2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season

The 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, is organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The regular season will begin in August and will end in November. The postseason will begin in November, and, aside from any all-star games that are scheduled, will end on January 6th, 2024, with the 2024 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.[1]

2023 NCAA Division I FCS season
Regular season
Number of teams128
DurationAugust 26 – December 2
Playoff
DurationNovember 25 – December 16
Championship date2024 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game
Championship siteToyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
NCAA Division I FCS football seasons
 

Conference changes and new programs

Membership changes for 2023
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference
CampbellBig South ConferenceColonial Athletic Association
Jacksonville StateASUNC-USA (FBS)
Kennesaw StateASUNIndependent
Murray StateOhio Valley ConferenceMissouri Valley Football Conference
North Carolina A&TBig South ConferenceColonial Athletic Association
Sam HoustonWACC-USA (FBS)

In addition to the listed membership changes, on February 22, 2022, the Big South Conference and Ohio Valley Conference announced that they would merge their football leagues effective in 2023. Certain key details of the merger—specifically, whether the merged league would be run by the Big South or OVC, or become a separate entity—have yet to be announced.[2]

On December 20, 2022, the ASUN Conference and Western Athletic Conference, which had entered into a football-only partnership in 2021, announced that they would fully merge their football leagues effective in 2023. The new conference, known as the United Athletic Conference,[3] will feature ASUN members Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, and North Alabama, plus WAC members Abilene Christian, Southern Utah, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton, and Utah Tech. The new football conference will play a six-game conference schedule in 2023 before starting round-robin play in 2024.[4]

On May 12, 2023, the OVC announced that Western Illinois would become a full member of the conference in 2023, with football playing the 2023 season in the Missouri Valley Football Conference before joining the Big South–OVC alliance in 2024.[5]

Rule changes

Kickoff games

"Week Zero"

The regular season will begin on Saturday, August 26 in Week 0.

Upsets

This section lists instances of unranked teams defeating ranked teams during the season.

Top 10 matchups

Rankings reflect the STATS Poll.

Rankings

The top 25 from the STATS and USA Today Coaches Polls.

Pre-season polls
STATS
Ranking Team
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
USA Today Coaches
Ranking Team
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25


Conference standings
2023 Big Sky Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Cal Poly  0 –0   0 –0  
Eastern Washington  0 –0   0 –0  
Idaho  0 –0   0 –0  
Idaho State  0 –0   0 –0  
Montana  0 –0   0 –0  
Montana State  0 –0   0 –0  
Northern Arizona  0 –0   0 –0  
Northern Colorado  0 –0   0 –0  
Portland State  0 –0   0 –0  
Sacramento State  0 –0   0 –0  
UC Davis  0 –0   0 –0  
Weber State  0 –0   0 –0  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2023 Big South Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Bryant  0 –0   0 –0  
Charleston Southern  0 –0   0 –0  
Gardner–Webb  0 –0   0 –0  
Robert Morris  0 –0   0 –0  
Rankings from STATS Poll
2023 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Albany  0 –0   0 –0  
Campbell  0 –0   0 –0  
Delaware  0 –0   0 –0  
Elon  0 –0   0 –0  
Hampton  0 –0   0 –0  
Maine  0 –0   0 –0  
Monmouth  0 –0   0 –0  
New Hampshire  0 –0   0 –0  
North Carolina A&T  0 –0   0 –0  
Rhode Island  0 –0   0 –0  
Richmond  0 –0   0 –0  
Stony Brook  0 –0   0 –0  
Towson  0 –0   0 –0  
Villanova  0 –0   0 –0  
William & Mary  0 –0   0 –0  
Rankings from STATS Poll
2023 Ivy League football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Brown  0 –0   0 –0  
Columbia  0 –0   0 –0  
Cornell  0 –0   0 –0  
Dartmouth  0 –0   0 –0  
Harvard  0 –0   0 –0  
Penn  0 –0   0 –0  
Princeton  0 –0   0 –0  
Yale  0 –0   0 –0  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from STATS Poll
2023 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Delaware State  0 –0   0 –0  
Howard  0 –0   0 –0  
Morgan State  0 –0   0 –0  
Norfolk State  0 –0   0 –0  
North Carolina Central  0 –0   0 –0  
South Carolina State  0 –0   0 –0  
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from STATS Poll
2023 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Illinois State  0 –0   0 –0  
Indiana State  0 –0   0 –0  
Missouri State  0 –0   0 –0  
Murray State  0 –0   0 –0  
North Dakota  0 –0   0 –0  
North Dakota State  0 –0   0 –0  
Northern Iowa  0 –0   0 –0  
South Dakota  0 –0   0 –0  
South Dakota State  0 –0   0 –0  
Southern Illinois  0 –0   0 –0  
Western Illinois  0 –0   0 –0  
Youngstown State  0 –0   0 –0  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
As of May 14, 2023
Rankings from STATS Poll
2023 Northeast Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Central Connecticut  0 –0   0 –0  
Duquesne  0 –0   0 –0  
LIU  0 –0   0 –0  
Merrimack  0 –0   0 –0  
Sacred Heart  0 –0   0 –0  
Saint Francis (PA)  0 –0   0 –0  
Stonehill *  0 –0   0 –0  
Wagner  0 –0   0 –0  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
  • Note: Stonehill ineligible for NEC title and FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II
Rankings from STATS Poll
2023 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Eastern Illinois  0 –0   0 –0  
Lindenwood *  0 –0   0 –0  
Southeast Missouri State  0 –0   0 –0  
Tennessee State  0 –0   0 –0  
Tennessee Tech  0 –0   0 –0  
UT Martin  0 –0   0 –0  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
  • Note: Lindenwood ineligible for OVC title and FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II.
Rankings from STATS Poll
2023 Patriot League football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Bucknell  0 –0   0 –0  
Colgate  0 –0   0 –0  
Fordham  0 –0   0 –0  
Georgetown  0 –0   0 –0  
Holy Cross  0 –0   0 –0  
Lafayette  0 –0   0 –0  
Lehigh  0 –0   0 –0  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2023 Pioneer Football League standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Butler  0 –0   0 –0  
Davidson  0 –0   0 –0  
Dayton  0 –0   0 –0  
Drake  0 –0   0 –0  
Marist  0 –0   0 –0  
Morehead State  0 –0   0 –0  
Presbyterian  0 –0   0 –0  
San Diego  0 –0   0 –0  
St. Thomas (MN) *  0 –0   0 –0  
Stetson  0 –0   0 –0  
Valparaiso  0 –0   0 –0  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
  • * – Ineligible for FCS playoffs due to transition from NCAA Division III
Rankings from STATS Poll
2023 Southern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Chattanooga  0 –0   0 –0  
The Citadel  0 –0   0 –0  
East Tennessee State  0 –0   0 –0  
Furman  0 –0   0 –0  
Mercer  0 –0   0 –0  
Samford  0 –0   0 –0  
VMI  0 –0   0 –0  
Western Carolina  0 –0   0 –0  
Wofford  0 –0   0 –0  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2023 Southland Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Houston Christian  0 –0   0 –0  
Incarnate Word  0 –0   0 –0  
Lamar  0 –0   0 –0  
McNeese  0 –0   0 –0  
Nicholls  0 –0   0 –0  
Northwestern State  0 –0   0 –0  
Southeastern Louisiana  0 –0   0 –0  
Texas A&M–Commerce *  0 –0   0 –0  
  • * – Texas A&M–Commerce ineligible for FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II.
Rankings from STATS Poll
2023 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
Alabama A&M  0 –0   0 –0  
Alabama State  0 –0   0 –0  
Bethune–Cookman  0 –0   0 –0  
Florida A&M  0 –0   0 –0  
Jackson State  0 –0   0 –0  
Mississippi Valley State  0 –0   0 –0  
West Division
Alcorn State  0 –0   0 –0  
Arkansas–Pine Bluff  0 –0   0 –0  
Grambling State  0 –0   0 –0  
Prairie View A&M  0 –0   0 –0  
Southern  0 –0   0 –0  
Texas Southern  0 –0   0 –0  
Championship: 2023 SWAC Football Championship Game
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2023 United Athletic Conference standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Abilene Christian  0 –0   0 –0  
Austin Peay  0 –0   0 –0  
Central Arkansas  0 –0   0 –0  
Eastern Kentucky  0 –0   0 –0  
North Alabama  0 –0   0 –0  
Southern Utah  0 –0   0 –0  
Stephen F. Austin  0 –0   0 –0  
Tarleton*  0 –0   0 –0  
Utah Tech*  0 –0   0 –0  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Note: Tarleton and Utah Tech are ineligible for the UAC title and FCS postseason play due to transitions from NCAA Division II.
Rankings from STATS Poll
2023 NCAA Division I FCS independents football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Kennesaw State*  0 –0   0 –0  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • * Note: Kennesaw State ineligible for FCS postseason play due to start of transition to FBS.
Rankings from STATS Poll

Postseason

Teams
See also: [[:List of NCAA Division I Football Championship appearances by team]]

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2023, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled games but before its playoff games. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2023, see 2022 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.

End of season

This list includes coaching changes announced during the season that did not take effect until the end of the season.

See also

References
  1. "FCS Championship: Future dates and sites". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  2. "Big South Conference and OVC Announce Football Agreement; Unique Association to Benefit All Football Members" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  3. "ASUN-WAC Football Partnership Formally Rebrands As The United Athletic Conference" (Press release). ASUN Conference. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  4. "ASUN And WAC Unveil 2023 Football Schedule" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  5. "Western Illinois University to Join the OVC in 2023-24" (Press release). Ohio Valley Conference. May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
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