 39-13, to repeat as champions.
FCS team wins over FBS teams
August 30:
Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...
20,
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
3
August 30:
McNeese State 27,
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...
21
September 1:
Tennessee–Martin 20,
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Mem ...
17
September 1:
Youngstown State
Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio.
The university is composed of six undergradu ...
31,
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
17
September 8:
Illinois State
Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching ...
31,
Eastern Michigan
Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal school (teachers' ...
14
September 8:
North Dakota State
North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural Colle ...
22,
Colorado State
Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. It was founded in 1870 as Colorado Agr ...
7
September 8:
Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona is an unofficial, colloquially defined region of the U.S. state of Arizona. Generally consisting of Apache, Coconino, Mohave, Navajo, and Yavapai counties, the region is geographically dominated by the Colorado Plateau, the ...
17,
UNLV
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...
14
September 8:
Sacramento State
California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...
30,
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
28
September 15:
Cal Poly 24,
Wyoming
Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
22
September 29:
Stony Brook 23,
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
3
Conference changes and new programs
The
Great West Conference
The Great West Conference (GWC) was an NCAA college athletic conference in the continental United States. Originally a football-only league, it became an all-sports entity during the 2008–09 season. The GWC stopped sponsoring football following ...
dropped football after the 2011 season.
No teams played as independents in 2012, for the first time in the history of Division I-AA/FCS.
Conference standings
Conference summaries
Championship games
Other conference winners
Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.
Playoff qualifiers
Automatic berths for conference champions
*
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...
–
Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...
*
Big South Conference
The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...
–
Coastal Carolina
*
Colonial Athletic Association
The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...
–
Villanova
*
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...
–
Bethune-Cookman
*
Missouri Valley Football Conference
The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...
–
North Dakota State
North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural Colle ...
*
Northeast Conference
The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...
–
Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
*
Ohio Valley Conference
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...
–
Eastern Illinois
*
Patriot League
The Patriot League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference comprising primarily leading Private university, private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United ...
–
Colgate
*
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...
–
Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, with additional campuses in Savannah ( Armstrong Campus) and Hine ...
*
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference (SLC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in ...
–
Central Arkansas
Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state ...
At large qualifiers
*
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...
-
Montana State
Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana, United States. It enrolls more students than any other college or university in the state. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's d ...
and
Cal Poly
*
Big South Conference
The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...
-
Stony Brook
*
Colonial Athletic Association
The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...
-
New Hampshire
New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
and
Old Dominion
*
Missouri Valley Football Conference
The Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC), formerly the Gateway Football Conference, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the National Collegiate A ...
-
Illinois State
Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching ...
and
South Dakota State
South Dakota State University (SDSU or SD State) is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest university and is the second oldest continually operating universit ...
*
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...
-
Wofford and
Appalachian State
Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dou ...
*
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference (SLC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in ...
-
Sam Houston State
Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, United States. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools wes ...
Abstains
*
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...
–
Penn
*
Southwestern Athletic Conference
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United St ...
–
Arkansas–Pine Bluff
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is a Public University, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Founded in 1873, it is the second oldest public college or univer ...
Postseason
NCAA Division I playoff bracket
* ''Home team'' † ''Overtime''
Coaching changes
Preseason and in-season
This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2012. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2012, see
2011 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.
End of season
* In addition to the above changes, Southern named its interim head coach Dawson Odums as permanent head coach on December 14.
See also
*
2012 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings
The following weekly polls make up the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings which determine the top 25 teams in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level of college football for the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season, ...
References
{{NCAA football season navbox