From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2017 NCAA Division I FCS season
Regular season
Number of teams124
DurationAugust 26 – November 18
Payton Award Jeremiah Briscoe, QB, Sam Houston State
Buchanan Award Darius Jackson, DE, Jacksonville State
Playoff
DurationNovember 25 – December 16
Championship date January 6, 2018
Championship site Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
Champion North Dakota State
NCAA Division I FCS football seasons
« 2016
2018»

The 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season, part of college football in the United States, was organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The FCS Championship Game was played on January 6, 2018, in Frisco, Texas. The North Dakota State Bison beat the James Madison Dukes, 17–13, to capture their sixth title in seven years.

Notable changes

On April 14, the NCAA Division I Council approved a suite of rule changes affecting the recruiting process. The changes most significant to FCS football were to take effect with the 2017–18 school year. A national early signing period for high school players was to be introduced for FBS and FCS, at a time in December to be announced later, and FCS programs would no longer have any restriction on the number of new players that may be signed to letters of intent or financial aid agreements. Previously, FCS teams were limited to signing 30 new players per year. [1] [2]

FCS team wins over FBS teams

(FCS rankings from the STATS poll)

August 31: Tennessee State 17, Georgia State 10
September 2: Howard 43, UNLV 40
September 2: No. 1 James Madison 34, East Carolina 14
September 2: Liberty 48, Baylor 45
September 9: No. 12 New Hampshire 22, Georgia Southern 12
September 9: South Dakota 35, Bowling Green 27
September 16: Idaho State 30, Nevada 28
September 16: No. 25 North Carolina A&T 35, Charlotte 31
September 23: No. 19 Western Illinois 52, Coastal Carolina 10

Conference changes and new programs

For the first time since 2012 (and just the second time ever), there were no independent programs in FCS during the 2017 season.

School 2016 conference 2017 conference
Coastal Carolina FCS Independent Sun Belt (FBS)

Conference standings

2017 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 14 Southern Utah +^   7 – 1     9 – 3  
No. 5 Weber State +^   7 – 1     11 – 3  
Northern Arizona ^   6 – 2     7 – 5  
No. 21 Eastern Washington   6 – 2     7 – 4  
Sacramento State   6 – 2     7 – 4  
Montana   5 – 3     7 – 4  
Montana State   5 – 3     5 – 6  
UC Davis   3 – 5     5 – 6  
Idaho State   2 – 6     4 – 7  
Northern Colorado   2 – 6     3 – 7  
North Dakota   2 – 6     3 – 8  
Cal Poly   1 – 7     1 – 10  
Portland State   0 – 8     0 – 11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2017 Big South Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 8 Kennesaw State $^   5 – 0     12 – 2  
Monmouth ^   4 – 1     9 – 3  
Charleston Southern   3 – 2     6 – 5  
Liberty *   2 – 3     6 – 5  
Presbyterian   1 – 4     4 – 7  
Gardner–Webb   0 – 5     1 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
  • * Liberty ineligible for postseason due to FBS transition
Rankings from STATS Poll
2017 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 James Madison $^   8 – 0     14 – 1  
No. 11 Stony Brook ^   7 – 1     10 – 3  
No. 20 Elon ^   6 – 2     8 – 4  
No. 12 New Hampshire ^   5 – 3     9 – 5  
Delaware   5 – 3     7 – 4  
Richmond   4 – 4     6 – 5  
Towson   3 – 5     5 – 6  
Villanova   3 – 5     5 – 6  
Maine   3 – 5     4 – 6  
Albany   2 – 6     4 – 7  
Rhode Island   2 – 6     3 – 8  
William & Mary   0 – 8     2 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2017 Ivy League football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 24 Yale $   6 – 1     9 – 1  
Columbia   5 – 2     8 – 2  
Dartmouth   5 – 2     8 – 2  
Penn   4 – 3     6 – 4  
Harvard   3 – 4     5 – 5  
Cornell   3 – 4     3 – 7  
Princeton   2 – 5     5 – 5  
Brown   0 – 7     2 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from STATS Poll
2017 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 7 North Carolina A&T $   8 – 0     12 – 0  
Howard   6 – 2     7 – 4  
Bethune–Cookman   6 – 2     7 – 4  
North Carolina Central   5 – 3     7 – 4  
Hampton   5 – 3     6 – 5  
Norfolk State   4 – 4     4 – 7  
Savannah State *   3 – 5     3 – 8  
South Carolina State   2 – 6     3 – 7  
Florida A&M *   2 – 6     3 – 8  
Delaware State   2 – 6     2 – 9  
Morgan State *   1 – 7     1 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * Florida A&M, Morgan State and Savannah State ineligible for postseason due to APR violations
Rankings from STATS Poll
2017 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 1 North Dakota State $^   7 – 1     14 – 1  
No. 3 South Dakota State ^   6 – 2     11 – 3  
No. 19 Northern Iowa ^   6 – 2     8 – 5  
No. 13 Western Illinois ^   5 – 3     8 – 4  
No. 15 South Dakota ^   4 – 4     8 – 5  
Illinois State   4 – 4     6 – 5  
Youngstown State   4 – 4     6 – 5  
Southern Illinois   2 – 6     4 – 7  
Missouri State   2 – 6     3 – 8  
Indiana State   0 – 8     0 – 11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2017 Northeast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Central Connecticut $^   6 – 0     8 – 3  
Duquesne   4 – 2     7 – 4  
Bryant   4 – 2     6 – 5  
Saint Francis (PA)   3 – 3     5 – 6  
Sacred Heart   2 – 4     4 – 7  
Wagner   2 – 4     4 – 7  
Robert Morris   0 – 6     2 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
2017 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 9 Jacksonville State $^   8 – 0     10 – 2  
Austin Peay   7 – 1     8 – 4  
Eastern Illinois   5 – 3     6 – 5  
UT Martin   4 – 4     6 – 5  
Eastern Kentucky   3 – 5     4 – 7  
Southeast Missouri State   3 – 5     3 – 8  
Tennessee State   2 – 5     6 – 5  
Murray State   2 – 5     3 – 8  
Tennessee Tech   1 – 7     1 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2017 Patriot League football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Colgate +   5 – 1     7 – 4  
Lehigh +^   5 – 1     5 – 7  
Holy Cross   3 – 3     4 – 7  
Fordham   3 – 3     4 – 7  
Lafayette   3 – 3     3 – 8  
Bucknell   2 – 4     5 – 6  
Georgetown   0 – 6     1 – 10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
2017 Pioneer Football League standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 23 San Diego $^   8 – 0     10 – 3  
Drake   6 – 2     7 – 4  
Jacksonville   5 – 3     7 – 4  
Campbell   5 – 3     6 – 5  
Valparaiso   5 – 3     6 – 5  
Butler   4 – 4     6 – 5  
Dayton   4 – 4     5 – 6  
Marist   3 – 5     4 – 7  
Morehead State   3 – 5     4 – 7  
Stetson   1 – 7     2 – 9  
Davidson   0 – 8     2 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2017 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 6 Wofford $^   7 – 1     10 – 3  
No. 18 Samford ^   6 – 2     8 – 4  
No. 19 Furman ^   6 – 2     8 – 5  
Western Carolina   5 – 3     7 – 5  
Mercer   4 – 4     5 – 6  
The Citadel   3 – 5     5 – 6  
Chattanooga   3 – 5     3 – 8  
East Tennessee State   2 – 6     4 – 7  
VMI   0 – 8     0 – 11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll
2017 Southland Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 10 Central Arkansas $^   9 – 0     10 – 2  
No. 4 Sam Houston State ^   8 – 1     12 – 2  
No. 25 Nicholls State ^   7 – 2     8 – 4  
No. 22 McNeese State   7 – 2     9 – 2  
Southeastern Louisiana   6 – 3     6 – 5  
Northwestern State   4 – 5     4 – 7  
Stephen F. Austin   4 – 5     4 – 7  
Abilene Christian   2 – 7     2 – 9  
Incarnate Word   1 – 7     1 – 10  
Lamar   1 – 8     2 – 9  
Houston Baptist   0 – 9     1 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS poll
2017 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Alcorn State xy   5 – 2     7 – 5  
Alabama State   4 – 3     5 – 6  
Alabama A&M   3 – 4     4 – 7  
Jackson State   3 – 4     3 – 8  
Mississippi Valley State   1 – 6     2 – 9  
West Division
No. 16 Grambling State xy$   7 – 0     11 – 2  
Southern   5 – 2     7 – 4  
Prairie View A&M   4 – 3     6 – 5  
Texas Southern   2 – 5     2 – 9  
Arkansas–Pine Bluff   1 – 6     2 – 9  
Championship: Grambling State 40, Alcorn State 32
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

Conference summaries

Championship games

Conference Champion Runner-up Score Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Coach of the Year
SWAC Grambling State
11–1 (8–0) 		Alcorn State
7–5 (5–2) 		40–32 Devante Kincade
(Grambling State) 		De’Arius Christmas
(Grambling State) 		Broderick Fobbs
(Grambling State)

Other conference winners

Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.

Conference Champion Record Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Coach of the Year
Big Sky Southern Utah
Weber State 		9–2 (7–1)
9–2 (7–1) 		Keelan Doss
( UC Davis) 		Taron Johnson
(Weber State) 		Demario Warren
(Southern Utah)
Big South Kennesaw State 10–1 (5–0) Chandler Burks
(Kennesaw State) 		Anthony Ellis
( Charleston Southern) 		Brian Bohannon
(Kennesaw State)
CAA James Madison 11–0 (8–0) Kyle Lauletta
( Richmond) 		Andrew Ankrah
(James Madison) 		Curt Cignetti
( Elon)
Ivy Yale 9–1 (6–1) Chad Kanoff
( Princeton) 		Matthew Oplinger
(Yale) 		Al Bagnoli
( Columbia)
MEAC North Carolina A&T 11–0 (8–0) Lamar Raynard
(North Carolina A&T) 		Shaquille Leonard
( South Carolina State) 		Rod Broadway
(North Carolina A&T)
MVFC North Dakota State 10–1 (7–1) Chris Streveler
( South Dakota) 		Brett Taylor
( Western Illinois) 		Chris Klieman
(North Dakota State)
NEC Central Connecticut 8–3 (6–0) Tommy Stuart
( Duquesne) 		Tom Costigan
( Bryant) 		Peter Rossomando
(Central Connecticut)
OVC Jacksonville State 10–1 (8–0) Roc Thomas
(Jacksonville State) 		Darius Jackson
(Jacksonville State) 		Will Healy
( Austin Peay)
Patriot Colgate
Lehigh 		7–4 (5–1)
5–6 (5–1) 		Dom Bragalone
(Lehigh) 		Abdullah Anderson
( Bucknell) 		Dan Hunt
(Colgate)
Pioneer San Diego 9–2 (8–0) Anthony Lawrence
(San Diego) 		Jonathan Petersen
(San Diego) 		Dave Cecchini
( Valparaiso)
Southern Wofford 9–2 (7–1) Devlin Hodges
( Samford) 		Ahmad Gooden
(Samford) 		Clay Hendrix
( Furman)
Southland Central Arkansas 10–1 (9–0) Hayden Hildebrand
(Central Arkansas) 		George Odum
(Central Arkansas) 		Steve Campbell
(Central Arkansas)

Playoff qualifiers

Automatic berths for conference champions

Conference Team Appearance Last bid Result
Big Sky Conference Southern Utah 3rd 2015 First Round (L – Sam Houston State)
Big South Conference Kennesaw State 1st –  
Colonial Athletic Association James Madison 14th 2016 National Champions (W – Youngstown State)
Missouri Valley Football Conference North Dakota State 8th 2016 Semifinals (L – James Madison)
Northeast Conference Central Connecticut 1st –  
Ohio Valley Conference Jacksonville State 8th 2016 Second Round (L – Youngstown State)
Patriot League Lehigh 11th 2016 First Round (L – New Hampshire)
Pioneer Football League San Diego 3rd 2016 Second Round (L – North Dakota State)
Southern Conference Wofford 8th 2016 Quarterfinals (L – Youngstown State)
Southland Conference Central Arkansas 4th 2016 Second Round (L – Eastern Washington)

At large qualifiers

Conference Team Appearance Last bid Result
Big Sky Conference Northern Arizona 6th 2013 First Round (L – South Dakota State)
Weber State 6th 2016 First Round (L – Chattanooga)
Big South Conference Monmouth 1st –  
Colonial Athletic Association Elon 2nd 2009 First Round (L – Richmond)
New Hampshire 16th 2016 Second Round (L – James Madison)
Stony Brook 3rd 2012 Second Round (L – Montana State)
Missouri Valley Football Conference Northern Iowa 19th 2015 Quarterfinals (L – North Dakota State)
South Dakota 1st –  
South Dakota State 7th 2016 Quarterfinals (L – North Dakota State)
Western Illinois 11th 2015 Second Round (L – Illinois State)
Southern Conference Furman 17th 2013 Second Round (L – North Dakota State)
Samford 5th 2016 First Round (L – Youngstown State)
Southland Conference Nicholls State 4th 2005 First Round (L – Furman)
Sam Houston State 11th 2016 Quarterfinals (L – James Madison)

Abstentions

Postseason

Bowl game

Game Date/TV Location Home team Away team Score Offensive MVP Defensive MVP
Celebration Bowl December 16
ABC 		Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Atlanta, Georgia 		North Carolina A&T Grambling State 21–14 Marquell Cartwright
(RB, North Carolina A&T) 		Franklin McCain III
(DB, North Carolina A&T)

NCAA Division I playoff bracket

First round
November 25
Campus sites
ESPN3 		Second round
December 2
Campus sites
ESPN3 		Quarterfinals
December 8 and 9
Campus sites
ESPN2, ESPN3 		Semifinals
December 15 and 16
Campus sites
ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3 		National Championship
January 6
12:00 pm
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
ESPN2
1 James Madison* 26
Stony Brook* 59 Stony Brook 7
Lehigh 29 1 James Madison* 31
Weber State 28
8 Southern Utah* 13
Weber State* 21 Weber State 30
Western Illinois 19 1 James Madison* 51
5 South Dakota State 16
4 Central Arkansas* 15
New Hampshire* 14 New Hampshire 21
Central Connecticut 0 New Hampshire 14
5 South Dakota State* 56
5 South Dakota State* 37
Northern Iowa* 46 Northern Iowa 22
Monmouth 7 1 James Madison 13
2 North Dakota State 17
2 North Dakota State* 38
Northern Arizona* 10 San Diego 3
San Diego 41 2 North Dakota State* 42
7 Wofford 10
7 Wofford* 28
Elon* 27 Furman 10
Furman 28 2 North Dakota State* 55
6 Sam Houston State 13
3 Jacksonville State* 7
Kennesaw State* 28 Kennesaw State 17
Samford 17 Kennesaw State 27
6 Sam Houston State* 34
6 Sam Houston State* 54
Nicholls State* 31 South Dakota 42
South Dakota 38

* Home team   
 Winner
All times in Eastern Standard Time ( UTC−05:00)

Kickoff games

Awards and honors

Walter Payton Award

Buck Buchanan Award

Jerry Rice Award

Coaches

New stadiums

Coaching changes

In-season

This is restricted to coaching changes that took place on or after May 1, 2017. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2017, see 2016 NCAA Division I FCS end-of-season coaching changes.

School Outgoing coach Date Reason Replacement
Alabama State Brian Jenkins October 6 Fired Donald Hill-Eley [a]
Holy Cross Tom Gilmore October 15 Fired Brian Rock (interim)
  1. ^ Interim for remainder of season; interim tag removed on December 7, 2017.

End of season

School Outgoing coach Date Reason Replacement
Alabama A&M James Spady November 19 Fired [9] Connell Maynor
Arkansas–Pine Bluff Monte Coleman November 19 Resigned Cedric Thomas
Central Arkansas Steve Campbell December 7 Hired as head coach by South Alabama Nathan Brown
Davidson Paul Nichols November 27 Contract not renewed Scott Abell
Delaware State Kenny Carter November 20 Fired Rod Milstead
East Tennessee State Carl Torbush December 8 Retired Randy Sanders
Florida A&M Alex Wood November 21 Contract not renewed Willie Simmons
Fordham Andrew Breiner December 5 Hired as OC at Mississippi State Joe Conlin
Hampton Connell Maynor November 20 Fired Robert Prunty
Holy Cross Brian Rock December 20 Permanent replacement Bob Chesney
Incarnate Word Larry Kennan November 27 Fired Eric Morris
Mississippi Valley State Rick Comegy November 20 Contract not renewed Vincent Dancy
Montana Bob Stitt November 20 Contract not renewed [10] Bobby Hauck
Morgan State Fred Farrier December 18 Fired Ernest T. Jones (interim)
North Carolina A&T Rod Broadway January 8 Retired [11] Sam Washington
North Carolina Central Jerry Mack December 8 Hired as OC at Rice Granville Eastman (interim)
Northwestern State Jay Thomas December 2 Resigned Brad Laird
Prairie View A&M Willie Simmons December 8 Hired as head coach by Florida A&M Eric Dooley
Robert Morris John Banaszak November 19 Retired Bernard Clark
Southeastern Louisiana Ron Roberts January 19 Hired as DC by Louisiana Frank Scelfo
Tennessee Tech Marcus Satterfield November 19 Fired [12] Dewayne Alexander
Western Illinois Charlie Fisher January 4 Hired as WR coach by Arizona State Jared Elliott
Wofford Mike Ayers December 13 Retired Josh Conklin

See also

References

  1. ^ Kercheval, Ben (April 14, 2017). "NCAA DI Council approves early signing period for football, prohibits oversigning". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  2. ^ Stephenson, Creg (April 14, 2017). "NCAA adopts 10th assistant, restricts off-field staff hires, satellite camps in sweeping vote". The Birmingham News. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  3. ^ "Thomas had 190 yards, Jacksonville St tops Chattanooga 27–13". ESPN. Associated Press. August 26, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  4. ^ "Mangum, Canada lead BYU to 20–6 win over Portland State". ESPN. Associated Press. August 26, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  5. ^ "Colgate fends off Cal Poly 20–14 behind Holland". ESPN. Associated Press. August 26, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  6. ^ "Stanley accounts for 2 TDs, FAMU beats Texas Southern 29–7". ESPN. Associated Press. August 26, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  7. ^ O'Neill, Kane (September 2, 2017). "ETSU tops Limestone 31–10 in season opener at new stadium". Johnson City, TN: WJHL-TV. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  8. ^ "Abilene Christian inaugurates new stadium with 24–3 win". ESPN. Associated Press. September 16, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  9. ^ "Spady not returning to Alabama A&M as head football coach". Alabama A&M Athletics. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  10. ^ Nuanez, Colter (November 20, 2017). "Bob Stitt out as head coach of Griz football". Skyline Sports.
  11. ^ "A&T's Broadway retires; Washington promoted". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  12. ^ "Head football coach Marcus Satterfield relieved of duties, national search to begin immediately". Tennessee Tech Athletics. November 19, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=2017_NCAA_Division_I_FCS_football_season&oldid=1198255230"