This is a list of schools in Division I of 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) that play

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

in the United States as a varsity sport and are members of the

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), known as Division I-AA from 1978 through 2005. There are 129 FCS programs as of the 2024 season. Conference affiliations are current for the 2024 season. The teams in this subdivision compete in a 24-team

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

for the

NCAA Division I Football Championship The NCAA Division I Football Championship is an annual post-season college football game, played since 2006, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). From 1978 to 2005, the game was ca ...

. All leagues allow scholarships with the exception of the Ivy League and Pioneer Football League.

FCS programs

Transitioning from Division II

The following programs are transitioning from

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

to FCS, or have announced definitive plans to do so. Under current NCAA rules, they must have an invitation from a Division I conference to begin the transition. During the normally four-year transition period, they are ineligible for the FCS playoffs. Since January 2025, the NCAA has expedited the reclassification period for schools, by one year, with schools already reclassifying to Division I being given the option to use either the new, shorter reclassification period or the original, longer period they initially agreed to. The new transition period is three years instead of the previous four for schools transitioning from Division II. As of February 21, Lindenwood and East Texas A&M have exercised this option.

Transitioning from Division III

Normally, under current NCAA rules, teams are not allowed to reclassify directly from

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

to Division I. However, after St. Thomas was involuntarily removed from the

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC ) is an List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division III, Division III. All 13 of the mem ...

, they and their future primary conference home, the

Summit League The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Mis ...

, worked with the NCAA to move directly to Division I. On July 15, 2020, it was announced that the NCAA had approved this transition, and St. Thomas has played in Division I starting with the 2021 season. Since January 2025, the NCAA has expedited the reclassification period for schools, by one year, with schools already reclassifying to Division I being given the option to use either the new, shorter reclassification period or the original, longer period they initially agreed to. The new transition period is four years instead of the previous five for schools transitioning from Division III. As of January 15, St. Thomas has exercised this option.

Programs moving to FCS

This lists ''existing members'' of Division I that have announced plans to start FCS programs. Conference affiliations are those expected to be in effect for the season when the program begins FCS play.

Former Division I FCS football programs

References

External links

NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Sponsorship
{{College football FCS

NCAA Division I FCS 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 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Sponsored by the National Collegiate A ...