NCAA Division I FCS

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NCAA Division I FCS is the second tier of top-level college football in the United States, featuring schools that offer fewer athletic scholarships than the higher-profile FBS and that compete in an NCAA-run playoff to determine a national champion.

All labels observed (32)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (53)

Predicate Object
instanceOf NCAA football subdivision
college football competition level
abbreviation FCS
allowsNonScholarshipPrograms true
atLargePlayoffBids true
automaticBidBasis conference champions
championshipFormat single-elimination playoff
championshipOrganizer NCAA
classificationStart 1978 season as Division I-AA
comparedTo NCAA Division I FBS
linked to: FBS
contrastFbsScholarshipLimit FBS allows up to 85 full scholarships
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
country United States
determines NCAA-recognized national champion in Division I FCS football
exampleNonScholarshipConference Pioneer Football League
formerlyKnownAs NCAA Division I-AA
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
fullName NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
governingBody National Collegiate Athletic Association
governingRulebook NCAA football playing rules
hasAutomaticPlayoffBids true
includesHistoricallyBlackCollegesAndUniversities true
includesNonScholarshipConferences true
includesPrivateUniversities true
includesPublicUniversities true
membershipBasis schools that are Division I in most sports and sponsor football at FCS level
minimumFootballGamesPerSeason at least 11 regular-season games (typical)
nameChangeEffectiveSeason 2006 season
nameChangeReason to distinguish subdivisions by postseason format rather than I-A and I-AA labels
nationalChampionshipGameSite predetermined neutral site (varies by contract)
nationalChampionshipMonth December or January (varies by year)
notableHBCUConferences MEAC
SWAC
partOf NCAA Division I
permitsGamesAgainst Division II teams (with scheduling limits)
FBS teams
playoffFieldSizeHistory 16 teams (historical)
20 teams (historical)
24 teams (recent era)
postseasonContrastWithFBS FBS uses bowl system and College Football Playoff, not NCAA-run championship
postseasonType NCAA-run playoff tournament
primarySeasonMonths September to December
reasonFor1978Creation to separate major and mid-major football programs within Division I
revenueLevel generally lower than FBS
rosterLimit up to 85 total players receiving aid (equivalency-based)
scholarshipEquivalency uses equivalency scholarships rather than all full scholarships
scholarshipLimit up to 63 full scholarship equivalents in football
scholarshipLimitRelativeToFBS fewer football scholarships than FBS
scholarshipType can offer athletic scholarships
seasonStructure regular season followed by NCAA playoffs
sharesRulesWith NCAA Division I FBS
linked to: FBS
someHBCUsPostseasonChoice may play in Celebration Bowl instead of FCS playoffs
sport American football
televisionExposureLevel generally lower than FBS
tierLevel second tier of Division I football

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (233)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Ivy League footballSubdivision NCAA Division I FCS
Crimson competitionLevel Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
NCAA Division I hasSubdivision NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
NCAA Division I FCS fullName NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
NCAA Division I FCS formerlyKnownAs NCAA Division I-AA
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
NCAA Division I FCS contrastFbsScholarshipLimit FBS allows up to 85 full scholarships
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
FCS fullName Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
FCS formerlyKnownAs Division I-AA
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Pioneer Football League subdivision NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Pioneer Football League competitionLevel Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Pioneer Football League grantsAutomaticBidTo NCAA Division I FCS playoffs
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference footballSubdivision NCAA Division I FCS
subject linked to: MEAC
Penn Quakers football subdivision NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Southwestern Athletic Conference subdivision NCAA Division I FCS
subject linked to: SWAC
Southwestern Athletic Conference footballSubdivision Football Championship Subdivision
subject linked to: SWAC
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Yale Bulldogs competesInDivision NCAA Division I FCS (football)
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
FBS parallelSubdivision Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
NCAA Division I Council includesRepresentationFrom Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Patriot League subdivision Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Texas Southern Tigers football NCAAdivision NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
College of the Holy Cross athletics program subdivisionInFootball NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
NCAA Division I Football Championship Game subdivision NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
NCAA Division I Football Championship Game determines NCAA Division I FCS national champion
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
NCAA Division I Football Championship Game partOf NCAA Division I FCS playoffs
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
NCAA Division I Football Championship Game divisionRenamedFrom NCAA Division I-AA
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
NCAA Division I Football Championship Game divisionRenamedTo NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
NCAA Division I Football Championship Game subdivisionType Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
NCAA Division I Football Championship Game decidesTitleForSeason NCAA Division I FCS football season
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
NCAA Division I Football Championship Game eligibility NCAA Division I FCS members
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Colonial Athletic Association footballClassification Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Missouri Valley Football Conference subdivision NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Big Sky Conference footballSubdivision NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Big South–OVC Football Association competitionLevel Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Penn Quakers subdivisionInFootball NCAA Division I FCS
Southern Conference footballSubdivision NCAA Division I FCS
Southern Conference competitionLevel Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Eagles subdivision NCAA Division I FCS
Princeton Tigers football league NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Penn Quakers athletics footballSubdivision NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Southland Conference subdivision NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Southland Conference sponsor NCAA Division I FCS football
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Southland Conference memberOf Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Ohio Valley Conference footballSubdivision NCAA Division I FCS
Cornell Big Red football league NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Football Bowl Subdivision distinguishedFrom NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS
Northeast Conference footballSubdivision NCAA Division I FCS
Northeast Conference footballCompetitionLevel Football Championship Subdivision
linked to: NCAA Division I FCS